North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Track Outlook
11/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Track
Coming into the 2000 track season, the NC State coaches are not exactly sure what to expect out of the women's program. The Pack lost their top sprinter from last year in Lashawnda McKinnon, but will regain the services of one of its best athletes in Sherlane Armstrong who redshirted last season.
One thing that the coaching staff does want to see is improvement. Last year the women placed seventh at the indoor ACC Championships, and then finished sixth during the outdoor season. Coach Geiger sees many opportunities for the women's team to improve its standing in the ACC conference.
"We see the women's program to be much improved from last year," said Geiger. "We redshirted a number of athletes and had a few injuries, but if everybody comes back to form we expect to be much better this season. The goal is to finish in the top four in the conference, and to hopefully qualify some people for nationals."
Distance
As is the case with the men's program, the women's team will be led by
its strong group of distance runners. There are many All-Americans
returning to this group, which has achieved a lot of success at the ACC
Championships.
"The strength of this team will be in the distance events," said Geiger. "We return a number of athletes that are distance runners, led by All-American Christy Nichols.
Nichols is a returning senior who has enjoyed much success in the NC State track & field program. Last season, Nichols placed ninth at the outdoor NCAA Championships in the 5,000 meters to gain All-American status. She was the ACC champ in the outdoor 3,000 meters, and was the 1999 women's cross country champion in the ACC.
Once again this season, one of the Pack's strongest events will be the 5,000 meters. The Pack has three athletes that specialize in that event. Seniors Erin Musson and Lindsey Rogers along with junior Amy Beykirch have all been national qualifiers in the 5,000 meters.
Juniors Katie Sabino and Molly Purser will give the Wolfpack talented performers in both the 1,500 meters and the 3,000 meters. Throw in such veterans as seniors Meredith Faircloth and Cassie Messerschmidt along with sophomore Jennifer Modliszewski and the Pack's distance runners are sure to turn in many positive performances this season.
Sprints
Perhaps the women's sprint team was the hardest hit last year when it
came to graduated seniors. Gone are Lashawnda McKinnon and Michelle
Hudson who were part of the record setting 4x400 relay team during the
outdoor season. Despite those loses, the Pack still has many young
sprinters who will now have a chance to step up into the spotlight.
"We did lose some good talent from last year because of graduation,"
said Geiger. "But our coaching staff is more than confident that our
returnees will get the job done and give us some positive results."
Looking to step up this year will be juniors Crystal Broxton and Holly
Wendt and sophomore Adrienne Vinson. Broxton came on strong last season
to have many top finishes in the 100 meters, while Wendt is a talented
hurdler.
Throws
This year's group of throwers will be lead by a pair of seniors. Tiffany
Heath and Jamie Walls will both be looking to end their careers on a high
note. Heath is a strong performer in the weight throw, while Walls
specializes in the hammer toss.
"This is an area where we should be able to get some points out of," said Geiger. "I think the addition of Jessica Hawkins in the discuss will be very beneficial for us."
NC State will also sport some youth in the throws this season. Sophomore Patricia Watson is a talented performer in the weight throw, and freshman Jessica Hawkins should help the Pack out in the discuss.
Pole Vault
The women's team this season has two experienced pole vaulters returning
in senior Annemarie Clark and junior Katie Bolac.
Bolac set a school record during the indoor season with a mark of 10'08.75" to capture fourth at the ACC Championships, and Clark had NC State's top four finishes during the outdoor season.
Jumps
As is the case with the men's team, one area the NC State coaches have
high hopes for are in the jumps this season.
"We will be really strong in the jumps this year," said Geiger. "We think we are very solid in all the jumps, and we expect to do well in these events."
Returning to the lineup this year will be senior Sherlane Armstrong who sat out last season while redshirting. Armstrong holds the school indoor long jump record with a mark of 19'11", and will be looking to return to form which led her to All-ACC status two seasons ago.
Junior Keione Covington is a multi-eventer who last year got the opportunity to see action in many events, and senior Victoria Stokes is a strong performer in the high jump. The Pack also added two talented freshman to help strengthen this unit. Kristin Pace will see action in the high jump, while Brandi Parks will compete in the triple jump.
