North Carolina State University Athletics
2000 Cross Country Outlooks
8/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Men's Preview | Women's Preview
When looking for a definition of domination, one need look no further than NC States cross country program in the last decade.
The NC State men and women race into a new century at record-breaking pace. The men, coming off an overwhelming ACC Championship performance, broke their own conference records for lowest score (16 points), largest margin of victory (54 points) and most runners on the All-ACC squad (7). The women enter the year 2000 having won an incredible 17 of the 22 ACC Championships ever held.
The Wolfpack women, who won AIAW national championships in 1979 and 1980, have won 17 ACC team championships and nine individual championships, and have had 14 national top 10 finishes in the last 22 years. NC State runners have won 48 All-America citations since 1978, including 31 by the women and 17 by the men.
The NC State Men
"Obviously weve lost a group of leaders from last season," Geiger says.
"When you lose runners like Chan Pons, Corby Pons, Brendan Rodgers, Aaron
Saft and Abdul Alzindani, it is inevitably very difficult to replace that
level of talent and intensity in your program. The only difference that I
can see from last season to this season is that a lot of our top guys will
have Fr and "So" next to their name instead of the Jr and Sr that we
are accustomed to seeing. However, we still have a very solid nucleus intact
with our young men."
The Wolfpack will be led by two-time senior All-American Chris Dugan. Dugan,
who has been one of the most consistent runners for Geiger over the past
three seasons, is on a "hot streak" of sorts since last season as well.
After a very successful track season, he finished 17th at the U.S. Olympic
Trials in the steeplechase. However, Geiger said that the supporting cast
for the team is crucial for the season.
"Chris Dugan is one of the men with All-America credentials that has the
tools to lead this program. Besides Chris, we have a young man that we
redshirted last season named David Patterson that was the ACC Champion on
the track in the 10,000 meters during his freshman season and who also
competed at the NCAA Championships. We have all of our returning All-ACC
performers including Dean Bowker and Mike Fitzula, who ran very well for us
at the ACC Championships," says Geiger.
Geiger adds that the perception of the team might be that they have lost so
much talent from last season. But, in fact, they do have a significant
portion of the talent pool coming back to the program.
"We have quite a bit of the nucleus from last season returning to lead NC
State this season, Geiger says. So on one side of the coin, we did lose a
great deal of talent but we do have a lot coming back as well. The reason we
have that luxury is that we placed eight runners in the top 13 in the
conference. One of the young men that didnt crack our top eight last season
was Ryan Woods who was a provisional qualifier on the track in the indoor
5,000 meters. He followed that up with a second overall finish at the ACC
Championships in the outdoor 5,000 meters."
One of the most pleasant surprises for Geiger in 1999 was the performance
throughout the season of All-ACC junior Mike Fitzula. Fitzula, who was one
of the steadiest performers for the Wolfpack in 1999, should be capable of
maintaining that stability in 2000.
"One of the guys that I felt was most critical to our team success last
season was Mike Fitzula, says Geiger. Mike was in our top five at almost
every meet last season. We are really hoping that he can provide that same
spark to keep us right there at the top."
Most likely, NC State will look to its redshirt freshman class to provide
the necessary punch to its line-up. The entire class should be the nucleus
for the 2001 squad that should once again compete for the national title.
These four men each have the potential to be an All-American for the
Wolfpack and continue an outstanding tradition.
"You add to that our redshirt freshman class of David Christian, Nick
Mangum, Devin Swann and Bradsher Wilkins and we feel that we have the
necessary ingredients for a successful season. Every one of these young men
showed potential to run at this level last season for us," said Geiger.
Another important addition for this team this is sophomore transfer Chad
Pearson from UNC Asheville. Pearson, a member of the junior national squad
last season, will bring what the Wolfpack needs most: experience running on
the college level.
"This is a young man that is a very talented cross country athlete and I
really think that hell help us immediately, Geiger continues. He has
experience running at the college level and that will be so very important
for us as we mature this season. We are really looking forward to Chad
becoming an important part of our program."
Geiger will also look to several of his older runners to provide leadership
and step up when called upon. One of those young men is Scott Wirgau, whose
track success is clearly evident.
"There are other people in the program that we hope will step it up and
break into our top eight, he says. One of them is Scott Wirgau, who has
had success on the track but hasnt really translated that into cross
country. Two other young men, Joe Lion and Pat Helland, certainly could
improve this season and compete with our top guys."
The incoming freshman class is and has always been one of the strong parts
of Geigers program. However, this season one or more of them may be called
upon to contribute immediately instead of being redshirted. Leading the way
is Ricky Brookshire, one of the nations top prep runners last season.
"I feel that we do have an outstanding freshman class, but it will take some
time for them to adjust to that new distance," Geiger said. "Ricky
Brookshire from Watauga was one of the premier cross country athletes in the
country last season. We think a great deal of Ricky but, again, it may take
him some time. The same holds true for Brian Greer, also from Watauga. We
have two young men coming in from New York, one of which is Joe Iatauro,
Jr., who comes from the same high school as former runner Chip Furman. Joe
has had the privilege of learning about the sport from his father and coach,
Joe Iatauro, Sr., one of the finest coaches in America. John Huber is the
other young man that we recruited from New York that we feel can help us
build toward our future.
"We recruited a young man from Ohio, Andy Smith, who really came through and
had a tremendous senior season. Andy was able to run 9:02 for two miles and
any time that you are able to do that, you have the tools to run at this
level. It is a good freshman class, they will just have to learn to work
together to adjust so that they can excel as a team."
As a whole, the 2000 NC State mens cross country squad features the talent
of experienced veterans and talented freshmen. With the contributions of
Dugan, Patterson, Bowker, Fitzula and many other talented youngsters, Geiger
forsees a great present and future for NC State.
"When you step back and look at this team, the clouds begin to disappear and
you begin to see that this team not only has a bright future but the present
looks very promising as well," Geiger said. "We may not be able to go out
and post a score of 16 points like last season but we still are looking at
the big picture of defending our title, qualifying for nationals and
finishing in the top 10 at the nationals."
The 2000 edition of the NC State men will look to continue the success that
the 1999 squad achieved. Featured on this team are three returning All-ACC
members from last years squad, one former ACC Rookie of the Year and one
returning two-time All-American. However, the Wolfpack will have to count on
depth from its youngsters now more than ever.
