North Carolina State University Athletics
Smith Brothers Work Together for Pack
11/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 22, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -
BY TIM PEELER
Wesley Smith followed his older brother Andy into running, and he followed him to N.C. State from the family's home near Cleveland, Ohio.
Today, the two brothers will run last cross country race together as teammates, hoping to help Rollie Geiger's men's team improve on last year's 10th-place performance.
For the Smith brothers, last year's championship was disappointing, even though it marked the fifth time in the last seven years that the Wolfpack has finished in the Top 10 at the national meet.
But that wasn't good enough for the Smith brothers, who have high hopes of improving on that today in Terre Haute, Ind., when the Wolfpack men and women compete in this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Andy Smith, now a fifth-year senior, was the 2000 ACC Freshman of the Year, the 2003 ACC individual champion and an All-America selection as a true freshman in 2000, when he finished 45th in the national meet. Wesley, a former national runner-up in high school who is now a sophomore at State, finished 83rd in last year's NCAA meet.
So this year, they have put in more miles than they did last year, upping their weekly totals by more than 15 percent.
"Last year, I hit one week above 80 miles," Andy Smith said. "This year, I have hit three or four weeks at 90 and a total of seven weeks above 80. That's a big jump. We sat down with [Coach Rollie Geiger] and we looked at our training log and schedule and we adjusted a few things.
"Now, we are both very optimistic about the national race."
Andy is coming off his two best performances of the year, back-to-back third-place finishes in helping the Wolfpack win its fourth consecutive ACC title and the District III Championships. Wesley Smith finished in the Top 10 at the ACC and in the Top 20 at district, which was run in Greenville, N.C.
The Wolfpack finished first as a team in both races. Today, however, they are looking to perform even better, in hopes of bringing Geiger his first national championship in men's cross country. The Wolfpack's highest national finish was third in 1999.
After taking 10 days off since the district championship, the Smith brothers and their teammates are well-rested and ready to run in today's race. They are familiar with the course, as the Wolfpack ran it in October during the Pre-National event. As a team, the Wolfpack finished sixth of 25 squads. Andy Smith finished 20th and Wesley Smith finished 76th.
While Andy Smith has finished ahead of his younger brother in every race this season, the two say they don't compete against each other in cross country events. They compete with each other as teammates.
In everything else, of course, they go at it like typical brothers.
"I'd say we are extremely competitive in everything but running," Wesley Smith said. "In running, we work together."
Andy Smith added: "At one time I think there was competition between us. But I think that ended last year when Wes came down here with me to become my teammate. in first and second position, I don't think we would race to beat each other. I think we would finish together. I think that is the essence of our relationship in running."
The two brothers have been close ever since they chose to diverge from the path set by their older brothers, Dusty and Nick, who earned college soccer scholarships. Dusty played a Kentucky, while Nick played at Colgate. The youngest two brothers, who also played soccer growing up, chose to pursue running instead.
Andy came to N.C. State in 2000 because he wanted to be in a strong program that went against national competition. Wesley, who finished second in the Footlocker National Championship and was a seven-time prep All-America at Hudson (Ohio) High School, came to Raleigh for the same reason, but also to be with his brother.
"We found early in high school what we were better at and what we enjoyed more, and that happened to be track," Andy Smith said.
Today, however, they will run together for a final time as teammates. They want to improve from last year's performance, and stick to the race plan that has been drummed into their head over the last 10 days by Geiger. That's what will be racing through their minds as they run this afternoon, in a race that will begin around 12:15 p.m.
"The work this year has already been done," Wesley Smith said. "Now, it is time to go out there and perform. You can't run stupid. You hope your run your best."
And they hope they can finish together, at the front of the pack, without worrying which of the two is ahead.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
