North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Opens Outdoor Track & Field Season
3/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track
March 15, 2006
NC State opens its 2006 outdoor track & field season this weekend at the 49er Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. The Wolfpack returns 13 student-athletes with NCAA postseason experience and head coach Rollie Geiger has his teams ready for another successful season.
Throws
Mitchell Pope and Chris Crawford both return for their junior season, leading the men's throws group. Coming off an All-American season in the indoor shot put, Pope looks to add outdoor honors in the shot as well. Crawford, who scored in both the shot put and the weight throw at the ACC Indoor Championships this year, aims to earn points in both the shot put and hammer throw at ACC Outdoors.
Jumps
Laila Thomas and Mattie Bethea return for the Wolfpack and look to continue their ascent in the high jump and long jump, as both athletes improved nearly every meet last year. Bethea scored in the long jump and the pentathlon at the ACC Indoor Championships this year and Thomas scored in the high jump. Newcomer Jennifer Webster scored in the high jump at the ACC Indoor Championships and competed in the 60m hurdles. Tabitha Woodard had a career performance in the pole vault at the ACC Indoor Championships this year, scoring for the Wolfpack and should could continue to improve throughout the outdoor season.
Dexter Adams is coming off an ACC Championship in the indoor long jump and competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships. The sophomore regionally qualified in the outdoor long jump a year ago and hit a NCAA provisional mark at regionals. Michael Hill regionally qualified in the triple jump last year, but will most likely redshirt this season while recovering from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered during the offseason. Newcomer Jamar Dawson scored in the triple jump at ACC Indoors and looks to keep improving through the spring.
Sprints
Coming off an ACC Championship in the 60m hurdles this indoor season, Ebony Foster suffered a broken clavicle from a fall during practice right before the NCAA Championships. The two-time All-American and five-time ACC Champion should return in time for the ACC Outdoor Championships, where she'll begin her quest for dominance in the 100m hurdles. The school record holder in four events, Foster also could make some noise in the 200m this season. Joya Rodgers scored in the 60m dash at the ACC Indoor Championships this year and should be in the mix for the 100m dash this spring.
Newcomer Reggie Reese ran the ninth-best time in the 60m dash this indoor season and looks to lead the men's sprint squad this outdoor season that includes T.J. Sheppard, Matt Minnick, Kevin Hutton, Sabian Culbreth, Steve Gardner, Armand Quenum and Omar Wells.
Distance
Wesley Smith, Bobby Mack and Chris Kollar lead a seasoned bunch of distance runners on the men's side. Both Smith and Mack sat out this indoor season with injuries, but both have qualified and competed in previous NCAA Outdoor Championships. Kollar scored in the mile at the ACC Indoor Championships this year and regionally qualified in the 1,500m last outdoor season. John Crews earned All-ACC honors in the 5,000m and scored in the 3,000m this winter and Tibor Vegh earned All-ACC honors in the 3,000m. Gavin Coombs scored in the mile at the ACC Indoor Championships and John Henderson regionally qualified in the steeplechase last outdoor season. Stephen Furst, Lance Hall, Matt Kassouf, Bryce Ruiz, Phillip Stafford also return for the Wolfpack distance corps, along with newcomers Robert Bedsole, John Martinez and Fredy Torres.
Assistant coach Laurie Henes has a very talented distance group on the women's side as well. All-Americans Julia Lucas and Jemissa Hess, NCAA Championship qualifier Kristina Roth and regional qualifiers Magin Kebert, Angelina Blackmon and Ginger Wheeler headline a distance squad destined for greatness. Lucas won the ACC Championship in the outdoor 5,000m and earned All-ACC honors in the 1,500m. She regionally qualified in both, nationally qualified in the 5K, earned All-America honors with a eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships and then competed in the USA Championships. Lucas took third in the 5,000m at the ACC Indoor Championships this year, earning All-ACC honors in her one and only race of the season.
Hess transferred to NC State prior to this year from High Point, where she won six Big South Championships, Big South Indoor Performer of the Year honors and All-America credentials. In her first indoor season with the Wolfpack, Hess picked up All-ACC honors in both the 3,000m and the mile and then earned All-America honors in the 3,000m at the NCAA Championships. Roth scored in the steeplechase at ACC Outdoors, regionally qualified and then took third in the steeple at regionals to qualify for the NCAA Championships last year. Jennifer Boyd, Kelly Brown, Abigail Nelkie, Chapin Payne, Michele Popple, Ashley Seaton, Lee Ann Wheatley and Jessie Yester are all back for the Pack, plus newcomers Danielle Boucher, Elena Helmerick, Amy Kelly, Jessica Popple and Brittany Tinsley round out a force to be reckoned with this year in the ACC.
Schedule
After the 49er Invitational this weekend in Charlotte, the Wolfpack returns home for the annual Raleigh Relays at Derr Track March 24-25. NC State then heads back to Charlotte on April 1 for the Charlotte Invitational. April 7-8 the Wolfpack will send a few individuals to Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays and the rest of the squad to the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. NC State will compete at the Carolina Fast Times meet in Chapel Hill, N.C. on April 15 and send a few individuals to the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn., before traveling to Winston-Salem, N.C., April 20-22 for the ACC Outdoor Championships. The Wolfpack heads to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays April 26-29 before splitting up over the next two weekends at last chance meets hosted by Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina A&T. The NCAA East Regional Championships are May 26-27 in Greensboro, N.C. and the NCAA Championships are June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.
