North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Cross Country Team To Open Season On Friday
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
NC State’s men’s and women’s cross country teams will kick off their 2006 seasons on Friday, September 15, at the Raleigh Invitational, which will be held at the SAS Complex in Cary, N.C. The men’s race will begin at 4:30 p.m, followed by the women’s race at 5 p.m.
The Wolfpack will use the Raleigh Invitational more as a barometer than as a milepost. The women’s race will feature teams from Campbell, Hampton, Norfolk State, Methodist, North Carolina A&T, Shaw, St. Augustine’s, St. Paul’s, and Meredith College.
In addition, all runners on the women’s team who have not previously redshirted will run unattached for this race as the coaching staff mulls its options for the 2006 season.
“We will have a lot of runners running out of uniform,” said associate head coach Laurie Henes, who coaches the women’s team. “We’re trying to look at some group things in this race and also gauge just where we are as a team as we prepare for the Notre Dame Invitational in two weeks. That’s our first serious competition. We’ll use this race to work on some things and to see just how far we are from being ready for Notre Dame.”
The NC State women begin the 2006 season with a strong returning group from last year’s team, which finished second in the ACC and 14th at the NCAA Championships. Senior Jemissa Hess and junior Magin Kebert earned all-conference and All-NCAA Southeast Regional honors last year, and junior Angelina Blackmon and sophomore Brittany Tinsley ran a strong third and fourth, respectively, for the Pack down the final leg of last season. In addition, senior Julia Lucas, a two-time all-conference performer who redshirted last year, returns for her final season. There is ample talent to contend for the remaining spots in the starting lineup and provide depth, including sophomore Amy Kelly, who redshirted last season, junior Ann Wheatley, and a quartet of promising freshmen.
