North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State's 29 Individual National Champions
5/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. Following is the list of the 19 NC State student-athletes who have won a total of 29 individual national collegiate championships in school history.
Three athletes golfer Matt Hill, wrestler Darrion Caldwell and platform diver Kristin Davies won titles in the spring of 2009, only the third time in more than 115 years of athletics competition that the school has produced more than two individual national champions in the same academic school year.
NC State has also won several national team championships, including two in men's basketball (NCAA titles in 1974 and '83) and two in women's cross country (AIAW titles in 1979 and '80) and the 4x100-meter relay team (1985), featuring Alston Glenn, Danny Peebles, Harvey McSwain and Gus Young.
WRESTLING
Matt Reiss, 167 pounds, 1980: Reiss, an unseeded freshman, pulled off one of the biggest surprises in school history when he beat Iowa State’s Perry Hummel in a 4-2 decision to become the first Wolfpack wrestler to win a national title. The Bethlehem, Pa., native also helped Bob Guzzo’s program to an eighth-place finish in the NCAA Championships, the second highest finish in school history. Reiss returned to the national tournament as a sophomore, gaining All-America honors for the second year in a row by finishing eighth in the 167-pound division. He also won two ACC titles in his three years with the Pack. After his career, Reiss returned home to Pennsylvania, where he now runs a family farm.
Tab Thacker, heavyweight wrestler, 1984: Before he became a movie star you can see him in “Wildcats” and a couple of the “Police Academy” sequels Thacker was one the heaviest of all heavyweight championships. Weighing in at nearly 400 pounds, Thacker was too much for most opponents to handle during his three-time All-America career. He finished eighth in the NCAAs as a sophomore, sixth as a junior and, as the top-seeded wrestler in the unlimited heavyweight division, swept through his bracket, winning the title with a 3-1 decision over Nebraska’s Gary Albright. Thacker lived in Raleigh, where he owned a downtown bail-bondsman business, until his death in December, 2007.
Scott Turner, 150 pounds, 1988: Turner’s performance in the 1988 NCAA Championship was no less than totally dominating. Not only did the Bethlehem, Pa., native sweep through the six straight bouts he needed to win the title, he gave up just one point the entire time. And that lone point was awarded to his opponent for riding time. Turner’s dominance earned him the 1988 Most Outstanding Wrestler Award at the NCAA Championship, making him one of only two ACC wresters to ever win that award. He is now in the pharmaceutical sales business.
Sylvester Terkay, heavyweight wrestler, 1993: Terkay, an unheralded recruit from Pennsylvania, transferred to NC State after one semester at Chowan (NC) Junior College and blossomed into a three-time All-America. Another wrestler recruited from Pennsylvania who had great success for Guzzo’s program, Terkay won an incredible 41 matches as a senior en route to the school’s fourth wrestling national championship, a single-season record that still stands. After graduating with a degree in political science, Terkay went to California to try his hand at acting. He had small parts in several feature films, guest appearances on a handful of television shows and scores of commercials. In the late 1990s, he became a success professional wrestler, primarily in Japan, under the name “The Predator.” He recently made the move to mixed martial arts fighting (formerly the Ultimate Fighting Champion). He continues to live in California, when not traveling to the Far East for fights.
Darrion Caldwell, 149-pound wrestler, 2009: An overwhelming underdog to Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, the junior from Rahway, N.J., dominated the championship match to complete a 38-1 season and break Metcalf’s 69-match winning streak. The native of Rahway, N.J., has gone three seasons without losing to an ACC opponent and was 10-1 against ranked opponents this season.
MEN'S GOLF
Matt Hill, NCAA medalist, 2009: Hill birdied two of his final five holes to shoot his third consecutive 2-under 69 to win the championship. The native of Bright's Grove, Ontario, completed a remarkable season in which he shattered the school and ACC records for wins in a season with eight. He won his final five tournaments of the season: the River Landing Intercollegiate, the ACC Championship, the Big Four Challenge, the NCAA Central Regional and the NCAA Championship. He is the first golfer in NCAA history to win his conference championship, a regional championship and the final tournament en route to the title.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Julie Shea (Graw), AIAW national champion, 1978, 79: This Raleigh native first gained attention as the 1977 national high school athlete of the year at Cardinal Gibbons High School. She and her sister Mary came to NC State for All-America careers. Shea won her first national title as a sophomore in cross country, and repeated as a junior. She was twice named the ACC Athlete of the Year and won All-America honors three times in cross country and eight times in track and field.
Betty Springs (Geiger), NCAA Champion, 1981, ’83: Springs, a native of Bradenton, Fla., won four consecutive state high school championships, then helped NC State win the 1979 and ’80 AIAW national championships as a freshman and sophomore. In 1981, when the NCAA first began sponsoring women’s athletics, she became the first woman to ever win an NCAA title. After sitting out 1982 with a broken foot, Springs returned for her senior year and repeated as national champion. She also won two outdoor track national titles, The Athletics Congress cross country national title and two international races that year. Springs, who married NC State track coach Rollie Geiger, still lives in Raleigh.
Suzie Tuffey (Riewald), NCAA Champion, 1985: The Illinois native had a spectacular debut for the Wolfpack, winning the cross country title as a freshman. However, despite being named a three-time All-America and three-time Academic All-America, Tuffey’s career was limited after her freshman season by multiple ankle injuries. She finished third in the NCAAs as a junior and 15th as a senior. After gaining her PhD in Sports Psychology at UNC-Greensboro, Tuffey has been on staff at USA Swimming and now serves as a sports psychology consultant for several national governing bodies.
MEN’S & WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Julie Shea, 5,000 meters, 1979, 80, 81 (AIAW); 3,000 meters, 1980 (AIAW); 10,000 meters, 1980 (AIAW): Proving she was just as good on the track as she was on a cross country course, Shea won five AIAW track and field titles, in three different events. She owned the 5,000 meters for three years and, in 1980, added championships in the 3,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In her track career, Shea won outdoor All-America honors eight times in three events. She still lives in Raleigh and was a long-time member of the Raleigh City Council.
Betty Springs, 5,000 meters, 1983; 10,000 meters, 1983: Hey, it was a good year for NC State national titles. Springs, one of the nation’s premier distance runners of the 1980s, won three individual NCAA titles, and the men’s basketball team won the 1983 NCAA championship with a strong kick at the end. Springs had a spectacular season in 1983, winning two track titles, one NCAA cross country title, two international cross country titles and The Athletics Congress national title.
Laurie Gomez (Henes), 5,000 meters, 1991: Henes was an eight-time All-American in track (6) and cross country (2) and was an All-ACC performer in both sports all four years. For the last 13 years, she has been Wolfpack head coach Rollie Geiger’s assistant coach for distance runners on both the track and field and cross country teams.
Tyreil Taitt, triple jump, 1993: The only male and only non-distance runner to ever win a track championship for the Wolfpack, the versatile Taitt predicted he would win the triple-jump title before he ever competed at the national meet in New Orleans. He had finished second the year before, but his leap of 55 feet, 5 inches was good enough to win the national title. He was a six-time ACC champion and a three-time All-American.
Kristin Price, 10,000 meters, 2002: Price, a distance runner in both indoor and outdoor, tied Julie Shea’s record by being named a track and field All-America eight times (five times in indoor and three times in outdoor). She capped her record-breaking career with a win in the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships, NC State’s most recent individual national title until Jones’ swimming victory last month.
MEN’S SWIMMING
Bob Mattson, 200 Breaststroke, 1955: The Philadelphia native became the first NC State athlete to ever win an individual national championship when he notched a time of 2:26.0 for legendary Wolfpack swimming coach Willis Casey. His win helped the Wolfpack to a fourth-place finish in the NCAAs, which still stands as the school’s best finish at the event. At one time, Mattson held the world record in the 200 breast. A four-time All-America performer with the Wolfpack, Mattson later became a noted swimming instructor in Wilmington, Del., and is a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
Dick Fadgen, 200 Breaststroke and 200 Butterfly, 1956: In all, Fadgen won seven NCAA and AAU national championships during his celebrated career for some of Casey’s most accomplished teams. With marks of 2:23.1 in the 200 breast and 2:16.3 in the 200 fly, Fadgen became the only swimmer in Wolfpack history to win two events at the NCAA Championships and was a big reason by Casey’s team finished fifth in the NCAA meet, its second consecutive Top 5 finish. Fadgen eventually became the head swimming coach at the University of Memphis and is still a member of the faculty of the Memphis Department of Health and Sciences.
Ed Spencer, 100 Butterfly, 1962: Spencer became Casey’s third national champion when he posted a time of 0:52.5 in the 100-yard butterfly, as the Wolfpack finished 13th in the nation. Spencer was a three-time All-America for Casey and won six individual ACC championships including two each in the 100 and 200 butterfly. Spencer went on to become a successful club coach in Reno, Nev., and Atlanta and is now a member of the Masters coaching staff at USA Swimming.
Steve Gregg, 200 Butterfly, 1976: Gregg not only won the NCAA title in the 200-yard butterfly, he also took home a silver medal from the Montreal Olympics, as the United States won all three medals in the event. Mike Bruner edged Gregg out for the gold, as they both finished the race under the Olympic record set in 1972 by Mark Spitz. Gregg was a four-time All-America in the butterfly and won six individual ACC titles. He is one of four Wolfpack swimmers to win the same event four consecutive year at the ACC Championships, winning the 200-yard butterfly from 1974-77.
David Fox, 50-yard Freestyle, 1993: The Raleigh native became one of the most accomplished swimmers in NC State history with his record-setting performances in the freestyle sprint. He went on to qualify for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, and was part of the 400-meter relay team that won a gold medal. Fox is now an investment banker with GoldmanSachs, living in Atlanta.
Cullen Jones, 50-yard Freestyle, 2006: Jones didn’t match his career best time of 19.07 seconds which is just two hundredths of a second off the American record but he did win the NCAA title in the 50 free, becoming the first swimmer in more than a dozen years to bring home a title. In 2007, Jones was on the 4X100 relay team that set a world record at the Pan-Pac Championships. In the summer of 2008, Jones won a gold medal in the 4X100 relay in the Beijing Olympics helping set a new world record along with his relay squad.
WOMEN’S DIVING
Kristin Davies, platform diving, 2009: A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Davies was well-decorated in her first three seasons at NC State, including an honorable mention All-America award as a junior last year, following a 13th place finish at the NCAAs. As a senior, however, she blossomed, winning All-ACC honors for the second year in a row and finishing first in the NCAA Diving Zone Championships to qualify for the NCAA Diving Finals.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
