North Carolina State University Athletics
Cross Country Opens Friday
9/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 16, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Dating back three decades or so, cross country has been NC State's Old Reliable in athletics. The cross country trophy case at the Weisiger-Brown Athletics Facility is full, and the walls outside the coaches' offices are lined with All-America and championship plaques.
Since 1978, the NC State women's program has won 21 of 32 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, 10 individual ACC championships, 10 team finishes in the national top five, two team national championships, and five individual national championships. The dominance of the men's team doesn't date back quite so far, but the tradition is every bit as rich. The Wolfpack men have won 14 ACC championships since 1986, including 11 of the last 15. Ten Wolfpack runners have won the individual conference crown. Between the two programs, 39 athletes have earned All-America honors a total of 64 times since 1977.
Both the NC State men's and women's teams will look to continue the tradition as the 2010 season gets underway Friday at the Wolfpack Invitational at the Wake Med cross country course in Cary. The men's race will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the women's race at 5:30. The races are free to the public.
Hill Headlines Talented Men's Squad
With a talented and experienced nucleus returning from last season's ACC championship team, the NC State men figured to be strong again in 2010. The Wolfpack was ranked No. 11 in the most recent NTFCCCA national poll entering the Wolfpack Invitational.
The headliner for NC State is All-American junior Ryan Hill. Hill had a breakthrough year in 2009-10, earning All-America in cross country in the fall, then in the 5000 meters in track in the spring. He set school records in both the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters, and won the ACC championship in the 10,000.
"Ryan had a special season last year," men's head coach Rollie Geiger said. "He's a tremendous athlete who expects a lot of himself and of his teammates. He's very competitive and really hates to lose. Ryan's a focal point on our team, but he's not the only focal point. We feel we have other guys deserving of that kind of attention."
Depth should not be an issue for the Wolfpack in 2010. Redshirt-sophomore Patrick Campbell and redshirt-junior Bobby Moldovan could push to share time iwth Hill in the spotlight. Campbell earned All-ACC honors in 2009, and he and Moldovan both were All-NCAA Regional selections based on top-25 finishes at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Redshirt-juniors Greg Dame and Andrew North both had top-25 finishes at the ACC Championships last fall, contributing greatly to the Wolfpack's conference championship. Geoff King, another fourth-year junior, had a big spring in track running the steeplechase. Yet another redshirt-junior, Brian Himelright, reported to preseason practices in August in the best shape of his career and has impressed the coaches.
"Campbell was all-conference a year ago," Geiger said. "Bobby Moldovan was all-regional. This is the fourth year for Greg Dame. He had some terrific track marks. This is the fourth year for Andrew North. Geoff King qualified for the regional championships in the steeplechase. Brian Himelright for the first time actually had a summer of training, where he really got after it. He's come back and is fit. He's seriously in the mix of guys who could be in our top group. So we have a good group of returners vying for that top group."
In addition to the returnees from 2009, Geiger has a trio of freshmen who redshirted last season. Andrew Colley had his breakthrough following the collegiate cross country season when he secured a spot on the USA Junior National team and finished 42nd at the IAAF Cross Country World Championships. He was the second team finisher for the United States team.
Bobby Andrews and Zakariya Roshdy, two other promising newcomers in 2009, also redshirted as freshmen a year ago and will begin their cross country careers at the Wolfpack Invitational. Both ran unattached in a pair of races and have looked good in the preseason.
Further depth comes from Thomas Petersen, a redshirt-junior who transferred to NC State from Arizona State a year ago. Petersen saw action in four races with the varsity squad in 2009. Redshirt-sophomore Lewis McPherson is another untested youngster with a chance to push for a spot in the lineup.
As if those 12 runners weren't enough, Geiger also has a pair of promising transfers who will battle for a spot in the lineup. Sandy Roberts is actually a graduate student, having earned his degree from Georgetown last year. He was an All-American in track for the Hoyas and has experienced success at cross country as well. Matt Sonnenfeldt is a sophomore who ran as the No. 3 runner at Kentucky last year.
"There's a mix," Geiger said. "We do have depth. It's all going to shake out in the end. My goal is for everyone to run at a really high level and to reach their potential."
In addition to the plethora of veteran talent, Geiger also has a nice group of true freshmen. The plan, however, is to redshirt the freshmen unless one or more challenges for a spot in the team's top seven.
That comes to 14 runners battling for at most 10 spots in the lineup. Geiger should have more than enough names to sort through before the season gets serious in October at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. And when the lineup finally settles into place, he should have plenty of company on the sidelines.
Four years ago, John Martinez was a redshirt-freshman and a heralded recruit who wound up earning All-ACC honors three times before finishing his cross country career in 2009. In 2006, however, while good enough to start and possibly earn all-conference honors, Martinez stood on the sidelines and watched as a deep, veteran Wolfpack team blew away the field in winning the conference championship.
Geiger can't say if anyone as good as Martinez will get caught such a numbers game, but there's a good chance that several quality athletes will have to stand and watch while waiting their turn. Geiger certainly hopes that's the case. Depth is always good.
"The goal of the program," Geiger says, "is that if you're the 10th guy in this program, you've got to be able to step into that lineup and help us win, not just make the lineup, but help us win. The ACC allows us to run 10 guys at the conference meet, and after that it's seven at regionals and nationals. So this is all going to shake out towards the end, but the depth is great and the competition in practice is a good thing."
Depth is part of the formula for a successful cross country team. The top five runners score, and if one or more lags far behind the pack, it can kill the team's score. A team also needs multiple runners to penetrate the field and run at the front of the pack. Martinez, Hill and Campbell gave the Wolfpack that penetration last year at the ACC Championships, and Hill did so at the national race to earn All-America.
Someone will need join Hill and Campbell this year if NC State is to reach its team goals, which are to win the ACC championship, qualify for nationals out of regionals, and finish in the top 10. Colley, whose athletic ceiling is in the same neighborhood as Hill's, would appear to be a good candidate.
"It always starts with winning the conference championship," Geiger said. "Although we're a better squad this year, a number of ACC schools are better than they've been in the past. There's a real mix in there between Virginia and Duke, and Florida State has a good squad. This is the best depth we've ever seen in the ACC, so you're going to have to run well if you're going to win that championship. Having said that, for us, we do have some front-runners, and if our group can be close to our front-runners in the number of seconds back, we're pretty good."
Women Look To Return To National Stage
The NC State women's cross country team has arguably the greatest tradition of any athletics program at NC State. Two national championships, five individual national championships, 21 ACC championships, 23 All-Americans, including two four-time All-Americans and two three-time All-Americans.
The Wolfpack's last conference championship came in 2006, with All-Americans Julia Lucas and Bona Jones leading the way. The Pack followed that with a strong second-place finish in 2007, then wound up fielding teams in `08 and `09 that were dominated by talented but inexperienced youngsters.
While the competition in the ACC will be formidable in 2010, NC State should be dramatically improved. When looking at her team for the upcoming season, head coach Laurie Henes is relieved that she doesn't have to start by talking about the team's lack of experience.
"Last year, we still had so many untested kids," Henes said. "Some of them were sophomores, but they didn't have a lot of race experience. We have a lot of those kids back this year and I think that makes a big difference."
Junior Emily Pritt led the Wolfpack last season, earning All-ACC and All-America honors, including a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
"Emily had such a consistent season for us last year," Henes said. "She has such focus and mental toughness, and just a tremendous will to win. She's a tremendous competitor."
Pritt and fifth-year senior Kara McKenna will provide the veterain leadership for the Wolfpack. McKenna, who was a freshman on NC State's last women's championship team in 2006, was all-conference in the 3000-meter steeplechase with her third-place finish at the 2010 conference meet.
Behind those two are several runners who were thrown into the deep end of the pool as freshmen the last two years. As former Wolfpack basketball coach Jim Valvano often said, however, the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.
By the end of 2009, then-true-freshman Jordan Jenkins was NC State's No. 3 runner behind Pritt and departed senior Brittany Tinsley. Andie Cozzarelli has been a stalwart in the starting lineup the last two years. As a sophomore a year ago, she missed all-regional honors by six seconds at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Cozzarelli, now a junior, has started six of the Wolfpack's main seven races the last two years. She, McKenna and Jenkins have stood out for Henes in the preseason.
"They have some experience now," Henes said. "Andie ran well at ACCs, and she's at a totally different level this year. Kara's a veteran. She had a good track season and she's looked really good in the preseason. Jori [Jenkins] didn't have a track season and she's a little dinged up, so we'll see what we'll do the first couple of races. She had a good cross country season last year for a freshman and she's looked really good so far in the preseason."
Two more second-year performers, Erin Mercer and Lauren Doherty, also have caught Henes's eye. Mercer lined up in several races as a true freshman with mixed results. Doherty redshirted, but ran two races unattached. Both had solid seasons in track and field. Redshirt-sophomore Leah Vaughn and redshirt-freshmen Halsey Merritt and Allison Hofmann have shown marked improvement.
"Erin and Lauren aren't really surprises because they both had good track seasons, but I'm very pleased with where they are at this point in the season," Henes said. "We did some workouts last week where Erin and Lauren were comparing to where they were last year. The difference was comical. It was night and day. The team is much deeper than last year. I think we have a strong group of returning athletes."
In addition to her returnees, Henes has a strong incoming class of newcomers vying to crack the lineup. In particular Laura Hoer, Lillian Griebsland, Kaitlyn Davis and Kenyetta Iveybele have made an easy transition from high school to college levels of training.
"Laura Hoer, Lillian Griebsland and Kaitlyn Davis have adjusted really well and have no problems with the level of the runs and the workouts," Henes said. "Kenyetta has adjusted much better than I thought she would. She wasn't really a cross country athlete coming in. She has problems with the long tempos, but she's hung in there on the intervals really well. I think all four of them are going to be major contributors at some point, and a few of them will this season."
Henes will have several others with race experience at her disposal. Junior Tiayonna Blackmon started all three postseason races as a freshman two years ago and started the ACC meet in 2009. Redshirt-junior Marika Walker also started the final three races of the year in 2008, but has concentrated on track the last two years.
Then there is Jones, an All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year as a true freshman in 2006. Jones was the third freshman to cross the finish line at the NCAA Championships in `06. She raced as a sophomore in 2007 and earned all-regional honors, but poor health ultimately cost her all of the 2008 and `09 seasons. Finally healthy in 2010, she is back with the team, but still catching up after two years of inactivity.
"Bona's healthy, which is the big thing for her," Henes said. "She's coming along, but she still has a ways to go. It's just nice to have her out there."
The goals for the women are the same as for the men -- win the ACC, qualify for nationals out of regionals, and finish in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Those goals proved to be unrealistic for the Wolfpack the last two years, but shouldn't be in 2010.
Not that it will be easy. The conference is loaded, as always, with Florida State and Duke in the top 10, and Virginia right behind at No. 12. Unlike the recent past, however, NC State should be capable of challenging for the top spot in the conference.
"If you look at the national rankings, the ACC has three teams high in the rankings, and those are all legitimate," Henes said. "That's how good the ACC is. I think we're that good. On any given day anything can happen in that day's race. There are four or five really good teams in the ACC."
Only the top two teams from each regional qualify for the NCAA Championships, and the Southeast Region is stacked, making the second and third of those goals more difficult. That said, returning to nationals has become something of a rallying cry for NC State's women.
"This is a team that needs to get back to nationals," Henes said. "They understand the program's traditions and they embrace that. They really want to get back to nationals and finish really well. We have to go one step at a time and qualify first, but when you have this kind of depth and you can get some penetration at the front, you can do well at nationals. We have the depth. We need to get some people in that All-America range."
