North Carolina State University Athletics
Cross Country Set to Open Season at Wolfpack Challenge
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
RALEIGH, N.C.- The NC State cross country teams will kick off the 2014 season on Friday when they host the 21st annual Wolfpack Challenge at the WakeMed Cross Country Course in Cary, N.C. The men will run at 5:30 p.m. and the women at 6:00.
Geiger's Outlook
"They're working hard and I like what we see in practice. They're grouping well but its only September; we have a lot of work to do and it's going to be a gradual process to get to where we need to be by the ACC Championships."-Rollie Geiger, men's head coach
Henes' Perspective
"The women have been training for a really long time and are anxious to get the racing part of the season started. We're going to try to work on what we need to improve on from last year, which is better grouping. We had too big of a gap from one to two last year so were really working on closing that gap within our top five, and they're going to do some things on Friday to set that up to go forward for the rest of the season."-Laurie Henes, women's head coach
Previous Records
-Last year, the men came away victorious with 20 points while the women placed second with a total of 41 points. Combined, the Pack had 11 of their 14 runners finish in the top 15.
-Of the past four seasons, the men's squad has taken home first place every year while the women have earned first place honors twice out of the last four years.
Who to Watch
-Senior Joanna Thompson, a two-time All-American, three-time All-ACC selection and three-time All-NCAA Southeast Region pick, has finished in the top four of the last three Wolfpack Challenges.
-Last year Megan Moye, a returning All-NCAA Southeast Region selection, recorded her season-best finish at the Wolfpack Challenge.
-Sam Parsons, also a returning All-NCAA Southeast Region pick, opened his collegiate career last year with a fifth place individual finish at last year's meet.
-Graham Crawford, a two-time All-NCAA Southeast Region selection and a two-time All-ACC pick, grabbed a fourth place finish last year at the home meet.
Polls and Rankings
In the USTFCCCA Regional Preseason Rankings, the men have been selected as the preseason favorite and the women third in the Southeast Regional. In the Preseason National Rankings, both squads are listed in the top-30; the men are listed at 15th while the women are 27th.
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