Photo by: Cheryl Treworgy

Women's XC Looks to Raise Bar Even Higher in 2017

9/11/2017 10:00:00 AM | Cross Country

@PackXC 2017 Schedule

The Pack returns a deep group of veterans from last year's ACC Championship squad. Get up to speed with the 2017 women's cross country season preview.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Coming off an ACC Championship title and a fourth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA National Championships, the NC State women's cross country program is looking to raise the bar even higher in 2017. The Wolfpack returns a deep group of upperclassmen from last year's squad, as well as a talented collection of freshmen and sophomores that are ready to make their mark this season.

QUICK RECAP OF LAST SEASON

The NC State women's cross country program continued its tradition of excellence in 2016, claiming ACC and NCAA Southeast Region titles and placing fourth overall at the NCAA National Championships.

The ACC Championship title was the 21^st in program history and the first for the NC State women since 2006. The Wolfpack landed six athletes on the All-ACC team, highlighted by Rachel Koon who placed fourth individually. Following the season, head coach Laurie Henes was named ACC Coach of the Year.

At the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, the Pack posted a dominant team performance as all five scorers earned All-Region honors. Redshirt-senior Erika Kemp was NC State's top performer as she finished second individually. Coach Henes received the Rollie Geiger Award (NCAA Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year) following NC State's standout performance.

The Wolfpack's historic postseason continued at the NCAA National Championships, where NC State placed fourth overall for the program's highest finish since 2001. Kemp and Koon placed 17^th and 25^th, respectively, to claim individual All-America honors. It was first time the Pack had multiple All-Americans since 2006.

2017 SCHEDULE

The Pack opens the 2017 campaign with its lone home event of the season, the adidas XC Challenge. The meet is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

Following the home meet, both cross country squads will travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Sept. 29. Two weeks later, the teams will go separate ways as NC State will be represented at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the Wake Forest Invitational and the ECU Pirate Invitational on Friday, Oct. 13.

The 2017 ACC Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Louisville at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park on Friday, Oct. 27. Following the conference meet, the Pack will travel to Charlottesville, Va. for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 10.

The 2017 NCAA Cross Country National Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky. The Wolfpack women have reached the national meet 30 times, more than any other Division I program.

A detailed breakdown of the schedule can be viewed here.

THE HYPE IS REAL

The Wolfpack women have made appearances in several preseason polls heading into the 2017 cross country campaign. Nationally, NC State was ranked 6^th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Poll and 11^th in the FloTrack FloXC Countdown. Additionally, the Pack was chosen by the USTFCCCA to repeat as Southeast Regional Champions and also landed the top spot on the ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Coming off the program's second-highest national finish in history, head coach Laurie Henes wants to make sure her team handles that success with composure in 2017.

"I think the conference will be a lot stronger, I think the region will be a lot stronger, and there are always teams ready to go at Nationals," Henes said in an interview with GoPack.com. "We just have to be patient throughout the season."

"I want to be able to group a little bit better than we did last year. We were deep, but had a little too much of a gap at times from one to five, six or seven. We'd like to have that spread be a little bit tighter this year. We'll be trying to work on that in the early season workouts and races."

Rachel Koon, a redshirt-junior for the Wolfpack, and Alyssa Rudawsky, a redshirt-senior, have high aspirations for the team this upcoming season.

"Repeating as ACC Champs would be an awesome ending to my career here," Rudawsky said. "If we're Regional Champs again, that would be great, and then hopefully podium [at Nationals], maybe higher than last year. That's always the goal. Fourth [place] was amazing, but we have more in us."

"A lot of the underclassmen made big jumps during track season, and I think that'll carry over well for cross country," Koon added. "I think that we have a really good shot at podium, if not better."

As for personal goals, Koon and Rudawsky both made it clear that individual accolades (i.e. All-ACC, All-America) are worth celebrating, but the team's overall success is what really matters.

"Individual goals are very important, but I actually love the team goals," Rudawsky said. "Winning an ACC title with my whole team is so much more satisfying than an individual title. Individually, I would love to be an All-American, but I'm really focusing more on that team trophy that we can bring home."

"Definitely have a team focus as well," added Koon. "At Nationals, I was 25^th last year, so I'd love to improve upon that. Obviously, the higher up I am, the less points I'll score for the team. ACC's, I like to perform well there. Hopefully where I was last year at least, if not a little bit better. Those are both going to help us do better as a team. It means a lot more when the team does well."

"It's so much more satisfying to have all of your Wolfpack girls next to you," Rudawsky said. "It's so hard to put into words how awesome [it was], holding the ACC Trophy, the Regional plaque and that NCAA Trophy."

WHO'S BACK

NC State returns five All-ACC performers, four All-Region honorees and one All-American from last year's squad. Redshirt-junior Rachel Koon will lead a deep group of Wolfpack veterans, including 2016 all-conference performers Wesley Frazier, Alyssa Rudawsky, Elly Henes and Ryen Frazier.

Losing the senior trio of Erika Kemp, Megan Moye and Kaitlyn Kramer will undoubtedly have an impact on the program, but this team has a group of upperclassmen that are ready to take on that leadership role in 2017.

"Most of our returners have been training together for a year as a training group," Henes said. "They do pretty much everything together, so I think that will translate to them being really supportive of each other and good leaders. With seven freshmen on the roster, we expect all of the upperclassmen to be good leaders and help [the newcomers] understand what the program is about."

The team's depth goes beyond last year's all-conference/all-region performers. Coach Henes identified sophomore Beth Taye and redshirt-freshman Dominique Clairmonte as two individuals that are poised for a breakout cross country season.

"Beth Taye … I think that she learned a lot," Henes said. "It's almost like her freshman year again. She was top-30 at ACC's [last year]. Coming off of where she was in high school, that was a big jump. I think she'll be able to make another jump this year.

"We redshirted Dominique Clairmonte last year. I think she'll be ready to make an impact as well."

Other returners for the Wolfpack include two seniors (Bianca Bishop, Bethany Neeley), four redshirt-juniors (Rachel Bartolomeo, Mary Grace Doggett, Gianna Frontera, Megan Rempel), two redshirt-sophomores (Rebekah Greengrass, Megan Vaughn) and one redshirt-freshman (Anna Vess).

WHO'S NEW

The NC State women's cross country roster features seven true freshmen, namely Izzy Carron, Janay Hall, Casey Kendall, Taylor McClay, Annie Pierce, Julia Zachgo and Isabel Zimmermann.

Typically, a cross country athlete's first collegiate season is spent adjusting from the high school level of competition. Many true freshmen will spend their first year conditioning, training and occasionally racing unattached to become acclimated to collegiate cross country.

"We don't like to place a ton of pressure on the freshmen, because it can be a tough transition," Rudawsky said. "You just never know. We can't rely on younger girls to carry the team."

Koon added, "Even if there's not one freshman that stands out specifically, they always bring a great, new energy to the team that helps hype everybody else up."

UP NEXT

The Wolfpack opens the 2017 campaign at home as NC State hosts the adidas XC Challenge. The meet will take place on Friday, Sept. 15 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. For the most up-to-date information on NC State cross country, follow @PackXC on Twitter.