#PackXC Opens With Adidas XC Challenge Friday

9/13/2017 12:34:00 PM | Cross Country

@PackXC Live Results

The Wolfpack hosts its only home meet of the season Friday, Sept. 15 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Wolfpack men's and women's cross country programs will open the season this week as NC State hosts the adidas XC Challenge. The Pack's lone home meet of the season is set for Friday, Sept. 15 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

MEET SCHEDULE:

The adidas XC Challenge will be split into 'Red' (non-Division I/club) and 'White' (Division I) races, scored in dual meet format. The competition schedule is as follows:

5:00 p.m. - Men's Red 5K (Non-DI/Club)
5:35 p.m. - Women's Red 5K (Non-DI/Club)
6:10 p.m. - Men's White 6K (DI)
6:35 p.m. - Women's White 5K (DI)

MEET INFORMATION:

WakeMed Soccer Park Cross Country Course
201 Soccer Park Dr
Cary, NC 27511

Parking & Admission: FREE

Live Results
6K Course Map
5K Course Map
Adidas XC Challenge Website

WHO'S RACING?

The NC State men will have eight athletes competing in uniform, highlighted by 2016 All-ACC performers Ben Barrett and Patrick Sheehan. Redshirt-freshmen Tim Bason, Joe Bistritz and Edwin Rutto will make their Wolfpack debuts in uniform after racing unattached throughout the 2016 season.

Other entries for the Pack include Tanis Baldwin, Elijah Moskowitz and Alec Thomas. Four members of the men's roster will be racing unattached to preserve redshirt seasons, namely Philip Hall, Gavin Gaynor, Noah Graham and Ian Shanklin.

@theaestheticsofpatricksheehan & @baynn discuss what it means to open the season at home. The @adidas XC Challenge is just one week away! ????

A post shared by NC State T&F/XC (@wolfpack_tf_xc) on Sep 8, 2017 at 10:15am PDT

On the women's side, All-ACC returners Ryen Frazier, Elly Henes and Alyssa Rudawsky look to lead the Pack at the home meet. Frazier won the 2015 edition of the event, setting the women's 5K course record with a time of 16:06.5.

Redshirt-seniors Bethany Neeley and Tiana Patillo will make their Wolfpack cross country in-uniform debuts, while redshirt-freshman Dominique Clairmonte will also make her first attached appearance for NC State.

Other returners set to compete are Rachel Bartolomeo, Bianca Bishop, Gianna Frontera, Rebekah Greengrass and Beth Taye. The freshman trio of Janay Hall, Julia Zachgo and Isabel Zimmermann will compete unattached in their first collegiate cross country race.

@ryenmfrazier, @_ellyphant_, @alyssa_rudawsky & @rkoondog talk preseason training and opening the season in Raleigh! • • Our home meet is just a week away! #GoPack ??

A post shared by NC State T&F/XC (@wolfpack_tf_xc) on Sep 8, 2017 at 10:10am PDT

THE COMPETITION:

For the 'White' races, the adidas XC Challenge will host 277 athletes from 15 Division I programs. The Wolfpack will square off against fellow ACC schools Duke and Wake Forest in the women's 5K, while NC State and Michigan will be the two Power 5 programs represented in the men's 6K.

Other teams competing in the Division I races include Charleston Southern, Davidson, ECU, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Mercer, North Carolina A&T, NC Central, Richmond, UNC Greensboro and VCU.

#PACKXC IN THE POLLS:

Both Wolfpack teams made appearances in the national rankings in the most recent USTFCCCA poll (released Sept. 12). The NC State women were selected as the No. 6 team in the country, while the men were ranked 29^th. In the ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the women's team was chosen to repeat as conference champions in a vote of the league's head coaches. On the men's side, the Wolfpack was selected third in the conference.

Coming off a fourth-place NCAA finish in 2016, the Pack women have garnered national rankings from several publications, including DyeStat/RunnerSpace (No. 8), FloTrack (No. 11) and LetsRun.com (No. 6).

UP NEXT:

Following the home meet, the Pack will head to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. That meet is set for a 2 p.m. start on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Notre Dame Golf Course.

For the most up-to-date information on NC State cross country, follow @PackXC on Twitter.