NC State Athletics Celebrates Successes with 2020 Virtual Wolfies

RALEIGH – The NC State Athletic Department gathered virtually on Wednesday evening to host the 2020 Wolfie Awards. The annual event showcases the best of Wolfpack Athletics over the last calendar year. Director of Content Strategy Jeff Gravley and volleyball student-athlete Melissa Evans served as co-hosts for the evening.

Coleman Stewart (swimming) and Elly Henes (cross country/track & field) were honored with the H.C. Kennett Award, which is the highest athletic award at NC State that is given annually to the superior athletes who demonstrate the finest attributes of all-around leadership, good sportsmanship and good character.

Coleman garnered the honors after being named ACC Men's Swimmer of the Year for the second season in a row. He swept the backstroke titles at the ACC Championship, becoming just the 11th men's swimmer in the conference to be a three-time champion in a pair of events (100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke). Coleman finished his season with the nation's fastest 100-yard backstroke time.

Elly was honored after being named ACC Cross Country Performer and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2019. She won the individual titles at the ACC Championship and the NCAA Southeast Regional and concluded her senior campaign with All-America honors for the third season in a row. She will return to NC State for her final season of track eligibility in 2020-21.

The 2020 winners for the Wolfpack's yearly awards are as follows:

Kay Yow Award
Presented by the Wolfpack Club to a female student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding academic achievement, athletic achievement, community service and a true spirit of teamwork.

Tziarra King, Women's Soccer: A success on and off the field, Tziarra spent over 100 hours doing community service. She also set many program firsts, including becoming the team's first-ever ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient as well as the first player in program history to be selected in the NWSL Draft.

Rookie of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's freshman who has had a significant impact on their teams' competitiveness.

Jakob Camacho, Wrestling: In his rookie campaign, Jakob won the 2020 ACC title at 125 pounds, defeating a returning NCAA finalist 11-4 in the finals. He was named the 2020 ACC Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler and earned NWCA Second Team All-America status after the season.
Jakia Brown-Turner, Women's Basketball: Jakia was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team after starting 31 games and averaging 9.4 points. She ended her rookie campaign ranked in the top 15 of the NC State freshman records in four categories.

Comeback Player of the Year
Awarded to a student-athlete who has overcome injuries or illness to be a productive member of their team.

Manny Bates, Men's Basketball: Manny dealt with back-to-back shoulder injuries, which robbed him of his senior year of high school and true freshman season of collegiate competition. Despite going nearly 1,000 days between games, he did not miss a beat in 2019-20. It took him just 15 games to break NC State's single-season freshman record for blocks, and he ended the year leading the conference in the category.

Todd Dunston Community Spirit Award
Awarded to a team that serves the community through volunteering and/or charitable fundraising efforts.

Men's Soccer: The men's soccer team volunteered at many different events throughout the academic year, with much of its community involvement including 100% team participation. The Pack hosted a Set the Expectation Game this past fall and has also adopted a child through Team Impact and a family for Thanksgiving.

Heart of the Pack Award
A men's and women's winner picked from a group of 21 student-athletes who were honored throughout the 2019-20 year for exemplifying the following criteria:
Teammate: exhibiting selfless sacrifice to benefit the team
Effort: consistently displaying a strong worth ethic
Attitude: demonstrating a positive and can-do attitude
Mindfulness: being aware of how you impact those around you and your environment

Vinnie Durand, Men's Soccer: After an injury to the Pack's starting goalkeeper in the first game of the season, Vinnie jumped right into the net and did not miss a beat. He started every remaining minute of the season, recorded six shutouts and helped the team qualify for the NCAA Championship for the third-straight season. Vinnie was also instrumental in organizing NC State's Set the Expectation campaign against sexual assault in the fall.
Kia Rankin, Women's Soccer: Kia started every match during her senior season as a defender, a position that she was unfamiliar with. It was a role that needed to be filled for the year, and she embraced it, helping the Wolfpack reach its third NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years. In the classroom, Kia was named to the 2019 Honor Roll and All-ACC Academic Teams. She also served as vice president of SAAC in 2019-20.

ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's student-athlete who is a letterwinner in an ACC-sponsored sport, has a top-five GPA and is in his/her last year of eligibility.

Eli Moskowitz, Track & Field: Eli is a fifth-year senior from Amherst, N.H. He majored in biomanufacturing and was a recipient of the 2020 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship. During his NC State career, Eli was a two-time All-ACC performer in track & field and cross country and was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2017.
Tziarra King, Women's Soccer: Tziarra is a senior from Sicklerville, N.J. She majored in nutrition science and earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Tziarra capped off her senior campaign by being named to the All-ACC Team for the fourth time and was the first NC State women's player in 24 years to earn All-America honors.

Individual Performance of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's student-athlete who had an outstanding performance in a competition.

Coleman Stewart at ACC Championships, Men's Swimming: Coleman won titles in four events at the 2020 ACC Championship meet, which included sweeping the backstroke titles for the third season in a row. He was named ACC Meet MVP for his performance as the meet's highest scorer.
Elly Henes at ACC Championship, Women's Cross Country: Elly won the individual cross country title in 2019, beating out the next-fastest runner by over 11 seconds. It was the first individual title for the Pack since 2010 and helped secure the team's fourth-straight conference team title.

Team Performance of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's team who had an outstanding performance in a competition.

Men's Tennis Defeats No. 4 Texas: The men's tennis team tabbed its highest ranked win since 1999 with a victory over the fourth-ranked Longhorns. The Wolfpack won the doubles point and went on to clinch the match with team score-tying performances by its freshmen and senior Alexis Galarneau's defeat of a player ranked second nationally.
Women's Basketball Wins ACC Tournament: The women's basketball team defeated Florida State,71-66, to win the ACC Tournament. The team was down by five with 3:45 left in the game and scored 13 of the last 16 points. Three players scored in double figures and senior Ace Konig was named ACC Tournament MVP.

Head Coach of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's head coach who led their team to success during the season.

Pat Popolizio, Wrestling: The 2020 ACC Coach of the Year, Popolizio led the Wolfpack to its second-straight ACC Championship title and its third-straight ACC regular-season dual title. During the season, the Wolfpack set a new Reynolds Coliseum attendance record with over 4,000 fans attending the match against UNC and NC State ranked in the top 15 nationally in average attendance.
Wes Moore, Women's Basketball: A semifinalist for National Coach of the Year, Moore led his squad to a 20-win season for the fifth year in a row, capped off with a victory at the ACC Tournament. The team won 28 games, a program-record 14 conference games and finished ranked No. 8 in the AP poll.

Team of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's team that had an outstanding season.

Wrestling: The Wolfpack wrestling team won both the ACC Championship and the ACC dual title for the second-straight season. The Pack recorded its first-ever undefeated dual season (15-0) and ended the year ranked No. 3 nationally in the final NWCA Coaches Poll.
Women's Basketball: The women's basketball team capped off an incredible campaign by winning the ACC Tournament title for the first time since 1991. The team compiled a 28-4 record and secured a national top-10 finish for the second season in a row.

Chancellor's Cup
Awarded to a men's and women's team with the highest cumulative GPA in the previous spring and fall semesters.

Men's Swimming & Diving: 3.331 cumulative GPA
Women's Swimming & Diving: 3.583 cumulative GPA

Pride of the Pack Award
In its inaugural year, this award reflects the values of Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan. The recipients of the honor showed commitment to the four guiding tenets of trust, accountability, passion and empathy. The student-athletes who receive this award not only embody these principles themselves but commit to upholding these core values for their teammates and other student-athletes to follow.

Hayden Hidlay, Wrestling: After winning his third-straight ACC title, Hayden was named both the 2020 ACC Wrestler of the Year and the 2020 ACC Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year. With a 3.456 GPA, he was honored as an NWCA Academic All-American for the third season in a row. Hayden will earn his undergraduate degree in business administration this spring.
Drew Grantham, Gymnastics: At the conclusion of the 2020 season, Drew led the team in All-EAGL honors with four First Team accolades. She was named EAGL Senior Gymnast of the Year after a stellar campaign during which she led the team on floor in nine meets. Drew was named to the All-EAGL Scholastic Team all four years and served as SAAC President during the 2019-20 school year. She will earn her undergraduate degree in communications this spring.

In addition to the yearly awards, each head coach selected a team MVP to be honored for their contributions to their squad's successes over the last year.

Visit Wolfies2020.com to watch a replay of the event.

#GoPack | @PackAthletics

North Carolina State University Athletics

NC State Athletics Celebrates Successes with 2020 Virtual Wolfies

Related News

Related Videos