
Fekel, Tolentino, Helms Named August Heart of the Pack Winners
9/10/2025 10:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics, Men's Soccer, Softball, Swimming
RALEIGH, N.C. – Kayla Fekel (softball), Caden Tolentino (men's soccer), and Katherine Helms (women's swimming) have been named the August 2025 winners of the Heart of the Pack award, as announced by the NC State Department of Athletics on Wednesday.
About the Heart of the Pack Award
The Heart of the Pack award recognizes those student- athletes who consistently demonstrate the TEAM criteria:
Teammate: exhibiting selfless sacrifice that benefits the team
Effort: showing up daily with determination and grit
Attitude: demonstrating a consistently positive attitude
Mindful: being insightful and open-minded
Student-athletes in every sport will be evaluated and nominated on a monthly basis. The voting will be made by Pack Performance, an interdisciplinary team that work collaboratively in the commitment toward the holistic development of student-athletes.
The team consists of professionals from strength and conditioning, academics, sports medicine, mental health and performance psychology, sports nutrition and student-athlete engagement and leadership.
The award is sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America. Modern Woodmen, a fraternal financial services organization offering life insurance protection for more than 140 years, was founded in 1883 to clear financial burdens – not trees. As a fraternal financial services organization, Modern Woodmen's products and programs support financial security, quality family life and community impact – the common bonds that unite our members nationwide.
#GoPack | @PackAthletics
About the Heart of the Pack Award
The Heart of the Pack award recognizes those student- athletes who consistently demonstrate the TEAM criteria:
Teammate: exhibiting selfless sacrifice that benefits the team
Effort: showing up daily with determination and grit
Attitude: demonstrating a consistently positive attitude
Mindful: being insightful and open-minded
Student-athletes in every sport will be evaluated and nominated on a monthly basis. The voting will be made by Pack Performance, an interdisciplinary team that work collaboratively in the commitment toward the holistic development of student-athletes.
The team consists of professionals from strength and conditioning, academics, sports medicine, mental health and performance psychology, sports nutrition and student-athlete engagement and leadership.
The award is sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America. Modern Woodmen, a fraternal financial services organization offering life insurance protection for more than 140 years, was founded in 1883 to clear financial burdens – not trees. As a fraternal financial services organization, Modern Woodmen's products and programs support financial security, quality family life and community impact – the common bonds that unite our members nationwide.
#GoPack | @PackAthletics
Players Mentioned
#BehindThe20 with former Pack Stars Abbie Sims and Renada Davis
Wednesday, April 24
Softball: Players Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
Softball: Coach Leftwich Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
EmpowHER with Aisha Weixlmann #Shorts #NCState #GoPack
Monday, October 16