North Carolina State University Athletics
Track
- Title:
- Director of Track & Field and Cross Country/Men's and Women's Track & Field Head Coach/Women's Cross Country Head Coach
- Email:
- lahenes@ncsu.edu
Laurie Henes concluded her 7th year at the helm of the NC State women's track & field program, second year coaching the men’s track & field program and her 30th year as a member of the NC State Track & Field staff in the 2024-25 season. In the winter of 2019, she was promoted from Associate Head Coach to Head Coach of the women's team. Henes began her coaching career as an Assistant Coach for the Pack, before changing roles in the fall of 2016.
In the summer of 2023, after an impressive 2022 season, it was announced that Henes would take over as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country and Head Men’s & Women’s Track & Field Coach, while continuing to serve as the women’s cross country coach.
An NC State graduate, Henes was an NCAA champion, a six-time All-American and a three-time All-ACC performer in track & field. Since joining the Wolfpack coaching staff in 1992, Henes has guided NC State's female distance runners to 37 All-America certificates and 30 ACC titles on the track.
During the 2024-25 season, Henes further solidified her reputation as one of the nation’s top distance coaches, continuing to develop standout athletes across both the women’s and men’s programs.
Grace Hartman, with the guidance of Henes, won the ACC Outdoor title in the 5000m, earning All-ACC Performer accolades. She capped her season earning First Team All-America honors in both the 5000m and 10,000m. Angelina Napoleon helped add to Henes’ success with a record-breaking performance in the 3000m steeplechase to win the ACC title, before placing third at the NCAA Championships to secure All-America honors.
On the men’s side, Brett Gardner emerged as a top performer winning the ACC title in the 3000m steeplechase and qualifying for the NCAA Championships after placing third at the NCAA East Regional. His 16th-place finish at NCAAs earned him second-team USTFCCCA All-America honors.
Patrick Tuohy also made waves with the help of Henes, earning second-team All-ACC recognition for this sixth-place finish in the 800m. He clocked a personal best to finish 11th at the NCAA East Regional, qualifying for nationals and becoming the fastest 800m runner in NC State history.
Henes’ distance crew shined at the 2024 Outdoor Championships, where Hartman, Sam Bush and Amaris Tyynismaa all advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in their respective events. The program’s academic success parallels its athletic performance, with 23 athletes earning All-ACC Academic honors, including Hartman, who was named Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year.
During the indoor season, Bush and Hartman continued to lead with the help of Henes. The duo finished first and second in the 5000m at the ACC Championships and were key members of the distance medley relay team alongside Angelina Napoleon and Kate Putman.
Both Hartman and Bush competed in the 5000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Henes helped Gardner remain a force in the men’s program with him earning First Team All-ACC honors with a third-place finish in the steeplechase and going on to place 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The 2023 season marked Henes’ first year as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s track & field programs. Her leadership paid off immediately.
At the 2023 ACC Outdoor Championships, Tyynismma and Katelyn Tuohy each claimed individual titles, Tyynismma in the 5000m and Tuohy in the 10,000m. Both were named All-ACC Performers. Tyynisma and Kelsey Chmiel went on to represent the Wolfpack at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5000m.
Henes also oversaw growing success on the men’s side, having three complete and the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Ten male athletes earned All-ACC Academic honors across both seasons.
The 2022-23 women’s indoor season was another highlight under Henes’ guidance. The Wolfpack secured ACC titles in the distance medley relay, 5000m, 3000m and mile. Seven athletes qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Katelyn Tuohy led the way, winning national titles in both the 3000m and 5000m.
Tuohy’s dominance throughout the season earned her a collection of honors, including ACC Indoor Track Performer of the Year, USTFCCA Southeast Region Indoor Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, USTFCCA NCAA Division I Women’s Indoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year and ACC Outdoor Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Henes guided NC State to its best team finish since 2002 with a 17th-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She coached sophomore Katelyn Tuohy to her first career NCAA individual title (5000m) and saw six members of the Pack attain All-America honors at the outdoor national meet.
At the 2022 ACC Outdoor Championships, Tuohy and Sam Bush each won individual titles under the leadership of Henes. Tuohy won the 1500m championship while Bush claimed victory in the 5000m race. As a team, the Wolfpack women collected 10 All-ACC honors in 2022.
The Pack women's squad saw similar success in its 2021-22 indoor track & field season with 14 All-ACC honors and seven All-America accolades. Tuohy became the first athlete, man or woman, from the NC State track & field programs to place higher than third at the NCAA Indoor Championships when she finished second in both the 3000m and 5000m.
In the 2020-21 season, Henes had eight women recognized as members of the All-ACC Academic team for their outstanding academic as well as athletic achievements. The Wolfpack women had four athletes compete in the NCAA Championships for a title in each of their respective events.
Henes was able to watch her daughter, Elly, compete and win the 5000m final to win her first career national title in 2022. Elly Henes' was the sixth women's outdoor 5000m title in program history, and the first since Henes herself won it in 1991. Elly Henes was named ACC Outdoor Track Performer of the Year as well as Indoor Track Performer of the Year, making her the first athlete from NC State to attain both honors in a single season.
Coach Henes guided Elly Henes to the 2018 ACC title and All-America honors in the outdoor 5,000m, the 2018 ACC Indoor Championship title in the 3,000m, a First Team All-America certificate in the 5,000m, and ACC Women's Track Performer of the Year honors.
She led the trio of Erika Kemp, Rachel Koon and Megan Moye to seven individual All-America accolades from 2015-17. Kemp, a four-time All-American in track & field, most notably earned First Team honors at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships after placing fifth in the women’s 5,000m.
Koon notched her first All-America honors as a redshirt sophomore, placing 15th in the women’s 3,000m at the 2017 Indoor National Championships. Moye, who owns the school record in the women’s indoor mile, claimed back-to-back Second Team All-America nods in that event from 2016-17.
Henes once again proved her ability to train, coach and unveil some of the top women's distance runners in the country in 2013 when Joanna Thompson became the third All-American in as many years in the women's 10,000m under her tutelage.
Henes guided Andie Cozzarelli to second-team All-American honors in the 10,000m in 2011 and 2012 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Cozzarelli also earned All-ACC honors in the outdoor 10,000mfor the third straight season at the 2013 ACC Outdoor Championships.
In all, Henes produced three dual-NCAA Regional qualifiers for the 2013 outdoor season in Cozzarelli (5,000m and 10,000m), Thompson (5,000m and 10,000m) and Erin Mercer (5,000m and steeplechase), while also guiding Samantha Norman to a qualification in the steeplechase.
In the 2014 season, Henes coached Thompson (5,000m and 10,000m), Norman and Mercer (steeplechase) to their second NCAA East Regional, and freshman Erika Kemp to her first regional in the 5,000m.
Before helping freshman Kenyetta Iyevbele to first-team All-America honors in the 800 meters and both the U.S. and Pan Am Junior Championships in 2011, Henes was also instrumental in coaching Julia Lucas to back-to-back ACC championships in the outdoor 5,000m in 2006 and 2007. She also coached Angelina Blackmon to the ACC crown in the 800m at the 2008 indoor meet.
Henes’ top pupil, Kristin Price, was a 10-time All-American (twice in cross country) and six-time ACC champion, including the NCAA championship in 2002 in the 10,000m.
Henes also serves as head coach for the NC State women’s cross country program, a role she has held since 2006. A two-time ACC Coach of the Year, she guided the Wolfpack to ACC Championship titles in 2006, 2016, and 2017. Henes also earned NCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors after the Pack claimed regional titles in 2007, 2016, and 2017.
During her illustrious collegiate career, the former Laurie Gomez earned eight All-America citations in track (six) and cross country (twice). She was All-ACC in each of her four years, earning the honor four times in cross country and three times in track.
Henes was one of the nation's top female distance runners, and represented the U.S. at the World Track & Field Championships in Sweden in 1995 after placing second in the 10,000m at the USATF National Championships.
A finalist at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000m, Henes missed a spot on the United States Olympic team by just two places.
In addition to her athletic success, Henes was awarded the ACC's Marie James Scholarship and a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She won the H.C. Kennett Award as NC State's outstanding female athlete for the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, the only female athlete ever to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
Henes earned a B.A. degree in history from NC State in 1992. She has also completed the coursework for a master's degree in sports management while serving as an assistant coach.
Laurie is married to Bob Henes, a former Wolfpack All-American in cross country and track. They have two daughters, Elly and Jordan. Elly was a member of the Wolfpack’s cross country and track & field teams from 2016-2019.
