Quietly we're only 2 months from NC state opening their season on Sep 15th at the Adidas XC Challenge (like every year). The rest of the schedule isn't announced yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same as last year:

Adidas Challenge - Joe Piane - Nuttycombe - ACC - Regionals - Nationals

UVA is holding the pre-nationals meet this year since their course is hosting the NCAA championships and they already announced the field for that and NC State is not in it. Its the same weekend as Joe Piane so im assuming we're running that again but that field may be a bit weaker this year. Nuttycombe should be the real test for the team to see where they are at against the other top teams before we get into the postseason.

NC State returns 5 of its top 7 from last season (per Gopack roster) plus adds in Amaris Tyynismaa who will slot into the top 5 easily.

Returners and their finish last year at Nationals:
Katelyn Tuohy (1st)
Kelsey Chmiel (3rd)
Amaris Tyynismaa (9th) (competing for Alabama)
Samantha Bush (15th)
Brooke Rauber (90th)
Gionna Quarzo (122nd)

Key Losses:
Nevada Mareno, Sydney Seymour, Marlee Starliper, Savannah Shaw

The people that i expect to threaten for varsity/travel spots this year are:

Katelyn Tuohy - No introduction necessary. Defending champion and only blemish on her record is the bad day at NCAA's in outdoor season, but she came back well with a 7th place at the US Trials. Due to that US race and her long season I wouldn't expect to see her until Nuttycombe at the very earliest, if not ACC's. She led NC State's team in every race last year, going 5/5 on wins and not being truly tested until NCAA's. Will be title favorite once again.

Kelsey Chmiel - Also no introduction really necessary. 4x XC All-American and has improved her finishing position every season (22nd-9th-6th-3rd last year). Her consistency on the grass is remarkable and she is someone we can count on to show up at Nationals and score very low for the team. Opened her season at Nuttycombe last year and finished 2nd in her first 3 races before taking 3rd at nationals. Unless someone is a Tuohy level talent its hard to consider them a lock for the top 5 given how stacked covid years have made these fields but Chmiel is as close as it gets and i would feel comfortable considering her a top 10 lock.

Amaris Tyynismaa - Similar to Chmiel she is remarkably consistent on the grass having placed in the top 10 at nationals twice including her 9th place finish last fall. She was part of a very strong front 4 for Alabama that got them a 3rd place podium finish last year. During track she ran a PB in the 3k indoors that would have qualified her for nationals if she didn't decide to transfer at the end of the fall semester to NC State and lose her eligibility for that season. She went on to run a mile PB competing unattached indoors then ran a new 5k pb during the outdoor season before finishing 4th in the 5k at nationals outdoors. Should be a safe bet to be a part of another strong top 4 next season all finishing highly as All-Americans.

Samantha Bush - She has made herself into such a good runner on the grass and always finishes her last 1k amongst the fastest in the field. She has been All-American each of the last 2 years finishing 32nd and then 15th last year. She was top 15 at every race she entered last season, and was top 5 in every race that wasn't absolutely stacked with talent (15th at both Nuttycombe and Nationals). Will be part of a strong top 4 low sticks that will keep the Pack in contention if not heavy favorites at every meet the enter.

Brooke Rauber - Consistency hasn't been her strong point since joining the team due to some unfortunately timed injuries, but she showed immense progress last fall on the grass and was running well in track before getting injured this spring. She has loads of potential its just whether she can stay healthy and training for long enough stretches to realize it. She was part of the travel squad for every race last year but wasn't part of the top 7 at either of the first two big meets they went to (Joe Piane and Nuttycombe) but then made a big jump and started covering well for any runners having tough days starting at ACC's where she was 4th on the team and helped NC State hold onto a close win. She followed that up with two more strong performances finishing 6th on the team at Regionals and then 5th on the team again at Nationals helping the team win a 2nd straight title. Her consistency and health will be a noteworthy thing to keep an eye on this fall.

Gionna Quarzo - The final returner of last years top 7 at nationals. She turned herself into a consistent top 7 presence last fall and even showed the ability to plug some scoring gaps when needed by finishing 5th on the team at ACC's. Set a new PB in both the 5k and 10k this outdoors season. Should be a regular presence in and around the top 7 once again this fall.

Abby Loveys - Transfer in from Princeton. She has never run at XC Nationals but she really leveled up her performances all 3 seasons last fall. She finished 34th at Nuttycombe last year which was ahead of Mareno, Quarzo, Howlett and Rauber, and then finished 3rd at her regional meet which was ahead of a handful of women who were in the top 60 at nationals. the potential is there to be a really strong additiona to this team.

Mariah Howlett - Started off strongly last season finishing 6th on the team at Joe Piane and Nuttycombe before slipping to 8th at ACC's and not being in the top 7 at regionals and nationals. Had a strong outdoors season where she qualified for nationals in the 10k. She has experience having run at XC Nationals twice in the past for NC State and will hope to get back into the top 7 this year.

Grace Hartman - Redshirted last XC season before having very strong indoor and outdoor campaigns setting very strong PB's as a freshman and becoming an all-american in the DMR indoors.

That is probably it for athletes i'd expect to compete for top 7 barring injuries or surprises. Alyssa Hendrix and Shannon Sefton are the next closest as both were in the travel squad a few times last year and were 9th and 10th on the team respectively at ACC's last year. Given our really strong depth i would be surprised if any of the freshman ran XC this fall. I think they'll follow the route Grace Hartman did last year and redshirt the fall hoping to set themselves up for strong track seasons.

As far as the team race is concerned, the situation looks wildly different than it did at the end of the XC season last year. The 2nd and 3rd place teams (New Mexico and Alabama) have been decimated by transfers and shouldn't be competitive at all next season. Instead I expect it to be Florida and Colorado competiting with NC State for the title.

Florida returns the only person competitive with Tuohy last year in Parker Valby, and is getting in 3 top end transfers in Flomena Asekol from Alabama, and Amelia Mazza-Downie and Elise Thorner from New Mexico. Their 5th is an unknown and they will need someone to really emerge there to feel better about their chances, but heading into the season with a top 4 that was 2nd, 14th, 22nd and 40th last season is a really good start. Colorado on the other hand is coming in with a similarly reloaded lineup as Florida. They got transfers from Freshman superstar Natalie Cook from Oklahoma St (7th last year), Samree Dishon from New Mexico (37th), as well as our own Marlee Starliper (injured but we all know her potential. Add in their own returners in Ella Baran (5th last year), Ella Baran (30th) and Emily Covert (105th, but was injured during the season and has been an all-american in the past). That gives them a tremendously talented group at the top that can really challenge NC State if they can remain healthy, however several of those athletes i listed have had a career full of injuries (Starliper, Covert and Cook) so their big battle will be getting to the starting line healthy in november.

NAU and Notre Dame have also benefitted from the transfer portal and should be big podium threats, and BYU, UNC and Oklahoma St should also be competitive.

Pretty nuts for Florida to go from not qualifying to podium contender in one year.

toddl said:

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Pretty nuts for Florida to go from not qualifying to podium contender in one year.

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Agreed. I understand the transfer portal but with how many scholly's I assume they use for the sprints/jumps/throws I'm shocked how they can add 3 premier distance transfers unless nil is heavily involved.

The one thing I wonder is if team expectations will affect how Valby runs with the team pressure of not being able to risk blowing up.

Is there any chance our highly rated incoming freshman steeplechase winner in Oregon (can't recall her name) cracks the top 7? Is she running CC this fall?

T-Buck said:

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Is there any chance our highly rated incoming freshman steeplechase winner in Oregon (can't recall her name) cracks the top 7? Is she running CC this fall?

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There's always a chance with someone with her talent level. But given how many top level runners we have we dont need her as a scorer, so i would imagine we go into the season planning to redshirt all the freshman, maybe let them run unattached at one of the bigger meets in a B race. If injuries happen and we're struggling to put together a competitive back of the lineup then we can re-review and maybe burn the redshirt then.

From my understanding of eligibility we're going to be losing a lot from this team so having people like her and the other freshman heading into '24 XC with 4 years left would be huge for team planning.

Plus she extended her track season until July to run at in Eugene so ideally we're letting her get some rest right now and she will be behind in her base building.

Thanks

Former runner Ryen Frazier won the USATF road race championship for NC this weekend. She endured a series of heartbreaking injuries that derailed her career at NC State, but she continues to get better while finishing her PhD. Going to Germany this fall to work for Adidas.

Nairo said:

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Former runner Ryen Frazier won the USATF road race championship for NC this weekend. She endured a series of heartbreaking injuries that derailed her career at NC State, but she continues to get better while finishing her PhD. Going to Germany this fall to work for Adidas.

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Great to hear!

Elly Henes also ran a new PB in the 5k in London this morning with a 14:47.

The Stride Report has released their annual top 50+ rankings for individuals. On the Women's side, as expected we had a very strong representation. Katelyn Tuohy was 1st, Kelsey Chmiel was 4th, Amaris Tyynismaa was 7th, Samantha Bush was 16th, and Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys were both in the Honorable Mention category (which would put them 60-80 projection, 50-60 was in a seperate "Just missed" section).

All of this is about what i would expect. A Very strong top 4, and two very talented runners with recognized talent fighting for 5th spot. Rauber is too much of an unknown to be ranked preseason though she certainly has top 80 talent as she showed last year finishing 90th. Quarzo was 122nd last year which was probably too far back to project in the top 80 until she proves it a little more.

This would have our team score be better than last years so it is an exciting outlook for the season.

The other relevant schools IMO are Florida and Colorado.

Florida had their superstar top 4 all ranked 2,10,22,41. They did not have a 5th athlete named, so they will need to find a solid 5th to really contend, or have their 3rd and 4th push for top 10 as well.

Colorado is where it gets interesting, as they have the scoring power to stay with NC State plus an unreal amount of depth after their transfer portal haul. They had 7 runners mentioned, ranked 8,13,27,29,46,47, and one in the honorable mention section (60-80).

This is an imperfect tool, as several of the runners above them will be individuals and won't factor into the team score, but just for fun, and assuming Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys finish 79th and 80th at the back of that Honorable mention pack, and Florida finds a 5th that finishes 81st just outside of those named, here is the team scores from this.

NC State - 107
Colorado - 123
Florida - 156

This should be a fun year if everyone gets to the line at Nationals healthy.

jadawson said:

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The Stride Report has released their annual top 50+ rankings for individuals. On the Women's side, as expected we had a very strong representation. Katelyn Tuohy was 1st, Kelsey Chmiel was 4th, Amaris Tyynismaa was 7th, Samantha Bush was 16th, and Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys were both in the Honorable Mention category (which would put them 60-80 projection, 50-60 was in a seperate "Just missed" section).

All of this is about what i would expect. A Very strong top 4, and two very talented runners with recognized talent fighting for 5th spot. Rauber is too much of an unknown to be ranked preseason though she certainly has top 80 talent as she showed last year finishing 90th. Quarzo was 122nd last year which was probably too far back to project in the top 80 until she proves it a little more.

This would have our team score be better than last years so it is an exciting outlook for the season.

The other relevant schools IMO are Florida and Colorado.

Florida had their superstar top 4 all ranked 2,10,22,41. They did not have a 5th athlete named, so they will need to find a solid 5th to really contend, or have their 3rd and 4th push for top 10 as well.

Colorado is where it gets interesting, as they have the scoring power to stay with NC State plus an unreal amount of depth after their transfer portal haul. They had 7 runners mentioned, ranked 8,13,27,29,46,47, and one in the honorable mention section (60-80).

This is an imperfect tool, as several of the runners above them will be individuals and won't factor into the team score, but just for fun, and assuming Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys finish 79th and 80th at the back of that Honorable mention pack, and Florida finds a 5th that finishes 81st just outside of those named, here is the team scores from this.

NC State - 107
Colorado - 123
Florida - 156

This should be a fun year if everyone gets to the line at Nationals healthy.

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Thanks very much for breaking all that down, as well as the overview in the initial post. Rauber could be an x-factor for our team this season, much like she was last year. I think she has the potential to be All-American in XC at some point in her career. This year, her 3rd in the program, could be a breakout year...much like it was for Samantha Bush in her 3rd year. I also think Hartman is going to be really really good. She showed a ton of promise with her performances last year as just a true freshman. I wouldn't be shocked if Hartman is All-American caliber this season. Between Rauber, Hartman, and Loveys I think we will have a solid 5th that will finish in the 40-50th range (or better) at nationals.

GuerrillaPack said:

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jadawson said:

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The Stride Report has released their annual top 50+ rankings for individuals. On the Women's side, as expected we had a very strong representation. Katelyn Tuohy was 1st, Kelsey Chmiel was 4th, Amaris Tyynismaa was 7th, Samantha Bush was 16th, and Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys were both in the Honorable Mention category (which would put them 60-80 projection, 50-60 was in a seperate "Just missed" section).

All of this is about what i would expect. A Very strong top 4, and two very talented runners with recognized talent fighting for 5th spot. Rauber is too much of an unknown to be ranked preseason though she certainly has top 80 talent as she showed last year finishing 90th. Quarzo was 122nd last year which was probably too far back to project in the top 80 until she proves it a little more.

This would have our team score be better than last years so it is an exciting outlook for the season.

The other relevant schools IMO are Florida and Colorado.

Florida had their superstar top 4 all ranked 2,10,22,41. They did not have a 5th athlete named, so they will need to find a solid 5th to really contend, or have their 3rd and 4th push for top 10 as well.

Colorado is where it gets interesting, as they have the scoring power to stay with NC State plus an unreal amount of depth after their transfer portal haul. They had 7 runners mentioned, ranked 8,13,27,29,46,47, and one in the honorable mention section (60-80).

This is an imperfect tool, as several of the runners above them will be individuals and won't factor into the team score, but just for fun, and assuming Grace Hartman and Abby Loveys finish 79th and 80th at the back of that Honorable mention pack, and Florida finds a 5th that finishes 81st just outside of those named, here is the team scores from this.

NC State - 107
Colorado - 123
Florida - 156

This should be a fun year if everyone gets to the line at Nationals healthy.

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Thanks very much for breaking all that down, as well as the overview in the initial post. Rauber could be an x-factor for our team this season, much like she was last year. I think she has the potential to be All-American in XC at some point in her career. This year, her 3rd in the program, could be a breakout year...much like it was for Samantha Bush in her 3rd year. I also think Hartman is going to be really really good. She showed a ton of promise with her performances last year as just a true freshman. I wouldn't be shocked if Hartman is All-American caliber this season. Between Rauber, Hartman, and Loveys I think we will have a solid 5th that will finish in the 40-50th range (or better) at nationals.

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I agree that Rauber/Hartman/Loveys all have the talent to be in that range, its just so hard to project outside of the top 2 tiers or so of athletes. In a normal year i think id probably project Hartman right around that All-American line myself, but the fields these days are so deep and full of talent due to runners using covid years that depth of talent is anything but normal. I think there was something crazy like 30 or so of last years top 40 were returning this year so there's barely any room to break into that all-american level.

welp, an awesome late development for our womens team and its future. Leah Stephens has changed her commitment from Florida St to NC State last minute. She honestly might be our best recruit overall between XC and track. From 800-5k she has run 2:13/4:40/9:50/16:54. She was 7th at Nike Team Cross championships last year.

https://instagr.am/p/CvGiZKQrGz8

To be honest ive been out of school long enough now to not remember how admission works. I dont know what the deadline is for students to accept admission or for schools to add kids for the fall. So im not sure if this is maybe for the spring or if this is just super late but she'll be here in the fall.

jadawson said:

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welp, an awesome late development for our womens team and its future. Leah Stephens has changed her commitment from Florida St to NC State last minute. She honestly might be our best recruit overall between XC and track. From 800-5k she has run 2:13/4:40/9:50/16:54. She was 7th at Nike Team Cross championships last year.

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Nice.

Just adding this post from her IG

https://instagr.am/p/CvGZYutReuq

jadawson said:

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From 800-5k she has run 2:13/4:40/9:50/16:54. She was 7th at Nike Team Cross championships last year.

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*Champs/Footlocker Cross Championships, not Nike.
7th place, ahead of 16th place fellow commit Angeline Napoleon.

All the seniors from Champs Champs:
1 - Baloga - Colorado
3 - Noe - Arkansas
5 - O'Shea - UNC
7 - Stephens - NC State
16 - Napoleon - NC State
18 - Arnsman - uncommitted?
19 - Farley - Notre Dame
22 - Clute - Oregon
24 - Bushe - Virginia
25 - Rolly - Duke
28 - Kopec - Oregon State
30 - McLean - Georgetown
34 - Markow - Oregon
35 - Leath - uncommitted?
36 - Low - Weber State

Her 800 and 5000 times seem slow compared to her 1600 and 3200. Oh well, there's enough talent in the 1600 and 3200 that her 5k will come around.

toddl said:

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jadawson said:

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From 800-5k she has run 2:13/4:40/9:50/16:54. She was 7th at Nike Team Cross championships last year.

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*Champs/Footlocker Cross Championships, not Nike.
7th place, ahead of 16th place fellow commit Angeline Napoleon.

All the seniors from Champs Champs:
1 - Baloga - Colorado
3 - Noe - Arkansas
5 - O'Shea - UNC
7 - Stephens - NC State
16 - Napoleon - NC State
18 - Arnsman - uncommitted?
19 - Farley - Notre Dame
22 - Clute - Oregon
24 - Bushe - Virginia
25 - Rolly - Duke
28 - Kopec - Oregon State
30 - McLean - Georgetown
34 - Markow - Oregon
35 - Leath - uncommitted?
36 - Low - Weber State

Her 800 and 5000 times seem slow compared to her 1600 and 3200. Oh well, there's enough talent in the 1600 and 3200 that her 5k will come around.

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True about the times. It doesnt look like shes run many 800's, and the 5k is from XC so i have no idea how hard the course was. I dont care about times in XC at all considering the differences in courses, conditions, and competition between races. I care more about position and who you beat/lost to. That list is impressive for her. She won every XC race she was in until Champs regionals, which included beating Kate Putman by ~20 seconds at the Adidas Challenge last fall. At regionals she got 5th in a stacked field including beating Angelina Napoleon, and then got 7th at nationals as you listed beating a ton of big names going to great programs.

But more than her times now, im excited about her improvement. She wasn't a big name recruit as a junior (could have been a factor in committing to FSU which is a solid but not elite distance program).

Her PB's after her junior year were 2:18/4:56/10:25/18:04 (Same course she ran her 16:54 on this year). That improvement in one year is wild to me and shows a lot of untapped potential.

The improvement is indeed impressive

5k CC (in the same state, so presumably the same courses year to year more or less, for what it's worth)
2019 - 20:12
2020 - 18:48
2021 - 18:04
2022 - 17:21

1600:
2020 - 5:30
2021 - 5:19
2022 - 4:56
2023 - 4:40

3200:
2020 - 11:17
2021 - none
2022 - 10:25
2023 - 9:51

🚨 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ COMPETITION SCHEDULE IS HERE 🚨https://t.co/2noGVg7FdF pic.twitter.com/ncETORNKLm

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 4, 2023

https://gopack.com/sports/cross-country/schedule/2023

jadawson said:

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To be honest ive been out of school long enough now to not remember how admission works. I dont know what the deadline is for students to accept admission or for schools to add kids for the fall. So im not sure if this is maybe for the spring or if this is just super late but she'll be here in the fall.

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It's been a while since I've been in the nitty gritty of it as well. But in the past, (and I would assume it's something similar), you had to be enrolled by the 12th day of classes (or maybe 12 calendar days after the first day of classes). So you can show up on day one and be good to go. My only concern about Stephens would have been getting out of her letter of intent from FSU. Some schools try to play hard ball on that, but most just let kids go because creating a fuss is generally bad press, and doesn't help with future recruiting.

That said, if you look at the NC State roster right now, she is already listed, so I would say that is a real good sign.

https://instagr.am/p/CwGUIB4ukxi

Excited to run into the new fall season with these @Wolfpack_TFXC wallpapers 🐺

More wallpapers are available on our Instagram and Facebook!#GoPack pic.twitter.com/6E47mXa8zE

— NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) August 23, 2023

NCAA.com's very brief preview of the 2023 women's season, listing NC State as the national title favorites, with Colorado and Florida as their main competition for the title.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-country-women/article/2023-08-22/cross-country-runners-teams-and-invitationals-know-2023

Quote:

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The transfer portal shook up cross country this offseason. While NC State should remain the favorite thanks to its returning talent and the addition of ninth-place finisher Amaris Tyynismaa from Alabama, it will face new threats after offseason movement. Colorado's transfers Natalie Cook and Samree Dishon finished seventh and 37th at nationals, respectively. They join Ella Baran to form a top three capable of carrying a championship team.

However, the biggest threat to NC State's reign at the top may come from Florida, a team that didn't qualify for last year's championship as a team and had just one individual qualifier. The Gators already had Parker Valby returning after she finished second at last years nationals. Now they've added Flomena Askol, Ameliza Mazza-Downie and Elise Thorner who finished 14th, 22nd and 40th at nationals, respectively. That top four will have Florida in the title hunt.

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NC State Women come in at #1 on the USTFCCCA Preseason Poll

https://www.ustfccca.org/2023/08/featured/2023-ncaa-di-womens-cross-country-national-coaches-poll-preseason

Picking up right where we left off

Your NC State women's cross country team checks in at #1 in the USTFCCCA National Preseason Coaches' Poll!!

Picking up right where we left off😏

Your NC State women’s cross country team checks in at #1️⃣ in the USTFCCCA National Preseason Coaches’ Poll!!#WolfpackXC - #GoPack pic.twitter.com/MoZRshjTCE

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 30, 2023

The Stride Report has completed their preseason rankings and had the NC State women #1. With their predictions of Tuohy (#1), Chmiel (#4), Tyynismaa (#7), and Bush (#16), our 5th place runner would only have to finish 111th overall to match last years winning team score, and that score beat #2 New Mexico by 26 points. The firepower is unmatched 1-4, and while #5 isn't going to be someone who is a proven top scorer at a national level in XC, they acknowledge that the talent is certainly on the roster for someone to finish much better than 111th, bringing up Grace Hartman, Abby Loveys, and Brooke Rauber as the key possibilities.

I'd also like to post how they ended their preview of NC state, which is something us fans should keep in mind this year:

Enjoy this while you can. This kind of success is extremely rare.


It's one thing for a team to go after their third-straight national title. But to do that with a runner who is among the greatest to ever (in the NCAA) makes this recent string of dominance even more special.

When it comes to the Wolfpack women, you're witnessing the rise of a cross country dynasty. A third-straight national title would cement this Raleigh-based program as one of the all-time greatest collegiate distance squads on the grass.

And frankly, you're just lucky enough to see it.

jadawson said:

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The Stride Report has completed their preseason rankings and had the NC State women #1. With their predictions of Tuohy (#1), Chmiel (#4), Tyynismaa (#7), and Bush (#16), our 5th place runner would only have to finish 111th overall to match last years winning team score, and that score beat #2 New Mexico by 26 points. The firepower is unmatched 1-4, and while #5 isn't going to be someone who is a proven top scorer at a national level in XC, they acknowledge that the talent is certainly on the roster for someone to finish much better than 111th, bringing up Grace Hartman, Abby Loveys, and Brooke Rauber as the key possibilities.

I'd also like to post how they ended their preview of NC state, which is something us fans should keep in mind this year:

Enjoy this while you can. This kind of success is extremely rare.


It's one thing for a team to go after their third-straight national title. But to do that with a runner who is among the greatest to ever (in the NCAA) makes this recent string of dominance even more special.

When it comes to the Wolfpack women, you're witnessing the rise of a cross country dynasty. A third-straight national title would cement this Raleigh-based program as one of the all-time greatest collegiate distance squads on the grass.

And frankly, you're just lucky enough to see it.

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Thanks for sharing that preview. A 3-peat would be so incredibly special, and historic. In the 42 years of NCAA D1 women's cross country, only two other programs have won at least 3 national championships in a row (Stanford and Villanova....full history of team champions here).

These national titles have the potential to elevate NC State's program to an undisputed "blue blood" of women's cross country along with a handful of other programs -- eg, tied for 4th in number of NCAA team national titles, Villanova (9), Stanford (5), BYU (5), Oregon (4), Colorado (3). Of course, we also won back-to-back national championships under the AIAW in 1979 and 1980. So, technically, we already have 4 national titles and are going for our 5th this year.

With elevated recruiting that has already started to materialize and should continue from these national championships (along with top transfers), it looks like we are set up to be a top 5 program consistently for the near future, and in the conversation to win the title almost every year.

Here's The Stride Report's podcast discussing the top 5 women's teams.

Florida has a very solid top 4 (Valby, Asekol, Mazza-Downie, Thorner), but their 5th is a big question mark, and therefore makes them unlikely to challenge NC State. Colorado has incredibly talented roster (and top 6 of Hertenstein, Cook, Baran, Dishon, Covert, Starliper), due to off-season transfer additions.

The guys at The Stride Report say that Colorado has the most talented roster in the country (through top 7). However, the issue with Colorado is many of these runners have had injury issues recently. If every one of Colorado's runners is healthy, they could potentially challenge NC State for the title. But Cook, Starliper, and Covert have had injury issues.

IMO, even if Colorado was 100% healthy, NC State's top 4 is still better than Colorado's. It would then come down to how good NC State's 5th can be. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I'm hopeful that between Hartman, Rauber, and Loveys that we'll have a solid 5th that can finish in the 40-50th range (or better) at nationals. Loveys finished 34th at Nuttycombe last year, and therefore has this ability. And Hartman is widely thought to have huge upside. Therefore, I would still favor NC State over Colorado if both teams were 100% healthy.

https://instagr.am/p/Cw0-96zxGpp

From these practice photos posted yesterday, it appears that most/all of our top runners are healthy and practicing -- including Tuohy, Chmiel, Bush, Tyynismaa, Hartman, Loveys, G. Quarzo, Holt, Gapes.

While you never want to read anything into runners who are doing a workout with a group slower than you'd expect (because you never know whats going on, maybe just tired legs that day, coming back from illness etc.,), it's always encouraging to see runners moving up to run a workout with faster/more experienced runners. Seeing Gapes and Hartman doing the workout with Tuohy and Chmiel is awesome to see. Looks like Miller Field so i'm guessing this was probably 1k or mile repeats or something like that

@Wolfpack_TFXC couldn’t resist a Barbie party! #GoPack | #GoPackBaby pic.twitter.com/oNE5wv0ZQe

— NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) September 8, 2023

The Michigan (aka the Frazier) workout

jadawson said:

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While you never want to read anything into runners who are doing a workout with a group slower than you'd expect (because you never know whats going on, maybe just tired legs that day, coming back from illness etc.,), it's always encouraging to see runners moving up to run a workout with faster/more experienced runners. Seeing Gapes and Hartman doing the workout with Tuohy and Chmiel is awesome to see. Looks like Miller Field so i'm guessing this was probably 1k or mile repeats or something like that

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Reminder that the only home race of the year (The "Adidas XC Challenge") is this coming Friday, September 15th. No times for the races have yet been listed on GoPack, but last year the men's race started at 5:40pm and the women's started at 6:20pm. Will probably be similar times this year.

The race is held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Per the event website parking will be $10 per vehicle. I went to the race last year, and don't remember a charge for parking, but maybe I'm just forgetting that. But that should be the only cost, as no ticket is required to view the race.

This will be the only race of the year within an "easy" driving distance (less than 2 hrs) for most fans. The only other races within a reasonable driving distance will be Regionals in Spartanburg, SC and the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, VA.

Meet, course, and parking info here:
https://thexcchallenge.com/

I have no inside information, but I wouldn't expect several of our top athletes to run in this race, including Tuohy and Chmiel (who both didn't participate last year), and possibly Bush or Tyynismaa. But many/most of the others on the roster should run.

GuerrillaPack said:

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Reminder that the only home race of the year (The "Adidas XC Challenge") is this coming Friday, September 15th. No times for the races have yet been listed on GoPack, but last year the men's race started at 5:40pm and the women's started at 6:20pm. Will probably be similar times this year.

The race is held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Per the event website parking will be $10 per vehicle. I went to the race last year, and don't remember a charge for parking, but maybe I'm just forgetting that. But that should be the only cost, as no ticket is required to view the race.

This will be the only race of the year within an "easy" driving distance (less than 2 hrs) for most fans. The only other races within a reasonable driving distance will be Regionals in Spartanburg, SC and the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, VA.

Meet, course, and parking info here:
https://thexcchallenge.com/

I have no inside information, but I wouldn't expect several of our top athletes to run in this race, including Tuohy and Chmiel (who both didn't participate last year), and possibly Bush or Tyynismaa. But many/most of the others on the roster should run.

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The times are listed on the link above. Look for Final Times under the schedule. You are right that the Men will start at 5:40 and the Women at 6:20.

DrummerboyWolf said:

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The times are listed on the link above. Look for Final Times under the schedule. You are right that the Men will start at 5:40 and the Women at 6:20.

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Ok thanks. Right now I'm seeing it still saying "tentative" schedule.

https://thexcchallenge.com/schedule/