Wanted to start on the topic since some of the athletes are going to run a season opener this coming Saturday Dec 2nd, in Boston before taking a break again before the real season begins in earnest in January.
Many people on the forum have become familiar with NC State running over the past 3 years due to the success of the women's cross country team and the individual success of Katelyn Tuohy in track and cross country. Thought i would give a quick preview of how our team shakes out in track and field. Going to go through event by event with people i think could/should contribute a lot to us this year and will have the potential to score at ACC's. You'll see some unique events in indoor track, where some meets will race a 300m, 600m, 1000m, etc., But i'm going to focus on the events that are staged at ACC's and NCAA's. To be clear from the front, though nothing is officially announced yet, i'm operating under the assumption that Tuohy is done competing for NC State.
The way our roster is constructed, the team scoring aspect for us is still heavily carried by the distance running events, but we have some solid athletes in other events as well. I also am seeing some early signs that our recruiting in the sprints/jumps/throws is picking up a little bit. Unclear at this point if that involves investing more scholarship money there or just better luck recruiting but either way could bear some fruit in the future in terms of placings at ACC's.
60M - Unique to indoor track, we run the 60 meter dash instead of the traditional 100 meter dash. NC state has not been very competitive here historically on the women's side. Imunique Archie and Mia D'Ambrosio (if healthy) have competed here in the past and Sydney Justice an incoming freshman has experience running the 55m dash in High School. Don't expect any standouts in the ACC at this event.
200M - Expecting this to be more competitive than the 60m for sure, scoring may still be a struggle. But i expect a few women will be able to run at ACC's. Once again Imunique Archie and Mia D'Ambrosio (if healthy) have experience here. We have three freshman coming in with a lot of potential which is exciting. Sydney Justice again will race this event, and two other girls coming in have a ton of potential here but neither was healthy their senior outdoor campaign so we don't know what form they are coming in with. During her junior year Madison Moraja ran a 24.86 which is very competitive within our program and Jordyn Parker ran a 24.12 her junior year which would be the clear standout in our program and potentially competitive to qualify for ACC finals and score in this event.
400M - Also not looking very competitive here either in terms of scoring. A few athletes have potential to run ACC's which would be an improvement over last year where no one qualified. The same situation as the 200 unfolds with Incoming freshman Jordyn Parker and Madison Moraja again looking like the standout here if they find the form they had in their junior years of high school where Parker ran a 56.25 in her first year ever running the event, and Moraja ran a 56.76 and both of those times would be in the top 10 all time for NC State indoors if they could find that form again. That being said, it usually takes times in the mid 54's to score at ACC's so hopefully that is something they could accomplish in future years. I dont expect her to run this event now that her mileage has upped as part of the distance program, but worth pointing out that Kate Putman has run a 56.95 in the 400m as well.
800M - Starting to get into our more competitive events. Sam Bush is the only returning athlete that has competed much here, but that was back in 2022 as she didn't run this event at all last year. Her PB is 2:04.99 outdoors. Some of the incoming freshman i would expect to see dabble here and could have the potential to be really good at the ACC level. Angelina Napoleon has run a 2:03.97 in high school which would score at ACC's almost every year, and Kate Putman has run a 2:05.25 which isn't too far off that level.
Mile - Sam Bush and Grace Hartman are returning scorers from ACC's here, finishing 5th and 6th at ACC's respectively last year. Both should be competitive again if they choose to focus on this event returning with 4:37.09 and 4:39.42 PB's. Amaris Tyynismaa will be another key player here, coming in with a 4:32.56 PB while racing unattached after transferring to NC State last winter. Some of the incoming freshman will also focus here, Kate Putman, Leah Stephens and Angelina Napoleon specifically. Putman leads the charge for the freshman with a 4:41.01 PB, and both her and Stephens with her 4:42.19 PB could see qualification for ACC's. Napoleon boasts a 4:46 PB but with her 800 speed and her new strength from XC Mileage i could foresee a jump here for her.
3000 - Sam Bush, Amaris Tyynismaa and Kelsey Chmiel will be the focal points here. Chmiel was an All-American in this event last year finishing 7th at Nationals, and has a PB of 8:59.25. Bush is a former All-American in this event, and has a 8:54.12 PB. Tyynismaa redshirted last season, but has a 8:55.52 PB in the 3k. I'll also mention Leah Stephens and Grace Hartman here because Stephens had a 9:15.87 PB in this event in high school and then clearly showed some great form in XC, and Hartman ran a 9:16.36 last winter and then had a great XC season, so i wouldn't be terribly surprised if either was competitive here as well at ACC's.
5000 - The depth of athletes here is great. Kelsey Chmiel and Sydney Seymour are both returning All-Americans here and Gionna Quarzo also scored here at ACC's last year. Sam Bush has also been great in this event outdoors (15:35.55) and would be a favorite to score in this event, but historically has focused on the Mile/3k/DMR indoors. Add in a few more athletes that have shown great potential in this event like Grace Hartman (15:49.65), Leah Stephens (no track 5k's in HS, but assuming based off 6K XC form), Jenna Schulz (16:09.71) and Hannah Gapes (16:35, but showed improved fitness in XC), and NC State has a ton of options here.
60m Hurdles - Ally Henson is the only one on the roster who seems to have the potential to score here this season. She qualified for ACC's last year but did not score. However she did level up and place 4th at ACC's in the 100m Hurdles outdoors so if that fitness continues scoring here is a possibility.
4x400m Relay - We haven't really competed in this event too much in the past. But with the incoming freshman class having several athletes that run the 400m i wouldn't be surprised if we throw this relay together at 1 or 2 meets, though i dont expect us to be competitive at ACC's.
DMR - Were able to get an All-American finish without Tuohy's 1600 at Nationals so odds are should be competitive here again. Bush/Tyynismaa/Hartman/Napoleon/Putman/another freshman 400 runner. A combo picked from there should be competitive for an ACC title.
High Jump - Nont returning anyone who competed here, but we're bringing in a lot of athletes between freshman and transfers who will compete in this event, and a few of them could be potential scorers at ACC's. Freshman Jenna Barnes, Jer'lisah Pridgen have both jumped between 5'4" and 5'6" in this event which shows potential to compete at ACC's. The wild card in this event is our most unique athlete on the team, distance runner Angelina Napoleon has jumped 5'7" in HS which would be the highest jump on our current roster. Who knows if she will even contest this event in her college career but her potential is massive in whatever she pursues in this sport.
Pole Vault - I don't believe we have a pole vaulter on the roster.
Long Jump - We are returning reigning ACC Champion Jirah Sidberry in this event. Zahra Bichara and Nasheeda Facey also made it to the ACC Championships, though they would need a step up to reach the level to score at ACC's.
Triple Jump - Jirah Sidberry is a returning ACC scorer and incoming transfer athlete Jayda Hunter has a PB that would score at ACC's most years. Could be a rare non-distance event where we can rack up points with multiple scorers this year.
Shot Put - We had no athletes at ACC's last year, but we have a number of solid throwers in the program so i'm hoping 1 or 2 can breakthrough in the shotput indoors. Mahkayla Hart has been our best Shotputter recently but tends to focus on the Weight Throw while indoors. Same with Makala Wright. Jakerra Covington & Katie Horne broke out last year in the Javelin Throw outdoors to both finish just outside of scoring at ACC's, but thus far in their careers have been well short at the shotput. Can the new Javelin form carry over? Sydney Freeman has thrown some solid distances at SP in her career and has the potential to qualify for ACC's.
Weight Throw - Makala Wright finished just outside of scoring here at last year's ACC's, and Sydney Freeman and Mahkayla Hart also competed at ACC's. Other talented throwers as listed above, but not really with collegiate weight throw experience.
Pentathlon - Timara Chapman has transferred to Texas A&M so we lost our top Pentathlete. We have a few freshman athletes listed as "Multi's" on the GoPack roster, but unclear if that is something they will pursue in NCAA competition.
Many people on the forum have become familiar with NC State running over the past 3 years due to the success of the women's cross country team and the individual success of Katelyn Tuohy in track and cross country. Thought i would give a quick preview of how our team shakes out in track and field. Going to go through event by event with people i think could/should contribute a lot to us this year and will have the potential to score at ACC's. You'll see some unique events in indoor track, where some meets will race a 300m, 600m, 1000m, etc., But i'm going to focus on the events that are staged at ACC's and NCAA's. To be clear from the front, though nothing is officially announced yet, i'm operating under the assumption that Tuohy is done competing for NC State.
The way our roster is constructed, the team scoring aspect for us is still heavily carried by the distance running events, but we have some solid athletes in other events as well. I also am seeing some early signs that our recruiting in the sprints/jumps/throws is picking up a little bit. Unclear at this point if that involves investing more scholarship money there or just better luck recruiting but either way could bear some fruit in the future in terms of placings at ACC's.
60M - Unique to indoor track, we run the 60 meter dash instead of the traditional 100 meter dash. NC state has not been very competitive here historically on the women's side. Imunique Archie and Mia D'Ambrosio (if healthy) have competed here in the past and Sydney Justice an incoming freshman has experience running the 55m dash in High School. Don't expect any standouts in the ACC at this event.
200M - Expecting this to be more competitive than the 60m for sure, scoring may still be a struggle. But i expect a few women will be able to run at ACC's. Once again Imunique Archie and Mia D'Ambrosio (if healthy) have experience here. We have three freshman coming in with a lot of potential which is exciting. Sydney Justice again will race this event, and two other girls coming in have a ton of potential here but neither was healthy their senior outdoor campaign so we don't know what form they are coming in with. During her junior year Madison Moraja ran a 24.86 which is very competitive within our program and Jordyn Parker ran a 24.12 her junior year which would be the clear standout in our program and potentially competitive to qualify for ACC finals and score in this event.
400M - Also not looking very competitive here either in terms of scoring. A few athletes have potential to run ACC's which would be an improvement over last year where no one qualified. The same situation as the 200 unfolds with Incoming freshman Jordyn Parker and Madison Moraja again looking like the standout here if they find the form they had in their junior years of high school where Parker ran a 56.25 in her first year ever running the event, and Moraja ran a 56.76 and both of those times would be in the top 10 all time for NC State indoors if they could find that form again. That being said, it usually takes times in the mid 54's to score at ACC's so hopefully that is something they could accomplish in future years. I dont expect her to run this event now that her mileage has upped as part of the distance program, but worth pointing out that Kate Putman has run a 56.95 in the 400m as well.
800M - Starting to get into our more competitive events. Sam Bush is the only returning athlete that has competed much here, but that was back in 2022 as she didn't run this event at all last year. Her PB is 2:04.99 outdoors. Some of the incoming freshman i would expect to see dabble here and could have the potential to be really good at the ACC level. Angelina Napoleon has run a 2:03.97 in high school which would score at ACC's almost every year, and Kate Putman has run a 2:05.25 which isn't too far off that level.
Mile - Sam Bush and Grace Hartman are returning scorers from ACC's here, finishing 5th and 6th at ACC's respectively last year. Both should be competitive again if they choose to focus on this event returning with 4:37.09 and 4:39.42 PB's. Amaris Tyynismaa will be another key player here, coming in with a 4:32.56 PB while racing unattached after transferring to NC State last winter. Some of the incoming freshman will also focus here, Kate Putman, Leah Stephens and Angelina Napoleon specifically. Putman leads the charge for the freshman with a 4:41.01 PB, and both her and Stephens with her 4:42.19 PB could see qualification for ACC's. Napoleon boasts a 4:46 PB but with her 800 speed and her new strength from XC Mileage i could foresee a jump here for her.
3000 - Sam Bush, Amaris Tyynismaa and Kelsey Chmiel will be the focal points here. Chmiel was an All-American in this event last year finishing 7th at Nationals, and has a PB of 8:59.25. Bush is a former All-American in this event, and has a 8:54.12 PB. Tyynismaa redshirted last season, but has a 8:55.52 PB in the 3k. I'll also mention Leah Stephens and Grace Hartman here because Stephens had a 9:15.87 PB in this event in high school and then clearly showed some great form in XC, and Hartman ran a 9:16.36 last winter and then had a great XC season, so i wouldn't be terribly surprised if either was competitive here as well at ACC's.
5000 - The depth of athletes here is great. Kelsey Chmiel and Sydney Seymour are both returning All-Americans here and Gionna Quarzo also scored here at ACC's last year. Sam Bush has also been great in this event outdoors (15:35.55) and would be a favorite to score in this event, but historically has focused on the Mile/3k/DMR indoors. Add in a few more athletes that have shown great potential in this event like Grace Hartman (15:49.65), Leah Stephens (no track 5k's in HS, but assuming based off 6K XC form), Jenna Schulz (16:09.71) and Hannah Gapes (16:35, but showed improved fitness in XC), and NC State has a ton of options here.
60m Hurdles - Ally Henson is the only one on the roster who seems to have the potential to score here this season. She qualified for ACC's last year but did not score. However she did level up and place 4th at ACC's in the 100m Hurdles outdoors so if that fitness continues scoring here is a possibility.
4x400m Relay - We haven't really competed in this event too much in the past. But with the incoming freshman class having several athletes that run the 400m i wouldn't be surprised if we throw this relay together at 1 or 2 meets, though i dont expect us to be competitive at ACC's.
DMR - Were able to get an All-American finish without Tuohy's 1600 at Nationals so odds are should be competitive here again. Bush/Tyynismaa/Hartman/Napoleon/Putman/another freshman 400 runner. A combo picked from there should be competitive for an ACC title.
High Jump - Nont returning anyone who competed here, but we're bringing in a lot of athletes between freshman and transfers who will compete in this event, and a few of them could be potential scorers at ACC's. Freshman Jenna Barnes, Jer'lisah Pridgen have both jumped between 5'4" and 5'6" in this event which shows potential to compete at ACC's. The wild card in this event is our most unique athlete on the team, distance runner Angelina Napoleon has jumped 5'7" in HS which would be the highest jump on our current roster. Who knows if she will even contest this event in her college career but her potential is massive in whatever she pursues in this sport.
Pole Vault - I don't believe we have a pole vaulter on the roster.
Long Jump - We are returning reigning ACC Champion Jirah Sidberry in this event. Zahra Bichara and Nasheeda Facey also made it to the ACC Championships, though they would need a step up to reach the level to score at ACC's.
Triple Jump - Jirah Sidberry is a returning ACC scorer and incoming transfer athlete Jayda Hunter has a PB that would score at ACC's most years. Could be a rare non-distance event where we can rack up points with multiple scorers this year.
Shot Put - We had no athletes at ACC's last year, but we have a number of solid throwers in the program so i'm hoping 1 or 2 can breakthrough in the shotput indoors. Mahkayla Hart has been our best Shotputter recently but tends to focus on the Weight Throw while indoors. Same with Makala Wright. Jakerra Covington & Katie Horne broke out last year in the Javelin Throw outdoors to both finish just outside of scoring at ACC's, but thus far in their careers have been well short at the shotput. Can the new Javelin form carry over? Sydney Freeman has thrown some solid distances at SP in her career and has the potential to qualify for ACC's.
Weight Throw - Makala Wright finished just outside of scoring here at last year's ACC's, and Sydney Freeman and Mahkayla Hart also competed at ACC's. Other talented throwers as listed above, but not really with collegiate weight throw experience.
Pentathlon - Timara Chapman has transferred to Texas A&M so we lost our top Pentathlete. We have a few freshman athletes listed as "Multi's" on the GoPack roster, but unclear if that is something they will pursue in NCAA competition.
