Student-athletes from all 22 varsity sports gathered at James T. Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum on Monday evening for the 2024 Wolfie Awards. The gala showcased the best of Wolfpack Athletics over the past calendar year.
Katharine Berkoff from women's swimming and football's Payton Wilson were honored as recipients of the H.C. Kennett Award. The highest athletic honor at NC State, the Kennett Award is given annually to a superior student-athlete who demonstrates the finest attributes of good sportsmanship and team play.
One of the most decorated swimmers in Wolfpack history, Berkoff became the first woman in ACC history to win five straight titles in the same event after winning the 100-yard backstroke at the 2024 ACC Tournament. This past season, she also won her third national title in the event after recording the fourth-fastest time in program history. She helped lead her team to a Top 10 finish in her final NCAA Championships meet.
She finished her career as a 27-time All-American, six-time ACC Champion, five-time NCAA Champion, four-time ACC All-Academic team, CSCAA Scholar All-American, and 2022 Honda Sports Award Finalist.
Wilson earned the 2023 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and also earned the 2023 Bednarik Awards for being the top defensive player in the nation. He was a unanimous, consensus first-team All-American to end his career as one of the most decorated athletes in program history. The 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson was also a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy after his stellar season. He led the ACC and ranked fifth in the FBS in tackles per game with 11.5.
Many other standout student-athletes were honored at the event, including all All-Americans and Academic All-Americans and Most Valuable Performers for each team.
The 2024 Wolfie Award winners are as follows:
Rookie of the Year
Awarded to a male and female freshman that has had a significant impact on their team's competitiveness.
Diana Shnaider, Women's Tennis: In her lone season with the Wolfpack, Diana Shnaider was tabbed the 2023 ACC Freshman of the Year and helped lead the Pack to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. The Wolfpack All-American finished her rookie campaign with a 20-3 singles record and helped the Pack claim the ACC Tournament title for the first time in team history. She became the first active college player in over 40 years to reach the WTA Singles Top 100 when she qualified for the main draw at the 2023 Australian Open.
KC Concepcion, Football: The 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year, Concepcion was tabbed an All-American by five different outlets after his stellar freshman campaign, in addition to being a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. He set the program record for receiving touchdowns and receptions by a freshman while writing his name in the top 10 in program history for several other statistical categories. He pulled down 10 touchdown receptions throughout the season, a mark that ranks fifth-most in a single season in program history.
Comeback Player of the Year
Awarded to the student-athlete who has overcome significant or prolonged injury or illness to provide a major contribution to their team.
Alana Smith, Women's Tennis: After suffering a season-ending ankle injury in December of 2021, Alana Smith missed the entirety of the 2022 spring dual campaign. Upon returning to the court in 2023, she recorded her 100th career win on senior day and went on to make tremendous contributions to the team's journey to the 2023 national championship match. Smith was the program's first All-American alongside doubles partner Anna Rogers in 2020 and ultimately finished her career with a total of five All-America honors across doubles and singles.
Heart of the Pack Award
Presented to a male and female student-athlete who demonstrates the attributes of being a good teammate, giving great effort, having an exceptional attitude and being mindful of themselves and others.
Jaiden Thomas, Women's Soccer
Trent Hidlay, Wrestling
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.
Abby Arens, Swimming & Dive
Chris Combs Award
Presented by the Wolfpack Club to a male student-athlete who exemplifies Chris Combs through a lifetime love and passion for their sport, great team leader and ability to stay strong through adversity.
Sam Highfill, Baseball
ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year
The nominees for this award must be in an ACC sponsored sport and in their last year of athletic competition. The ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year will be awarded to the student-athlete who achieved at the highest level both academically and athletically.
Kelsey Chmiel, Women's Cross Country and Track
Trent Hidlay, Wrestling
Individual Performance of the Year
Awarded to a male and female student-athlete that had an outstanding performance in a competition.
Katharine Berkoff at the NCAA Championship, Women's Swimming: Berkoff led the team with five All-America honors, including her third career national title in the 100-yard backstroke. After setting the pool record in the prelims at NCAAs, she went on to best the time and set a program record in the finals to take home the gold. That title came after she won her fifth-straight ACC crown to remain perfect in the event on her career. She also set the program record in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle events this past season.
DJ Burns, Jr. at the NCAA Elite 8 game, Men's Basketball: Burns scored 21 of his season-high 29 points in the second half of the Elite Eight game against ACC foe Duke to help the Pack overcome a six-point halftime deficit. His 29 points marked the most by a member of the Pack in an Elite Eight game or later in the NCAA tournament. His performance in the 76-64 win over the Blue Devils earned him the South Region Most Outstanding Player Award and pushed the Pack to its first Final Four appearance since 1983.
Team Performance of the Year
Awarded to a team that had an outstanding performance in a competition.
Women's Cross Country at the NCAA Championship: Entering the 2023 NCAA Championship, the Wolfpack looked to complete the first three-peat since Stanford did so in 2005-07. After veteran Kelsey Chmiel was unable to compete due to injury and 2022 individual national champion Katelyn Tuohy fell ill, the women's team rallied and won the national championship by a narrow-one-point decision. The team earned numerous accolades for its performance at the national meet, including USTFCCCA National Scholar Team of the Year, and head coach Laurie Henes earned National Coach of the Year for the third season in a row.
Men's Basketball at the ACC Tournament Championship Game: The men's basketball team came out of the gates hot in the ACC Tournament Championship game, never giving up the lead, and earned its first conference title in 37 years. A 10-seed, the Pack became the first ever double digit seed to win the title while also becoming the second team in the nation to win five games in five days and would earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. DJ Burns earned Tournament MVP in addition to All-Tournament First Team honors and three others also earned All-Tournament team nods.
Pride of the Pack Award
The recipient of this award commits to the four guiding tenets of Trust, Accountability, Passion and Empathy. The student-athlete who receives this award not only embodies these principles themselves, but also commits to upholding these core values for their teammates and other student-athletes to follow.
Emily Shepard, Gymnastics
Kendall Edwards, Men's Soccer
Team of the Year
Awarded to a men's and women's team that had an outstanding season.
Women's Basketball: After being picked to finish eighth in the conference in the preseason poll and entering the season unranked, the women's basketball team reached the Final Four for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1998. The squad is one of just seven teams in NCAA history to start the year unranked and reach a Final Four in the same year. The Pack finished the season with nine ranked wins over AP Top 25 teams to tie a single-season program record, highlighted by four wins over AP Top 5 squads. The team also finished as runner-up at the 2024 ACC Tournament as it made its fourth championship game appearance in the last five seasons.
Men's Basketball: After jumping out to a 5-1 record in the ACC, its best start to conference play since 1989, the Pack ran into some difficulty in the back half of its regular season schedule and entered the ACC Tournament with the odds stacked against them. NC State rose to the moment though, winning five games in five days to become just the second team ever to win five games in five days as the Pack earned its first conference title since 1983 with an eight-point win over rival and top-seed North Carolina in the ACC Championship game. The Pack could have rested on an ACC Title, but this NC State team was still hungry. The Pack entered the NCAA Tournament with momentum and it stayed with them as NC State won four games in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the program's first Final Four since 1983.
Chancellor's Cup
Awarded to the men's and women's teams with the highest GPA in the previous spring and fall that had an outstanding performance in a competition.
Women's Swimming & Diving
Men's Tennis
Caterpillar Top Scholars Awards
Recognizes those student-athletes with the highest GPAs.
Geigh Dominic Neill, Cheerleading
Sofia Migliaccio, Women's Golf
Chloe Negrete, Gymnastics
Annika Wohner, Women's Soccer
Yara Hierath, Women's Swimming & Dive
Mary O'Neil, Women's Swimming & Dive
Abigail Pilkenton, Women's Swimming & Dive
Sophie Abrams, Women's Tennis
Kelsey Chmiel, Women's Track & Field
Trent Hidlay, Wrestling
Jarrett Trombley, Wrestling
Team MVPs
Spring
LuJames Groover III, Baseball
Maximilian Steinlechner, Men's Golf
Lauren Olivares Leon, Women's Golf
Hannah Goodwin, Softball
Fons Van Sambeek, Men's Tennis
Alana Smith, Women's Tennis
Cameron Murray, Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Amaris Tyynismaa, Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Fall
Brett Gardner, Men's Cross Country
Katelyn Tuohy, Women's Cross Country
Payton Wilson, Football
Hakim Karamoko, Men's Soccer
Leyah Hall-Robinson, Women's Soccer
Amanda Rice, Volleyball
Winter
DJ Burns, Jr., Men's Basketball
Aziaha James, Women's Basketball
Sutton Hodges, Cheerleading Small CoEd
Matt Leonard, Cheerleading Large CoEd
Emily Shepard, Gymnastics
Luke Miller, Men's Swimming & Dive
Kyzaiah Stone, Men's Indoor Track & Field
Grace Hartman, Women's Indoor Track & Field
Trent Hidlay, Wrestling
https://gopack.com/news/2024/4/22/pack-athletics-nc-state-athletics-celebrates-with-2024-wolfie-awards