First practice and schedule released today.

Of course, the squad is aiming to win their 4th straight National Championship, and has won the last 8 ACC Championships. Of note, the ACC Championships are at home this year, at the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary on November 1st.

🚨𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 🚨

Wolfpack fans, are you ready?
The 2024 season is only 𝟮 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗦 away!

🔴https://t.co/xuVVXKP3yP#WolfpackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/5Ig8dKE2Fw

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 16, 2024

First day of practice is in the books! #WolfpackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/HkPVG5Po9R

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 17, 2024

Here's a podcast released yesterday with a good interview with former NC State cross country runner Emily Pritt, who has been Chief Operating Officer at Nike Bowerman Track Club and Head Coach of the Bowerman Track Club Youth program.

The interviewer is a University of Texas alum and spends a good part of the interview probing Pritt to try to get insight into what has led to the success of the NC State women's cross country program under Laurie Henes.

Pritt ran for NC State around 2008-2012, the first few years that Laurie Henes was the head coach of the women's team.


https://open.spotify.com/episode/1G6ibn1I3esYaKh3Vh1EPR

Quote:

---

Today, I'm joined by Emily Pritt, former team captain of the NC State Track and Cross Country team, to explore the values, culture, and leadership under head coach Laurie Henes that have made NC State a powerhouse. Now working as an agent and marketing director, Emily shares her insights into building a winning culture in sports.

---

I've heard/read that FloTrack's analysis has gone downhill over the last few years, and the following article demonstrates this with them making the egregious error of thinking that Sam Bush and Amaris Tyynismaa would be on the team for fall of 2024 -- and therefore, picking us as the favorites to win this fall.

But FWIW, here's their article picking the NC State women as the favorites to win the team title again in 2024, followed by Northern Arizona 2nd and Oregon in 3rd.

I think you will see most other top analysts (and the early polls) picking Northern Arizona to be the favorites, and probably ranking NC State somewhere around 3rd-6th (best guesstimate).

https://www.flotrack.org/articles/12708379-the-top-five-ncaa-womens-teams-to-watch-in-this-cross-country-season

Quote:

---

The Top Five NCAA Women's Teams To Watch In This Cross Country Season

Coming off the collegiate three-peat, the North Carolina State women are still the favorite to win it all in Wisconsin.

Jul 15, 2024 by Maxx Bradley

For the first time in a long time, the upcoming NCAA cross country season won't feature Katelyn Tuohy or Parker Valby.

That means we're entering a new era of collegiate distance running.

Five national powers from the ACC, Big Sky, Big 10, Big East and SEC are among the top contenders in all of Division I.

Here are five of the top women's programs heading into the 2024 season.

North Carolina State University

Laurie Henes' squad has proven time and time again that they're always in a world of their own.

Last November, in a fantastic comeback which should live in cross country lore, the Wolfpack edged the Northern Arizona women, 123-124, successfully earning a collegiate three-peat.

As the North Carolina State women shoot for a fourth-straight title, they'll have to do it without the likes of Katelyn Tuohy and Kelsey Chmiel. However, both Sam Bush and Amaris Tynnismaa have eligibility to come back and underclassmen Leah Stephens, Grace Hartman and Hannah Gapes all have a championship season under their belt.

Henes' group of newcomers is also one of the best in the country, as freshman Ellie Shea and Bethany Michalak could each make an immediate impact. Six-time NCAA DIII national champion Fiona Smith is making the most of her fifth-year, as she'll bring a 19:51 6K personal best to the table as transfers in from St. Benedict's College.

All-in-all, NC State remains the team to beat for another year.

---

With this post (with no edits), I'm going to go on record that I believe that NC State (if fully healthy) can contend for the title again in fall 2024, and should definitely finish on the podium (top 4) at Nationals. I haven't done a deep analysis on all of the other teams, but comparing our team to Northern Arizona, I think we can stack up with them.

We have 2 sure fire all-Americans (finish in top 40 at Nationals) in Hartman and Stephens, who may both finish around 15-25 at Nationals. I believe that Fiona Smith, Michalak, and Shea are all strong contenders to be All-American. Between Gapes, Rauber, and Napoleon I think you would have at least 2 who could finish in the 45-60 range. That's a very solid top 8 runners.

This may be an overly optimistic view, but I could see our top 5 at Nationals being Stephens, Hartman, Smith, Michalak, and Shea/Gapes finishing 15/20/25/30/45 and scoring around 95 points. I ran the numbers, and the average score of the NCAA Champion over the last 15 years is 103 points. Now, Northern Arizona may have a very strong team this year, but projecting their score at Nationals, I was getting something in that same ballpark of around 90-100 points.

To my surprise, this NCAA article previewing the cross country season (dated August 9, 2024) has the NC State women as the favorites to win again...

https://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-country-women/article/2024-08-09/2024-ncaa-cross-country-storylines-individual-contenders-team-title

Quote:

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2024 NCAA cross country storylines: Individual contenders, team title hopefuls and more

August 9, 2024
Stan Becton
NCAA.com

[...]

Women

• NC State
• Northern Arizona
• Oregon
• Florida

NC State will be going for a four-peat this fall and should be the favorite in a wide-open team field entering the year. Northern Arizona was one point away from knocking off the Wolfpack last fall and now leans on returnee Elise Sterans to finally get over the hump.

Oregon and Florida are other potential team title contenders to watch in the preseason. The Ducks finished 10th last year but return all but one of their top-seven point scorers. The Gators lost Parker Valby but replaced her with Hilda Olemomoi. Florida will need more depth to truly contend, but it has the top-end talent.

---

Summer was a blast, but now it’s time to get back to business! #WolfpackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/Fvv1TfoGmm

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 17, 2024

Story posted on the official NC State Instagram this morning with video of the team running on Miller fields...

Appears to be Michalak, Napoleon, Jolena Quarzo, and Ellie Shea

Kate Putman (or maybe Leah Stephens) behind Quarzo in that pic

toddl said:

---

Putman or Stephens behind Quarzo in that pic

---

It's Putman. I took a still shot of the video on the IG story. I haven't seen any video of Stephens running yet. But she was dressed out and in the pics up from the first day of practice (August 16th).

Packapalooza is today. As many of you may already know, several of the Wolfpack sports teams have meet & greets at Packapalooza. The last two years, they have brought the women's cross country team up on the stage (with the national championship trophy) and acknowledged them.

I'm not 100% sure, but looking at this year's Packapalooza schedule, it appears they may be doing this for the women's cross country team (along with the wrestling team and women's basketball team) from 7:00 - 7:30pm tonight in the "Wolfpack Zone" section of the event, which will be located in the vicinity of North Residence Hall along Hillsborough St.

https://packapalooza.ncsu.edu/performance-and-activity-schedules/

Wolfpack Nation, thank you for bringing the best energy to Packapalooza! ❤️#wolfpackxc | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/o4Sox15JT2

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 25, 2024

The men are coming in at No. 4 in the @USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Preseason Poll!#WolfPackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/tp3ulgFRyh

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 27, 2024

Preseason National Coaches' Poll released today by USTFCCAA has the NC State women tied with NAU for #1. Rounding out top 5 are Notre Dame #3, Oregon #4, and Washington #5.


https://www.ustfccca.org/2024/08/featured/2024-ncaa-di-womens-cross-country-national-coaches-poll-preseason

Quote:

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2024 NCAA DI Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll Preseason

By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA August 27, 2024

NEW ORLEANS Buckle up, cross country fans the NCAA DI women's cross country competition looks to be close again.

In fact, the combatants in last year's final race when NC State topped Northern Arizona by just one point actually tied for No. 1 in the preseason edition of the NCAA DI Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll for the upcoming 2024 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

It's the first-ever tie in the NCAA DI Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll as the Wolfpack and Lumberjacks each collected five first-place votes. The other first-place vote went to No. 3 Notre Dame while Pacific Northwest rivals Oregon and Washington rounded out the top-5.

NC State will be looking for a fourth-straight national crown, a feat only accomplished by Villanova while winning six straight 1989-94. The Wolfpack return four of its national championship squad, but the missing ones are their top-3. Still, three of the returners competed as freshmen last year and there's no shortage of quality new names this year, including prep star Ellie Shea, who was the top non-African at the World U20 Cross Country Championships last spring. Add in a pair of redshirt freshmen in Angelina Napoleon (a 9:54.08 steepler with an 800 PR of 2:03.97) and Jolena Quarzo (a teammate of Shea at the World XC and younger sister of Gionna Quarzo, part of last year's title team).

NAU, which entered last year's NCAA Championships as a unanimous No. 1 in the Coaches' Poll, returns three including two scorers led by Elise Stearns, who was fourth in the 2022 edition. The Lumberjacks' talented roster also includes transfers Alyson Churchill (22nd last year for Florida State), Karrie Baloga (82nd for Colorado) and Hayley Burns (2022 NJCAA DII champ while at Coconino [Ariz.] CC).

No. 3 is the highest ranking for Notre Dame in the poll since Week 2 of 2003, and the excitement in South Bend, Indiana, is warranted. The Irish finished fourth last year their highest since being third in 2002 and return five of its top-7 led by Erin Strzelecki (37th). More weapons come from transfer Emily Covert (50th last year for Colorado and also fourth in the 2022 track 10,000 meters) and redshirt freshman Ariane Olson (ACC 10,000-meter champ in the spring).

Oregon's No. 4 ranking is its highest since being No. 2 in Week 7 of 2018. Six of the Ducks' top-7 return from a tenth-place finish last year. Add in transfer Silan Ayyildiz, who finished 11th last year for South Carolina. Ayyildiz is one of three Ducks who posted impressive track PRs this spring/summer: she clocked a 4:09.34/15:15.84 combo in the 1500/5000; top returner Maddy Elmore notched a 15:15.79 in the 5k in the spring; and Klaudia Kazimierska third in the 1500 at the NCAA Championships in June before reaching the Paris Olympics final sped 3:59.95 two days ago to rate No. 3 on the all-time, all-dates collegiate list.

At No. 5, Washington is at its highest since being No. 4 in 2019, a season in which they reached No. 2. All five scorers return led by the 1-2 of Chloe Foerster and Sophie O'Sullivan, each off fresh summer track PRs in the 1500 Foerster at 4:07.66, O'Sullivan at 4:00.23 in the Paris Olympic heats.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the preseason: No. 6 BYU, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Providence and No. 10 Tennessee. The Friars' No. 9 ranking is their best since a No. 7 in 2017, while the Vols' No. 10 is their highest since 2004, when they hit No. 9.

---

𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐏❗️

The women's team is heading into the 2024 season at No. 1 on the @USTFCCCA & @TheACC Preseason Polls!

🔴 https://t.co/ngtdUc9OJq#WolfPackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/3hhp9y5JoO

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 27, 2024

The men are coming in at No. 4 in the @USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Preseason Poll!#WolfPackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/tp3ulgFRyh

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 27, 2024

New interview with Leah Stephens released today. She first noticed she was injured two days after Penn Relays this past spring (late April 2024), with pain in her glutes and could barely walk after finishing a run. They did an MRI and found out that she had a stress fracture in her sacrum (bone at the base of the spine near the pelvis). She took about 3 weeks off with no physical activity whatsoever, then did swimming at first. She didn't start running again until about 6 weeks after the injury.

From the interview, she is currently back to training but easing her way back slowly to race shape (not doing it too quickly, so as not to increase risk of re-injury). She says her individual goal for this season is to make the top 7 and run at Nationals, but she "doesn't know what will happen" in terms of whether she will be able to return to the form she showed in the 2023 XC season -- not because the injury is bothering her, but just due to missing time due to the injury over the summer, and having to play "catch up" to competitors and get in shape in a shortened amount of time.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/27gaUkqnUwONe1Ob3AZ8mf?si=WTYjEM2jQm6pQO5xCg2ODg&nd=1&dlsi=cc6239ab86ed4734

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞- 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫? 🤔#WolfPackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/gM1cRMFo3c

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 28, 2024

Angelina Napoleon will take on the 3000m steeplechase final tomorrow at the 2024 @worldathletics U20 Championships!

🔴 Live Results/Streaming: https://t.co/HUjVCalqVE

🔴 TIME: 6:37pm EST#WolfPackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/TtMtzfkfKb

— NC State Gymnastics 🐺🐾 (@Pack_Gymnastics) August 28, 2024

Talked to a recent member of the women's team who's still close to the program. She rightfully cautions that this team is very young and a lot can go wrong, injuries, difficulty adapting to running mid pack and pressing, etc. If we make the podium it will be a successful year. Winning the ACC is not a certainty for the first time in a while too. It's a rebuilding year

I'm a bit surprised by all the #1 talk. Without doing any deep dives into other teams, I would put us maybe 5th place. We lost our top 3 runners from last year's championships, which we only won by 1 point anyway. Having a runner in contention for the win is a cheat-code for cross country scoring, and we won't have that this year.
A podium finish would be extremely successful.

toddl said:

---

I'm a bit surprised by all the #1 talk. Without doing any deep dives into other teams, I would put us maybe 5th place. We lost our top 3 runners from last year's championships, which we only won by 1 point anyway. Having a runner in contention for the win is a cheat-code for cross country scoring, and we won't have that this year.
A podium finish would be extremely successful.

---

NAU and Notre Dame (2 of the other top 5 teams) also had significant losses. Notre Dame has apparently lost their top two scorers from last year (both Markezich sisters, Olivia for sure...and I think Andrea as well), who finished 3rd and 35th at Nationals. And we beat Notre Dame by 114 points at Nationals last year. NAU also loses their top two scorers at Nationals last year, Larkin and Reiss, who finished 13th and 15th. NAU added a likely top 30 transfer in Churchill, and Notre Dame a top 50 transfer in Emily Covert. And both NAU and Notre Dame added some good freshmen. But NC State is adding better freshmen (Michalak and Ellie Shea) than either Notre Dame or NAU, and added a potential top 40 finisher in Fiona Smith.

Looking at our roster compared to NAU and Notre Dame and "running the numbers" to make projections of finish at Nationals, IMO it's really between us and NAU for the title again, with all other schools being a tier (~50-100+ points) below at Nationals. Of course, all of that is assuming everyone is healthy....and injuries can shake everything up and change things significantly.

The article I posted from flotrack previously in this thread (from July) was more of a "teams to watch" than an official preseason ranking.

Now their official preseason rankings are out, and they have the NC State women at #3 in the nation. Behind NAU at #1 and Washington at #2.

https://www.flotrack.org/rankings/12792611-flotrack-college-xc-rankings-presented-by-hoka-division-i/50290-d1-womens-team

Angelina Napoleon finished 10th in the 3000m Steeplechase final at the @worldathletics U20 Championships in Peru!

📸: @usatf pic.twitter.com/VkjfUFBldO

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) August 31, 2024

The Stride Report just released their ranking for the NC State women at #3 in the country. They have Notre Dame at #4 and Washington at #5. They haven't released the top 2 yet, but I assume it will be BYU at #2 and NAU at #1.


https://instagr.am/p/C_WQAs_y8Qz

Here is The Stride Report podcast where they discuss the top 7 teams (both men's and women's). They cover the NC State women starting at around 46:20 in the video....and say that the Wolfpack women have a "chance" to win the national title but it's "highly unlikely", because they believe that NAU are too strong of favorites.

They mention Stephens and Hartman as likely All-Americans, and Fiona Smith, Ellie Shea, and Bethany Michalak as possibly contending for All-American and/or "making a big impact".

The first race of the year, the Adidas XC Challenge, is coming up next Friday, September 20th...at the cross country course at the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, NC. It's free entry (no ticket required), and I've gone to this race the last two years and it's been free parking both times. I'm planning to make it out to this one as well.

Per the website, the tentative schedule has the men's race starting at 5:15 pm and the women's race starting at 5:55pm.
https://thexcchallenge.com/schedule/

Based on who has run for the Wolfpack women the last two years at this race, we probably won't see many (if any) of the top (projected top 5 or 7) returning (non-freshmen) women run in this race -- which means you most likely will not see Grace Hartman, Leah Stephens, or Hannah Gapes run in this race. I would guess that there's a good chance we might see most of the freshmen run, but probably all of them who do race running unattached (so that they can still possibly redshirt). If any of them run well enough to show that they could help the team later in the year as scorers at the big meets, they could take their redshirt off -- as occurred with Leah Stephens, who ran unattached in the Adidas XC Challenge last year. There's the possibility of seeing Bethany Michalak, Ellie Shea, Xela Martinez and maybe Fiona Smith run ....so definitely some interesting runners worth seeing, who could end up being scorers at ACCs, Regionals and Nationals.

Brooke Rauber sighting...

T-Minus 24 hours until we are BACK.#WolfPackXC | #GoPack 🐺 pic.twitter.com/Gfiu91UaOM

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) September 19, 2024

The wait is OVER!
Welcome to the 2024 Season, Wolfpack Nation! #WolfPackXc | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/qmYOQuCPNg

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) September 20, 2024

https://flashresults.com/2025_Meets/xc/adidas/index.htm
Friday:
5:15 men
5:55 women

Ready, Set, PACK!@Wolfpack_TFXC kicks off its 2024 XC season today in the 919 at the Adidas XC Challenge!

📍 WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC

Men’s College/Open 6k ➡️ 5:15 PM
Women’s College/Open 5k ➡️ 5:55 PM ET#GoPack pic.twitter.com/UqrMeviqHB

— NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) September 20, 2024

Tune into our Instagram live at 5:15pm ET to watch the men's 6K!

Women's 5K is set to follow at 5:55pm ET!

Tune into our Instagram live at 5:15pm ET to watch the men’s 6K!

Women’s 5K is set to follow at 5:55pm ET! pic.twitter.com/mhLozzkEeD

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) September 20, 2024

The NC State cross country team opened its season Friday night at the adidas XC Challenge with the women taking home first place, while Brett Gardner's victory helped the men's squad secure second place.

Senior Brett Gardner finished first in the 6k with a time of 17:37.2, with teammate Toby Gualter following closely behind with a career-best time of 17:39.4 to finish second. The rest of the Wolfpack lineup included JJ Malach (18:39.4), Wesley Larson (18:27.9), Jimmy Mullarkey (18:28.4), Kevin Antczak (18:31.4), and Matthew Bogdan (18:32.3).

Gardner, Gualter, Malach, Larson, and Mullarkey were the top five competitors, rounding out NC State's score of 51, securing a second-place team finish.

In the women's 5k, Grace Hartman was the first NC State runner to cross the finish line. Hartman finished fourth with a time of 16:25.9, followed closely by teammates Hannah Gapes (16:26.6), Fiona Smith (16:53.8), Kate Putman (17:04.3), and Angelina Napoleon (17:10.8), who finished fifth, sixth, eighth, and 11th, respectively. Their efforts secured the top spot for the team with a score of 34, earning a victory over Clemson, who finished with 51 points.

Squad members Caroline Murrell (17:29.8), Ellie Shea (17:39.4), and Olivia Haas (18:19.6) also competed with the Pack.

UP NEXT
The Wolfpack returns to action on Friday, October 4, when it will travel to the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational and the ECU Pirate Invitational.

MEN'S 6K RESULTS
Brett Gardner (17:37.2) (1st)
Toby Gualter (17:39.4) (2nd)
JJ Malach (18:05.5) (13th)
Wesley Larson (18:27.9) (24th)
Jimmy Mullarkey (18:28.4) (25th)
Kevin Antczak (18:31.4) (26th)
Matthew Bogdan (18:32.3) (27th)

UNATTACHED
Noah Vaylo (17:52.1) (5th)
Brayden Marshall (18:24.9) (19th)
Tyler Surface (18:36.1) (31st)

WOMEN'S 5K RESULTS
Grace Hartman (16:25.9) (4th)
Hannah Gapes (16:26.6) (5th)
Fiona Smith (16:53.8) (6th)
Kate Putman (17:04.3) (8th)
Angelina Napoleon (17:10.8) (11th)
Caroline Murrell (17:29.8) (20th)
Ellie Shea (17:39.4) (26th)
Olivia Haas (18:19.6) (44th)

UNATTACHED:
Chandler Welsh (18:09.2) (37th)

https://gopack.com/news/2024/9/20/cross-country-wolfpack-start-the-season-in-familiar-fashion

Fun evening watching @Wolfpack_TFXC open their season with the Adidas XC Challenge! #GoPack pic.twitter.com/AmSsCNe0IW

— Wolfpack Club (@wolfpackclub) September 20, 2024

Trust in the Process.#WolfpackXC | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/DWuS3vX24M

— Pack Track & Field and Cross Country (@Wolfpack_TFXC) September 21, 2024

Recap
Gardner, Hartman lead Wolfpack cross country through Adidas XC Challenge

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/gardner-hartman-lead-wolfpack-cross-country-through-adidas-xc-challenge/article_fa40c9ba-786d-11ef-aae9-0f11ccc83e32.html

"We've got to get better as a program," said men's head coach Rollie Geiger. "You don't win cross country because you run first and second. I mean, it takes at least five, so we've got to get better on the backside of the program."

"We were really trying to practice people running together," said women's head coach Laurie Henes. "Grace and Hannah did a really good job of that. They went out a lot more conservatively to keep the group together for a longer period of time, and then just ran a little bit harder at the end."

The Pack's next outing is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 4. The team is set to make appearances at two meets that day the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Illinois and the ECU Pirate Invitational in Greenville, North Carolina.

Pleasantly surprised with how well Hannah Gapes and Kate Putman ran at the Adidas Challenge. Huge bummer that it looks like Leah Stephens will not be able to race this fall. But it appears that Gapes (demonstrated by that excellent time of 16:26 this weekend) may possibly "take her place", in the sense of being the caliber of scorer that Stephens would have been this fall. For reference, Stephens ran 16:54 at last year's Adidas XC Challenge and 16:24 at the Joe Piane. If Gapes can be a potential ~25-35 finisher at Nationals, that's huge for our chances to podium or possibly even still contend for the title.