The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1059287
68 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State second-year head coach Kim Landrus is not one to hide her excitement. She could not wait for the end of summer's voluntary training to get to what she called "that magical first day of practice." In the first four weeks of practices, Landrus saw a lot of positives while she tries to replace several valuable seniors off last year's team — notably Chelsea Knight, a first-team All-East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) performer in the all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam, and the conference winner in the all-around competition at the EAGL Championships. "We have a large freshman class, and so I think that combined with our returnees will put us in a good place for the season," she noted. Losing a talented performer like Knight is only an opportunity for someone else, Landrus added. "I never like to think back," she added, "because this is part of being a coach." It helps that Landrus has a roster that is fully committed to the program. That's one of the benefits of a successful first sea- son under Landrus. Last spring, the Wolf- pack won the EAGL title for the first time since 2013 and hosted the NCAA Regional Championship in Raleigh, where it notched a program record for a regional score with a 196.050. The Pack finished the season tied for 20th in the final rankings put out by the College Gymnastics Association, and Landrus was named the Southeast Region Coach of the Year. "There was a lot of newness to every- thing that we did," Landrus noted. "One of the important things when you have that newness is for the student-athletes to see FULL SPEED AHEAD NC State Looks To Build Off Momentum From Last Season Junior Drew Grantham is NC State's top returner in podium finishes last season with 19, including eight first-place efforts. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP ■ Key Meets • Vs. Ohio State in Raleigh, Jan. 12 — The Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference finished last season No. 18 in the College Gymnastic Association's final poll and will be NC State's first home meet. • Vs. UNC in Raleigh, Feb. 16 — The Pack's archrival will make the trip to Reynolds Coliseum. • Vs. George Washington, Texas Woman's and Ari- zona in Raleigh, March 9 — The quad-meet will be Senior Day for NC State. George Washington is tradi- tionally one of the Wolfpack's top competitors for the league championship and finished last season ranked No. 25 nationally. GYMNASTICS PREVIEW