The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1113082
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Hayden Hidlay, Wresting The redshirt sophomore from Lewistown, Pa., finished fourth in the 157-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships after repeating his ACC title, and many felt that he deserved more. Hidlay lost to top seed and undefeated two-time defending champ Jason Nolf in the NCAA semifinals by a narrow 3-2 decision, but a two-point takedown awarded to Hidlay at the end of the first period was controversially overturned after a lengthy review. Hidlay's ACC title helped the Wolfpack win the conference's team championship for the second time in the last four years. Nyls Korstanje, Swimming In his debut season for NC State, the freshman from Nijmegen, Neth- erlands, showcased a promising future. Korstanje was named the ACC Freshman of the Year after helping the Pack win a conference title for the fifth straight time and finish fourth at the NCAA Cham- pionship meet for the fourth consecutive campaign. He earned honorable mention All-America honors in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and became the first freshman at NC State to break 42 seconds in the 100 (41.91 seconds). Korstanje's best time of 19.03 seconds in the 50 is already fourth fastest in school history. Brigette Nordberg, Softball The junior transfer from Maryland and native of Exton, Pa., has had a significant breakout season. Through April 29, Nordberg was hit- ting .311 with 16 home runs and 44 runs batted in. The outfielder's homer total is fourth most in a single season at NC State and is tied for second in the ACC entering May. Her RBI total was tied for ninth in program history. She owned an impressive slugging percentage of .682, which would be fifth best ever at NCSU. A year ago at Maryland, she had a .272 batting average with a pair of homers and 20 RBI. Ky-Lee Perry, Swimming After having her sophomore season cut short by an injury, the Norwalk, Conn., native rebounded in a significant way. She earned All-America accolades in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, fin- ishing seventh in both races, which helped NC State match the pro- gram's best showing (seventh) at the NCAA Championships. Perry broke her own school record in the 50 with a time of 21.57 seconds, and her mark of 47.43 seconds in the 100 was just 0.05 seconds off the fastest at NC State. Coleman Stewart, Swimming The junior from York, Pa., narrowly missed being a two-time cham- pion at the NCAA Championships, finishing second in both the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke, the latter of which he was the de- fending national champion. Stewart swept both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke at the ACC Championships and was named the meet's co-MVP after tying for the most points scored by any swim- mer there. After the season was over, Stewart was named the ACC Men's Swimmer of the Year. PACK QUOTES "He's an explosive guy. He gives us what we had when Nyheim [Hines] was here in the backfield. He's a guy who can change the game if you miss him." ■ NC State head coach Dave Doeren on early enrollee freshman running back ZONOVAN "BAM" KNIGHT (The Raleigh News & Observer) "It's just matter of both us trying to keep each other on track and trying to fix problems where they arise. We're go- ing to do what's best for NC State." — NC State wide receivers coach George McDonald on the revamped offensive coaching staff, which includes him splitting offensive coordinator duties with Des Kitchings (The Raleigh News & Observer) "In the ACC and college basketball as a whole, you just need to get experience. And with that under my belt this year, hopefully it will help me next season. I'll have to grind out this summer … and work hard every single day. I'm not going to take it easy just because I had a good season." — NC State freshman center Elissa Cunane on what she learned this season (Technician) "The lifestyle was the biggest change. It's learning how to handle yourself on the long bus rides and the road trips. It's learning about the daily grind of playing six or seven times a week, rather than three or four." — Former NC State baseball player Brett Kinneman of the Greensboro Grasshop- pers on adjusting to minor league baseball (The Greensboro News & Record) "I never thought about being the highest-paid player. I always did believe I'd hopefully be a great winner, though. The guys I've always admired in sports, the guys that played at [their] locations for 15-20 years, guys like Derek Jeter, I want to be like that. I want to be remembered in that sense of what we want to do here in Seattle. So we're just getting started." — Former NC State quarterback Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks on signing a four-year extension that aver- ages $35 million per season (The Seattle Times) PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN ■ PACK PERFORMERS