The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/112604
tracking the PACK ���PACK PEOPLE Elliott Avent, Baseball On Feb. 19, NC State won its first game of the season, a 5-0 shutout of Charlotte to even the Pack���s record after dropping the opener to Appalachian State. For Avent, however, it was the 600th win of his 17-year tenure at NC State. Avent is the all-time winningest baseball coach in school history. Prior to arriving at NC State, Avent won 225 games in eight seasons at New Mexico State, where he finished his as the secondwinningest coach in that school���s history. Riki Bonnema, Women���s Swimming The freshman from Orlando, Fla., is giving secondyear swimming coach Braden Holloway a lot of hope for the future. She was part of the 200-freestyle relay team that took first place at the ACC Championships Feb. 21 in Greensboro, N.C. It was State���s first conference title in that particular relay since 1980, and in any relay since 1991. Bonnema, who also helped the 200-medley relay team set a school record in Greensboro, individually broke the NCSU mark for the fastest 50 freestyle with a time of 22.43 seconds to finish fourth at the ACC meet. Ryan Hill, Men���s Track And Field Hill, a fifth-year senior from Hickory, N.C., won his fourth overall ACC indoor track title by taking first place in the mile Feb. 23 in Blacksburg, Va. It���s what Hill did in New York in the Wannamaker Mile at the Millrose Games Feb. 16 that really turned heads. Hill broke the 39-year ACC record for the mile by running it in 3:54.89. That was the fourth-fastest time ever by a collegiate runner and second best by an American collegiate athlete. Carlos Rodon, Baseball The sophomore from Holly Springs, N.C., entered this season with high expectations. The left-handed pitcher struggled by allowing five earned runs and giving up three home runs in the first five innings against Appalachian State Feb. 15. He worked a perfect sixth before exiting that game. Then in his next start, Rodon threw seven hitless innings, striking out a career-high 14 while walking just one against La Salle Feb. 23. Freshman reliever Karl Keglovits completed the first no-hitter for NCSU since 2005. Karimah Shepherd, Women���s Track And Field The Virginia Beach, Va., senior became the first female athlete in NC State history to win multiple jumping titles at the same ACC Indoor Track Championships Feb. 22 in Blacksburg,Va. Shepherd won the long jump and triple jump. Her school-record leap of 21-2 in the long jump gave NCSU just its secondever indoor title in the event and was the third-best jump in the nation this year. Shepherd���s triple jump of 43-0.5 a day later was a personal best and the second longest in State history. Shepherd was named the meet���s field MVP. Mark Stevenson, Gymnastics The 33-year veteran coach of NC State���s gymnastics program reached a milestone when he eclipsed 500 career wins after the Pack won its annual Sweetheart Invitational Feb. 16 in Raleigh. State���s first-place finish in a field of six teams gave Stevenson 501 career triumphs, making him just the seventh active college gymnastics coach to pile up at least 500 wins at their current school. Entering March, Stevenson had accumulated a total record of 501-283-2. Quoting The Pack ���Where do you start with what Marissa means to our program and our university? ��� I have not coached at ��� NC State without her, so that makes it a little tougher when your first class you have coached graduates. She has not only been a great player, but also a great ambassador for our university.��� photo by larry blankenship ��� NC State women���s basketball coach Kellie Harper on honoring star senior Marissa Kastanek before her last home game against Virginia Feb. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum (Technician) ���It allows me to get my fingers on the ball sometimes when I���m not supposed to. And as far as getting hands on receivers and making plays that a guy a little bit shorter than me probably couldn���t make, it definitely helps me. When you have receivers like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, big, tall freaks of nature, you definitely need someone to match up against them.��� ��� Former NC State cornerback David Amerson on how he hopes his 6-1, 205-pound size will help him get drafted high next April (Charlotte Observer) ���I would especially like to thank Coach [Tom] O���Brien, because he played a huge role in getting me to where I am now, but I wish Coach [Dave] Doeren and my teammates the best in years to come. I can���t wait to watch State games as a fan, and I look forward to coming back to a packed Carter-Finley Stadium in the near future. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will carry your cheers and support with me always. Regardless of where my next stop may be, I will forever be a member of the Wolfpack.��� ��� Former NC State quarterback Mike Glennon in a letter he wrote to Wolfpack fans (Technician) ���[Offensive coordinator] Coach [Matt] Canada���s offense and Coach [Dave] Doeren, they���ve shown they can do multiple things. At Indiana, they threw the ball a lot, at NIU they had running quarterbacks, at Wisconsin they had a drop-back passer. They adapt to what their players can do, and they���re going to continue to do that through the spring and the fall.��� ��� NC State rising redshirt junior quarterback Pete Thomas on the new coaching staff (ESPN.com) ���He���s a great player, and great players have got to step up and play, period. I love him as much as anybody. When you���re a good player, then you���ve got to play better. Richard [Howell] gets 17 rebounds today. Are we expecting Richard to get 30 rebounds? Holy mackerel, somebody else has got to rebound the ball. Calvin has to step up, period.��� ��� NC State head coach Mark Gottfried on the need for junior power forward C.J. Leslie to play well following the UNC loss Feb. 23 (TheWolfpacker.com) ���It���s a big deal to me. A lot of great players who have gone to the McDonald���s game made it to the league, so it���ll be a great experience for me. I thought I had a good chance to make it coming in as the third [-ranked] point guard in the nation. If I didn���t make it, it would have been motivation. But it���s still motivation that they selected me. I���m going to go out there and do my best.��� ��� NC State point guard signee Anthony ���Cat��� Barber of Hampton (Va.) High on making the McDonald���s All-American Game on April 3 (Newport News Daily Press) 18��� ������ the wolfpacker 12,14,16,18,20,22.Tracking The Pack.indd 18 2/26/13 3:44 PM