The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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120 ■ THE WOLFPACKER thing special besides the good work in the pool." In the end, it worked out, and Vazaios spent three years swimming at the highest level for NC State. This past spring, he re- peated as the national champion in the 200 butterfly, a race that was not even on his internal list of potential events to swim when he got to college. He was also second in the 200 individual medley, the race he called his baby, for the second straight season. Vazaios became the first NC State swimmer to win an individual national title in back-to-back years, and he is just the second to win multiple individual championships, joining Dick Fadgen who won the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly in 1956. Vazaios finishes his ca- reer as a 13-time All-American, six-time ACC champion and four-time NCAA champ (he was on the 800 freestyle relay teams that took first in 2017 and 2018). He was also the 2018 ACC Men's Swimmer of the Year. After defending his 200 butterfly title, Vazaios said in his post-race interview he wished he could swim more for the Wolf- pack, and he meant it. "I wish I could have more years, but there are rules against that," Vazaios noted. He has made himself a second home during his time at NC State. He will stick around through the fall as he finishes up his studies in psychology. The two-time Scholar All-American was named the 2019 ACC Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. His next goal is to make it to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, focusing on the 200 individual medley, but also trying the 200 freestyle and his newly discovered specialty of the 200 butterfly. His quest for Olympic glory took a stop in Raleigh, an experience that neither he nor NC State swimming will ever forget. "I love Raleigh," he stated. "I love North Carolina, even though the weather is crazy." ■ Here are the top 10 male athletes during the 2018‑19 school year at NC State after Andreas Vazaios, The Wolf- packer's Male Athlete of the Year: 1. Garrett Bradbury, Football: Bradbury started his career at NC State as a two‑star tight end recruit and left as the program's eighth all‑time consensus All‑American. The American Football Coaches Association, the As‑ sociated Press, Walter Camp and the Football Writers Association of America all named him a first‑team All‑ American, and Bradbury also won the Rimington Award, which is given to college football's best center. He became the first Wolfpack offensive lineman to be drafted in the first round since Jim Ritcher in 1980. The Vikings chose the fifth‑year senior with the 18th overall pick. 2. Coleman Stewart, Swimming: The junior was inches away from making a strong case for Male Athlete of the Year himself. He was second in the finals of both the 100 backstroke — the race he won in 2018 — and 100 but ‑ terfly at the NCAA Championships, and he also tacked on a fourth‑place finish in the 200 backstroke. Stewart won the ACC titles in both backstroke races and was second in the 100 butterfly. 3. Will Wilson, Baseball: Wilson capped his junior cam‑ paign by becoming the first NC State baseball player since Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner in 2014 to be drafted in the first round by MLB. The Los Angeles Angels selected him with the 15th overall pick after Wilson led NC State with his .335 batting average and 16 home runs, and was second on the team with 57 runs batted in. The first‑team all‑conference shortstop was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also was tabbed as a second‑team All‑American by Collegiate Baseball. 4. Hayden Hidlay, Wrestling: Hidlay may have been a national champ in March at 157 pounds if it was not for a highly disputed officiating decision in a controversial 3‑2 loss to top seed Jason Nolf, who went on to win his third straight national crown, of Penn State in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. An overturned two‑point takedown originally awarded to Hidlay after a lengthy review was the subject of much chatter in the wrestling community, but Hidlay still had an impressive year. The redshirt sophomore went 23‑4, won an ACC title and finished fourth at nationals. 5. Ian Shanklin, Cross Country/Track & Field: Shanklin is a sophomore in cross country and redshirt freshman in track. In the fall, he was the Pack's top finisher at the ACC and NCAA Championships, winning All‑ACC honors with a seventh‑place finish at the conference meet. The cross country team's 11th‑place finish at nationals was the best since placing 10th in 2011. He was also named All‑Region after taking 11th in the NCAA Southeast Regional. In track, Shanklin was the ACC champion in the 5,000 meters indoor and was third in the 3,000‑meter race, and he advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 5,000 meters outdoor race after running fourth at the ACC meet. 6. Cravont Charleston, Track & Field: A junior, Charles ‑ ton is making his legacy for being one of the fastest sprinters in school history. He was second‑team All‑ American in the 100‑meter dash for outdoor track after clocking a wind‑aided 10.13 seconds. The last sprinter to be All‑American at NC State in that race was Alvis Whitted in 1996. During indoor track, Charleston on three occasions set a new school record in the 60‑meter dash, with the low ‑ est time being 6.54 seconds. He was also a second‑team All‑American in that event. 7. Alexis Galarneau, Tennis: In the history of the In‑ tercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, which dates back to 1981, no Wolfpacker finished the year higher in the singles listing than Galarneau's No. 26 at the end of the 2018‑19. The junior beat seven ranked competitors en route to a 16‑10 record at the top singles spot in the spring dual match season and was named first‑team All‑ACC. 8. Stephen Franken, Golf: After being the 2018 ACC Player of the Year, Franken was again chosen All‑ACC this spring and he was also named a semifinalist for the Divi ‑ sion I Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Barbasol. Franken won the Stitch Intercollegiate in April and led the Pack with an average round score of 70.74, the fourth lowest in school history. He is the first NC State golfer to lead the team in stroke average all four years of college, and his career stroke average of 71.06 is a new program best. 9. David Loera, Soccer: The sophomore midfielder was named first‑team All‑ACC and All‑South Region, the latter by the United Soccer Coaches, and he was picked to the TopDrawerSoccer Best XI third team. Last season, Loera started all 20 games for NC State, netted three goals (all game winners) and had a team‑high seven assists. He was the TopDrawerSoccer.com Na ‑ tional Player of the Week after scoring the winner against No. 1 UNC. 10. Ryan Finley, Football: Finley finished his career as a worthy entrant into the "QBU" club at NC State. He threw for 10,501 yards and 60 touchdowns while complet‑ ing a school‑record 64.5 percent of his passes during his Wolfpack career. He ranks second in many passing statistical categories to the legendary Philip Rivers, including passing yards, passing efficiency rating, completions and attempts. He was first‑team All‑ACC this past year and picked in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. — Matt Carter Past Male Athletes Of The Year Year Athlete Sport 2017-18 Bradley Chubb Football 2016-17 Ryan Held Swimming 2015-16 Nick Gwiazdowski Wrestling 2014-15 Nick Gwiazdowski Wrestling 2013-14 T.J. Warren Basketball 2012-13 Carlos Rodon Baseball THE BEST OF THE REST Garrett Bradbury became NC State's eighth all-time consensus All-American and was the recipient of the Rimington Award (nation's top center) this past fall. PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS