The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1190316
JANUARY 2020 ■ 17 TRACKING THE PACK Melissa Evans, Volleyball The junior from Lone Tree, Colo., concluded the regular season ranked second in the ACC with 408 kills, becoming just the second Wolfpack player in the rally-scoring era to break the 400 mark (Julia Brown did it in 2016 and 2017). Evans was also seventh in the ACC with 3.55 kills per set, and she finished third on the team with 73 blocks. She was named second-team All-ACC, her third straight all-conference mention. Only two other league juniors have also been honored three consecutive years. Tziarra King, Soccer The senior from Sicklerville, N.J., wrapped up her stellar career at NC State by finishing third in the ACC in goals (13) and fifth in points (32). She helped lead the Wolfpack to its third Sweet 16 run in four years and its second ACC Championship semifinals appearance in three seasons. King was named first- team All-ACC for the second time and also earned a spot on the All-Atlantic Region squad. She concluded her time in Raleigh with 48 goals and 115 points, both of which rank third in school history. Trent Hidlay, Wrestling The Lewistown, Pa., native redshirted last season, but it has not taken long for him to make a name for himself. On Nov. 23, the 184-pounder scored a 7-5 win over No. 3 Ben Darmstadt of Cornell. Then later that day, after an hour-plus bus ride, he won a 2-1 overtime decision over No. 2 Lou DePrez of Binghamton. Hidlay went from being ranked No. 13 by FloWrestling in his weight class to No. 2 after the victories and was named the ACC Wrestler of the Week, in addition to earning national Wrestler of the Week honors from The Open Mat and USA Wrestling. David Loera, Soccer For the second straight year, the junior from Or- lando, Fla., was named All-ACC. He tied for the team lead in goals (five) and tied for second in assists (three). He scored both of the Wolfpack's markers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, which NC State lost in overtime to Coastal Carolina. Loera earned a spot on the second-team all-conference squad. He was named first-team All-ACC as a sophomore and made the league's All-Freshman team after his rookie campaign. Ian Shanklin, Cross Country During the NCAA Championships, the junior from Greensboro, N.C., became NC State's first All-Amer- ican since 2013. He placed 39th overall to help the Pack finish in 26th place. He also was third for NC State at the ACC Championships to earn his second straight All-ACC honor. In addition, Shanklin finished in sixth place at the NCAA Southeast Regional, help- ing the Pack come in third as a team and earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Championships. Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com PACK PERFORMERS "I think it was five years ago we were out there on the ryegrass and just fall- ing down all over the place. At that time it was Dr. [Debbie] Yow [as direc- tor of athletics], and I said, 'You have to watch this. I cannot train guys to be big- ger, faster, stronger if all they do is slip and fall.' This has changed everything for our offseason program." — NC State football head coach Dave Doeren on impact of the Close-King indoor practice facility (TheWolfpacker.com) 10th Was where NC State ranked on ESPN's countdown of the top combined men's and women's basketball programs for the 2019-20 season. In early November, when the rankings were released, the men's team was considered a No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the outlet's bracketology, while the women were viewed as a No. 4 seed. "I'm not really too big on where we are ranked. We have to go in and prove ourselves being a top-five class. It's good that we are top five, but we are going to come in and work hard. We're not going to let that get to us." — NC State basketball signee Nick Farrar of Apex (N.C.) Friendship on the Wolfpack's recruiting class (The Raleigh News & Observer) "He's a heck of a football player, There's not a real weakness in his game. He's a very good route runner. He's got very good hands and he's a real strong kid with the football in his hands. And he's a lot faster than people give him credit for. Nobody ever catches him, and [he] runs away from people. That's been the one surprising part we've seen is his ability to run away from people at times." — Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park football coach Scott Chadwick on NC State senior wide receiver verbal commit PORTER ROOKS (The Charlotte Observer) First-team All-ACC pick for the Wolfpack according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) — ju- nior right guard JOSHUA FEDD-JACKSON. "Fedd-Jackson led the conference in run- blocking grade at the position and ranked in the top 10 nationally in the run game," PFF noted. "He was no slouch in pass pro- tection either, allowing just 15 pressures on a whopping 529 snaps in pass protec- tion. He mauled up the middle and paved the way for some wide-open lanes, while allowing just a combined three sacks and hits in the passing game." The outlet listed fellow guard Joe Scult- horpe, offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu and kicker Christopher Dunn on the second team, while defensive tackles Larrell Murchison and Alim McNeill, and punter Trenton Gill received all-conference honor- able mention. 1 PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN