The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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One of her club teammates attended NC State, and she liked the manageable five-hour drive home. "I loved North Carolina, Raleigh was a great place and the team was awesome," Harrell said. "The guys' and girls' teams were very close, and there wasn't separation." Harrell remembers having breakfast in Case Athletic Center on a Saturday morning during her recruiting visit. "I went downstairs where everybody eats," she recalled. "On a wall was a poster that said, 'The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.' I read that and said, 'That's me. I get that and I want that.' I just loved it." The famous Rudyard Kipling verse and a perfect weekend visit helped NC State land one of the best swimmers in the country. Harrell proved to be a superstar for the Wolfpack. She partici- pated in the World University Games in Sophia, Bulgaria, her fresh- man year in 1977, was a member of a U.S. squad that competed in Russia, earned 26 All-America honors and was one of seven NC State female swimmers who earned spots on the ACC's 50th An- niversary team in 2002. She capped off her senior year by earning All-America honors in the 50 and 100 butterfly for the fourth time in her career. She also earned All-America accolades in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, the 100, 200 and 400 freestyle relays, and the 400 medley relay during her four trips to the NCAA Champion- ships. NC State captured the 1979 and 1980 ACC championships, an achievement that wasn't matched until the Wolfpack won the league crown in 2017 and again last year. NCSU finished 12th in the country in 1977-78 under Easterling and then 11th the next year. The Wolfpack also posted a 34-10 dual meet record during Harrell's time in Raleigh. She was able to attain those achieve- ments, in part, because of her older sister, who came to Harrell, then 8 years old, and said she was needed at the pool. "She dragged me down to the pool be- cause they had to have eight members," Harrell remembered. "They threw me in the water. I ended up winning a race in the 8-and-under division in the Northern Virginia swim league. It just kind of hap- pened." One of her all-time moments was de- feating some UNC swimmers in the mile, an event she considered "torture." "I didn't really like the backstroke, and the breaststroke felt slow," said Harrell, who particularly enjoyed relays. "I was a butter- fly and freestyle swimmer, and I was a sprinter. I usually anchored the freestyle relays. It was nerve-wracking, but awesome." Her college coach still fondly remembers Harrell. "She was the runner-up so many times at the NCAAs. If I had known then what I know now, she would have been a national champion a lot of times," said Easterling, now 87 and coaching a master's team in Charlottesville, Va. "She had pure, natural speed. "You knew if you had Beth anchor a relay, you were going to win that sucker." Harrell continued swimming after graduating from NC State with a degree in criminal justice in 1981. "After college, I swam for a while but I never broke a world record," Harrell said. "In my early 30s, I decided to go back and swim in the Master's division. Those records aren't quite as challenging as those for a college swimmer or Olym- pic swimmer." Harrell was able to set very satisfying Master's world records in the 50 and 100 butterfly. "It just felt good to be able to do that, no matter what level," she said. Easterling retired midway through the 1994-95 season, and Harrell took over as interim head coach, guiding the Wolfpack men to a 6-2 mark down the stretch and a third-place finish at the ACC Champion- ships. The NCSU women went 2-5 under Harrell and finished sixth in the league. "That was the greatest experience in the world," she said. "We went to the ACCs and broke a couple of school re- cords. I loved every minute of it." All-American Girl Beth Harrell Earned A School-Record 26 All-America Honors While Swimming For The Wolfpack Beth Harrell Women's Swimming (1977-81) Age: 60 Living: Jacksonville, Fla. Occupation: Assistant director of recreation and intramurals at North Florida Did You Know? NC State's team MVP award in women's swimming is named for Harrell, who set Master's world records in the 50 and 100 butterfly in her early 30s. JANUARY 2020 ■ 41 Harrell was one of seven NC State female swimmers who earned spots on the ACC's 50th Anniversary team in 2002. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA