The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1249704
MAY/JUNE 2020 ■ 25 Male Rookie Of The Year Honorable mention goes to redshirt fresh- man Trent Hidlay, who proved to be a dark horse national title contender at 184 pounds. He was seeded No. 5 for the NCAA Cham- pionships before the title meet was canceled after going 23-4 during the season with six victories over ranked opponents, including one over the eventual No. 1 seed for nationals. Hidlay went 14-1 in dual matches and finished second in an ultra-competitive ACC that featured a trio of top-10 grapplers. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Year for his efforts. But we give the edge to Ikem Ekwonu in football. Ekwonu had the difficult task of stepping into the starting left tackle role on the of- fensive line as a true freshman. The last true freshman to start at offensive tackle for NC State was in 2010. That is even more impres- sive considering Ekwonu was not among the large group of Pack rookies that enrolled early in the spring, and thus he was playing catch-up when he arrived in the summer. Pro Football Focus (PFF) named Ekwonu second-team All-ACC, and he was selected to both PFF's and the Football Writers Associa- tion of America's Shaun Alexander Freshman All-America Teams. The 6-4, 298-pounder led NC State with 37 pancake blocks and al- lowed just two sacks in 12 games. PFF graded Ekwonu out at 80.5 on the sea- son, the top score on NC State's offense re- gardless of position or snaps played. Among 974 offensive linemen in the country at the Football Bowl Subdivision level who were in on at least 100 snaps last year, Ekwonu tied for the 50th-best grade overall and was not far behind Mekhi Becton from Louisville, who had an 81.3 mark a season ago. Becton was chosen with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Ekwonu's 85.0 run blocking score was 19th best among linemen with 100 snaps. Male Game Of The Year There were few things as exciting as wrestling's dual wins over UNC and Vir- ginia Tech at home. However, the edge here goes to the men's basketball team's 88-66 thrashing of No. 6 Duke at home Feb. 20. NC State never trailed in this game. Nor was it ever tied after the opening tip. The Pack started the contest on a 10-1 run. The closest Duke ever got was five points af- ter that. When NCSU took a double-digit advantage at 25-13, the Blue Devils never came within single digits again. It is the biggest loss ever to an unranked opponent in Hall of Fame and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski's 40-year career at Duke, and it tied for the second- biggest defeat in the past 10 years for the Blue Devils. Female Rookie Of The Year At a time of soaring expectations for the Wolfpack women's cross country program, freshman Kelsey Chmiel has been at the forefront. The three-time New York state champion had won the 2017 New Balance Outdoor Na- tional Championship in the two-mile and was part of the 2018 Penn Relays distance medley relay championship squad. Chmiel also fin- ished top five at Nike Cross Nationals all four years she was at Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) High. She came to Raleigh with high expecta- tions, and she met them. No freshman in the country ran faster than Chmiel at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championship. She finished 22nd for the highest finish by a Pack freshman runner since 2010 and earned All- America status in the process. Chmiel earlier finished fourth at both the ACC meet and the NCAA Regional. During the indoor track and field season, Chmiel had a third-place finish at the ACC Championships in the 5,000-meter race and also earned all-conference accolades in the 3,000-meter event. She had qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 5,000 before it was canceled. Senior point guard Markell Johnson and the Wolfpack took it to Duke Feb. 19, handing Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski the biggest loss ever (88-66) to an unranked opponent in his 40-year tenure with the Blue Devils. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Kelsey Chmiel was the top freshman finisher at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships, crossing the line in 22nd place to earn All- America honors. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS