The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1487679
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 ■ 27 Before this year, the most recent team to repeat as national champion in wom- en's cross country was Villanova in 2009 and 2010. NC State became the first to claim both an individual and team title since Colorado in 2018. "When you walk away with the team title and the individual title, that's a very good day," Henes confirmed. "Just like any season, there have been some ups and downs. I didn't think we really nailed it team-wise in any of the races. Even here, I've been preaching that things don't have to be perfect to get you what you want. "If things are good, you keep working with that. You don't have to have perfec- tion to pull it off, and we didn't neces- sarily have that. … But when you have two of the top three finishers in the team race, that leaves you a lot of room to have some things happen behind." The repeat came at the same venue where NC State finished second in March 2021 in an NCAA race that had been postponed from the previous fall due to the pandemic. The Pack fell to BYU that day, surrendering the team lead to the Cougars in the final kilometer. While that result was motivational, Henes said she believed NC State may have learned as much from winning the NCAA title last season as it did in its prior experience in Stillwater, where Tuohy was not yet back to full-time training and another top runner, Domi- nique Clairmonte, was recovering from mononucleosis. As the veteran coach noted, there are lessons to be gleaned from victory as well as defeat. "Understanding what you need to do is not bad," she said. "Everyone says you can learn a lot from losing, but you can learn a lot from winning, too, and from the fact that things don't have to be per- fect throughout the season. "They certainly weren't perfect for us throughout the season, but we reacted to that, managed it, and I think showed up ready to go." The team returned home to a Belltower that was lit up in honor of its accom- plishments. Soon, more highway signs like the one erected in the fall on I-40 near Wade Avenue honoring last year's title will be a daily reminder of what the program has accomplished. The Wolfpack women's cross coun- try team not only brought national titles back to Raleigh, it became the first pro- gram at NC State to establish a reign of NCAA championships. ■ " I'm so proud of every one of the women that ran … and the women that aren't even [in Stillwater]. This is a program that is not just made up of the people that ran here today. Everyone has a role, and the people up front played their role perfectly. " Laurie Henes NC State hoisted the NCAA championship trophy for the second year in a row. The Pack became the first women's cross country team to repeat as Division I national champion since Villanova in 2009 and '10. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS