The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1493632
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State Runner Katelyn Tuohy Is Smashing Records NC State junior distance runner junior Katelyn Tuohy continues to add to a now near-year long stretch of excellence. After winning the NCAA women's cross country individual title with a course-record time in November in Stillwater, Okla., Tuohy is emerging as a heavy favorite in several indoor races in track and field. Tuohy set an NCAA record in the indoor 3,000-meter race at the Mill- rose Games in New York on Feb. 11, shaving more than 6 seconds off the previous mark of 8:41.60 by running the race in 8:35.20. In January, Tuohy broke the NCAA indoor record for the mile at the Dr. Sander Invitational in New York, fin- ishing the distance in 4:24.26. Her 5K time of 15:15.92 at the Bos- ton University Sharon Colyear Dan- ville Season Opener in December re- mains the nation's best in that event as well. Tuohy won the 5K outdoor NCAA title in 2022 and is a six-time All- American overall. She won the 2023 Honda Award for Cross Country and is a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. She also won ACC Wom- en's Cross Country Performer of the Year honors after taking first place in the conference meet and the NCAA Southeast Regional, and addition- ally was selected as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Wom- en's Athlete of the Year. ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK In addition to the two NCAA records she broke earlier this year, Tuohy has the nation's best time in the indoor 5,000-meter race, having finished in 15:15.92 at a Boston University meet in December. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS Women's Cross Country Adds To Star-Studded Roster Over the past two seasons, NC State women's cross country has been working on a dynasty. The Wolfpack has won back-to- back NCAA titles, claiming the first team championships for the NC State athletics program since the famous Cardiac Pack men's basketball squad in 1983. Those were also the first-ever NCAA titles for a women's sports team at NC State. And based on the most recent reported acquisition into the program, more trophies could be coming in the very near future. TheStrideReport.com broke the news in January that Ala- bama star Amaris Tyynismaa will be transferring to the NC State women's cross country program. During the 2020 season, Tyynismaa finished third individually at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in the same meet in which the NC State women finished in second place as a team. The Wolfpack had led the race before BYU made a late push in the final kilometer to take the title. Tyynismaa did not compete at nationals in 2021, but she re- turned in strong form this past fall when she finished in ninth place to garner All-America honors and help Alabama finish in third place overall as a team. The NC State women's cross country squad is already set to re- turn individual national title-winner Katelyn Tuohy, and it could also get back senior Kelsey Chmiel should she choose to use her extra season of eligibility. Chmiel finished third at nationals and is a three-time All- American. Like Chmiel, two-time All-American Sam Bush, who finished in 15th place at the NCAA Championships this past season, is also eligible to come back for one more season. If Chmiel and Bush both return and Tyynismaa makes the transfer official, the NC State women's cross country team would have four of the top 15 runners from the 2022 NCAA Champion- ship meet on the roster. The top five runners for each team from the meet count toward the team's points total. Elliott Avent Enshrined Into Hall Of Fame Longtime NC State baseball coach El- liott Avent was honored by the school he coached before arriving at NC State in 1997 to begin the first of 27-and-counting sea- sons in Raleigh. In February, Avent was inducted into the New Mexico State Athletics Hall of Fame. Avent coached at New Mexico State from 1989-96, compil- ing a 224-213 record and departing as the program's second all-time winningest coach. During his time in Las Cruces, Avent led the program to its first 40-win season, a 40-19 mark in 1990. After starting the 2023 baseball season with four consecu- tive victories, Avent has 1,190 career wins overall. He is also closing in on 1,000 wins at NC State. Avent is 966-571 with the Wolfpack and has led the program to a pair of College World Series appearances. — Matt Carter AVENT