The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1502339
JULY/AUGUST 2023 ■ 41 BY MATT CARTER hoosing a women's team of the year for NC State athletics in 2022-23 is not a small challenge. C o n s i d e r t h a t t h e swimming and diving team finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. Or that the golf team won the NCAA Re- gional hosted in Raleigh to advance to the national meet. The basketball team made it back to the NCAA Tournament and along the way won games against national runner-up Iowa, Elite Eight participant Louisville, ACC regular-season champ Notre Dame and archrival North Carolina. And realistically, none of those three teams would even be in consideration. Ultimately, the challenge was choos- ing between tennis and cross country. In any other year, winning the ACC title by handing North Carolina its first loss of the year and then advancing to the na- tional title match would have been a slam dunk choice. However, as impressive that run was for tennis, the honor ultimately goes to cross country, which repeated as national champion. NC State and Alabama traded narrow leads in the team standings throughout the NCAA Championship race, held in Stillwater, Okla., until the final stretch, where the Pack put some distance on the Tide, who were nipped by late-charging New Mexico for second. In the final team standings, NC State had 114 points, while New Mexico fin- ished second with 140 and Alabama slipped late to third with 166. The last team to repeat as national champion in women's cross country was Villanova in 2009 and 2010. The honors piled up along the way added to the cross country team's case to be the female team of the year. The team's star, junior Katelyn Tuohy, also won the individual national title while running a course-record time. NC State became the first to have both an individual and team title since Colorado in 2018. Tuohy won the 2023 Honda Award for Cross Country and additionally was se- lected as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Women's Athlete of the Year. Senior Kelsey Chmiel was not far be- hind in the NCAA race, finishing in third place, one of four All-America runners on the team. Tuohy and Chmiel were joined in that status by seniors Sam Bush and Nevada Mareno. Then there is the team accomplishment, which is historic for NC State. No program had ever won back-to-back national titles for the Pack. Cross country has now also won the first two NCAA championships for a women's sports team at NC State. And based on the most recent acquisi- tion to the program, head coach Laurie Henes' squad may be heavy favorites to make it a three-peat, establishing a col- legiate cross country dynasty. Tuohy's return could be bolstered by decisions from Bush and Chmiel to use their extra season of eligibility that the NCAA provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chmiel was NC State's top runner when she finished sixth during the Wolfpack's 2021 national title run. Bush is a two-time All-American who finished 15th at the NCAA Champion- ships this year. I f t h e t r i o o f Bush, Chmiel and Tuohy return, NC State would have four of the top 15 runners from the 2022 NCAA Cham- pionship meet on the roster. That's because Alabama t ra n s fe r A m a r i s Tyynismaa arrived in Raleigh in the spring. The top five runners for each team at the NCAA C h a m p i o n s h i p s count towards the team's point total. Tyynismaa finished third at the NCAA Championship in cross country in 2020, and after not competing in 2021, she re- turned this past fall to finish ninth overall, garnering All-America honors. If the outdoor track and field season is an indicator, Tyynismaa made a quick adjustment to the Wolfpack program. She took home first-team All-America hon- ors in the 5,000-meter race by finishing fourth in the final with a time of 15:44.82. NC State's fifth scorer in the cross country meet, rising sophomore Brooke Rauber, also is eligible to return. That could mean even more highway signs across the state of North Carolina celebrating NC State's national titles, and future trips to the White House, which the cross country team was able to experi- ence in June. Thus, while the tennis team's extraor- dinary run to the national champion- ship match weeks after capturing the program's first-ever ACC title is a cap- tivating story from the 2022-23 calendar year in Wolfpack athletics, the honor for women's team of the year goes to cross country. ■ Under head coach Laurie Henes (top row, second from right), the Wolfpack has won the past two NCAA cross country championships. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS C 2022-23 YEAR IN REVIEW TEAMS OF THE YEAR FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR SETTING THE PACE Cross Country Champs Make Quick Work Of Rivals