The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523120
BY MATT HERB he day before NC State was set to vie for its third consecutive NCAA women's cross country championship, coach Laurie Henes broke the news to re- porters that graduate Kelsey Chmiel was going to miss the event due to a lower-leg in- jury. It was a seemingly devastating blow; Chmiel had finished third overall a year earlier and was a team leader in addition to being one of the Wolfpack's most ac- complished athletes. "It's been a little bit hard, energy-wise, on the team, just because Kelsey is the heart and soul of this program. It's been tough," Henes told LetsRun.com. "But she's here, she's ready to cheer everybody on, and they're going to put it all out there for her." They did exactly that. With Chmiel sidelined, NC State's other performers dug deep and produced just the sort of gritty effort that Henes knew they would need. Led by senior Katelyn Tuohy, who fought through an illness to place fifth overall, NC State finished with 123 team points Nov. 18 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va., edging second-place Northern Arizona by just one point to tie for the closest finish ever at the NCAA Division I Championships. In the post-race media scrum, Henes admitted that her immediate reaction was "a little bit of disbelief," but she quickly regrouped. "Everyone says they want to be an un- derdog," she said. "When you actually are, embrace it. Fight for every spot. Every one of them did." The totality of their effort was one rea- son why Henes' squad is The Wolfpacker's Female Team of the Year. In addition to Tuohy's showing, junior Amaris Tyynis- maa finished 25th, graduate Sam Bush 28th, freshman Leah Stephens 43rd and sophomore Grace Hartman 63rd to round out the team scoring. Behind them, soph- omore Hannah Gapes was 73rd and senior Gionna Quarzo 102nd. Tyynismaa had rallied after struggling at the ACC Championships and Southeast Regional. She didn't finish either of those races and wasn't sure initially whether she wanted to compete at nationals, but the Alabama transfer bounced back in Charlottesville, finishing in 19:55.3. Bush wasn't far behind. She passed 14 runners in the final kilometer of the 6K course, posting a time of 20:00.7. Bush had been slowed earlier in the season by an injury, and the coaching staff had taken a cautious approach to her recovery, hopeful that she would be ready to peak in the postseason. When she began passing runners in the race's latter stages, it was clear that strategy was going to pay off. "I started out pretty far behind, which I usually do, but this time it was more than usual," Bush said. "I was just trying to pick off as many people as I could." Tuohy paced NC State's contingent, finishing in 19:23.0 even though she was under the weather. The defending NCAA individual champ was well behind first- place finisher Parker Valby of Florida, but she was still passing competitors in the homestretch, willing herself to the finish line on an afternoon when every point mattered. "I was afraid we wouldn't get her through the race today," Henes said. "I know at 5K, that was tough. She's had a lot of great performances [at the NCAA Championships], and when she found out we actually won by one point, she was overwhelmed. That's what she's here for and what her teammates do for her. "Individually, I can't imagine how tough this was. But to have this be the outcome teamwise, at least we can send her away with one more team title." It turned out to be the last collegiate race for Tuohy, who announced after the cross country season that she was plan- ning to forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility and turn pro. She had been a key performer on all three of NC State's national championship squads, help- ing the Pack earn a prominent place in the sport's history. Before last year, there were only two teams that had ever won three or more titles in a row — Stanford (2005-07) and Villanova (1989-94). Now, despite all the hardships, there are three teams. ■ T 2023-24 YEAR IN REVIEW TEAMS OF THE YEAR FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR TRIPLE PLAY Cross Country Team Perseveres En Route To Third Title JULY/AUGUST 2024 ■ 41 Senior Amaris Tyynismaa holds the national championship trophy that she helped bring back to Raleigh. Tyynismaa finished 25th overall at the NCAA meet last November. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS