The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542201
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 ■ 21 The NC State women's cross coun- try team appears to have reached that threshold. On Nov. 22, the Wolfpack won its fourth NCAA championship in the past five seasons, outdistancing BYU and Oregon for the team title thanks largely to top-six finishes by seniors Hannah Gapes and Grace Hartman. Both Gapes, who finished fifth overall with a time of 18:51.3 at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo., and Hartman, who was a step behind in 18:52.6, joined NC State's program after it had already won the first of its team titles in 2021. They had seen the Pack produce such star performers as Katelyn Tuohy, Kelsey Chmiel and Sam Bush, and they wanted to jump into the fast lane with coach Laurie Henes, herself a former NC State distance-running champion. "When people came on those recruit- ing visits, Katelyn and Kelsey and Sam and the first group who won all those titles were hosting them," Henes said following the Pack's most recent victory. "When you have those kinds of people hosting those visits, you draw the same kind of people in. I think that's what happened here. They were thinking, these women work really hard here, and they have a lot of fun, and that's what we want to do." They helped attract Hartman, an Ohio high school champion about whom Henes had a good feeling, even though she didn't boast the same national cre- dentials as some of the team's other prospects. They also helped convince Gapes to venture far from her native New Zealand, and their success played a role in the recruitment of three-time Junior Olympic national champion Bethany Michalak of Colorado, New Balance steeplechase national champ Angelina Napoleon of New York, and 2024 Gato- rade Athlete of the Year Sadie Engelhardt of California. Those five runners helped NC State score 114 points at this year's race to hold off BYU, which finished with 130. Michalak, a sophomore, placed 29th in 19:14.9. Napoleon, a junior, was 40th in 19:22.7, and Engelhardt, a true freshman, was the team's final point-scorer, plac- ing 51st in 19:32.4. When they reached the finish line, one of the fans waiting to greet NC State's BY MATT HERB here comes a point in every college sports dynasty when the whole enterprise becomes, if not self-perpetuating, then at least a little bit easier to maintain from a recruiting perspec- tive. It's not quite so hard to convince elite prospects to trust the process when the process in question is routinely creating All-Americans and delivering national championships. T The Wolfpack held off BYU to claim its fourth NCAA championship trophy in the past five years. From left to right: Brooke Rauber, Angelina Napoleon, Bethany Michalak, Hannah Gapes, Grace Hartman, Fleur Templier, Sadie Engelhardt. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS