The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK 14 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER R eynolds Coliseum was radiant and full. The black-tie honorees danced down the aisle, and the crowd showed its appreciation for the exceptional ac- complishments still vividly remembered, in some cases, decades later. For the eighth time since the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame was founded in 2012, a new class was added to the hall on April 25, celebrating a pair of national championship teams, three individual national champs, a pioneering adminis- trator who was instrumental in making sure women athletes had equal oppor- tunities to compete, and a coach who laid the foundation for a wrestling program that is still thriving today. Retired coach Bob Guzzo, who won 13 ACC championships and 12 regular-sea- son titles, had both the biggest smile and the night's biggest ovation as he made his way to the stage, where he was joined by one of his four former national champi- ons, Scott Turner, who spoke on behalf of the entire 2026 Hall of Fame class. Turner, a three-time ACC champ, won the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award en route to a near-perfect performance at the 1988 NCAA Championships, giving up only 1 point in six matches to claim the 150-pound individual title. Football was the other sport that had multiple inductees, with the late Willie Burden and placekicker Marc Primanti being honored. One of the first two scholarship Af- rican American players in program his- tory, Burden was recruited by head coach Earle Edwards from Enloe High School in Raleigh but became a star under Lou Holtz as part of the twin-option veer backfield known as "The Stallions." Burden, who later became a star in the Canadian Football League, was the first running back in school history to rush for 1,000 yards, gaining 1,014 on his way to winning the 1973 ACC Player of the Year award. Primanti was known for his perfect senior season in 1996, when he made all 20 of his field goal attempts and all 24 of his extra points. Men's basketball player Kenny Carr, who twice led the ACC in scoring after David Thompson finished his record- breaking career, has been remembered for his strong scoring and rebounding and for being the first of many Wolfpack players recruited from DeMatha Catho- lic High School in Hyattsville, Md. The Washington, D.C., native was the first Wolfpack player to declare early for the NBA and spent more than a dozen years playing in Los Angeles and Portland. Carr is still the only Wolfpack player to ever win an Olympic gold medal, as a member of the 1976 team coached by North Carolina's Dean Smith. Matt Hill, the only Wolfpack player to ever win an NCAA title in men's golf, also came close to perfection his sophomore year when he tied Tiger Woods' NCAA record of eight tournament victories in a single season. He finished the historic run by winning the ACC title, the NCAA East Region crown and the national championship. After turning pro follow- ing his junior season, the 2009 Haskins Award winner as the nation's top golfer spent more than a decade chasing titles. Track and field star Tyrell Taitt, who won the triple jump title at the 1993 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Cham- pionships, is still the only Wolfpack male athlete to claim an individual crown for the program. This year's class celebrated more fe- male athletes and women's athletics than any previous class, thanks in part to the inclusion of the two 1979-80 wom- en's cross country teams that won back- to-back titles in the Association for In- tercollegiate Athletics for Women, the first governing body for women's sports. The two teams had essentially the same starting lineup both years, led by sisters Julie and Mary Shea and Betty Springs. Nora Lynn Finch, an accomplished athlete in her hometown of Henderson, N.C., and her alma mater of Western Carolina, was elected as a pioneer ad- ministrator. A one-time assistant and co-head coach with legendary Kay Yow, Finch made her way into the history books as the ACC's first women's sports administrator while working for athletics director Willis Casey. The late Beth Emery, who competed for early Wolfpack women's swimming teams, won 19 All-America honors in freestyle and butterfly competition dur- ing her career from 1980-83. She also won five ACC titles in her signature events. ■ Former wrestling coach Bob Guzzo was among the honorees at the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame celebration, which took place April 25 at Reynolds Coliseum. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS NC State Luminaries Celebrated At Hall Of Fame Gala Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.