The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/223560
tracking the PACK Quoting The Pack "Our fans are some of the most loyal in the nation. They deserve a winning program and finishes in the top 25. That remains our focus and we will get there. They are part of the solution because recruits witness first-hand their passion for the Wolfpack at our games." ■PACK PEOPLE Andrew Colley, Men's Cross Country Colley concluded a banner cross country season and career by finishing in seventh place at the NCAA Championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. That performance gave Colley his third career All-America honor. Colley also won the ACC Championships Nov. 1 in Kernersville, N.C., and finished second in the Southeast Regional Nov. 15 in Earlysville, Va. He was a four-time All-ACC and all-region performer at NC State. Colley, from Williamsburg,Va., had previously finished second to teammate Ryan Hill in 2011 and third in 2012 at the ACC Championships. photo by ken martin ■ NC State athletics director Debbie Yow on the Wolfpack football program (The Raleigh News & Observer) "So on many fronts, there's work to be done going forward. It'll start on the recruiting trail, where NC State's current class is ranked 28th by Rivals nationally and seventh in the ACC with commitments from 13 in-state players — including West Mecklenberg quarterback Jalan McClendon — and two four-star prospects. That's not necessarily the 'Alabama-type talent' that was bandied about when Doeren was hired, but it's a start." — Columnist Luke DeCock on the future of the NC State football program (The News & Observer) "Nobody anticipated the Wolfpack would go from a bowl team to one of the worst teams in the ACC under new coach Dave Doeren. But injuries, scheme changes on offense and defense, and instability at quarterback sent this team spiraling. The Wolfpack lost eight of their nine games by double digits." — Blogger Andrea Adelson on ranking NC State No. 13 in the ACC (ESPN.com) "I think our guys are better shooters than their numbers are saying right now; it's early. I want those guys to step up confidently and take an open shot, whether it's Tyler [Lewis], Desmond [Lee], Cat [Barber], whoever it may be; jump up there and shoot the ball. Hopefully, they're going to do that and make some." — NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried on his team's outside shooting (TheWolfpacker.com) "The Pack and head coach Mark Gottfried worked hard to land the punishing Abu, who is a physical rebounder and developing scorer. The Martin twins are good-sized wings with nicely balanced inside/ out games who don't seem to get too high or too low." — Recruiting analyst Eric Bossi on NC State's No. 18-ranked men's basketball recruiting class (Rivals.com) "He was very essential in my development. He was a disciplinarian. He knew how to teach the fundamentals. He knew how to take talent and put the pieces together. He knew how to keep us focused as a team. He was a national championship coach." — Former NC State men's basketball great Tommy Burleson on his former coach Norm Sloan (The News & Observer) "It was really exciting. We won the national championship as a team. Now that was really exciting as a freshman. We were not expected to win. It's exciting to get out the scrapbooks and remember your teammates. I appreciate those friendships more as I get older." — Newly inducted NC State Hall of Famer Betty Springs Geiger on her Wolfpack memories (GoPack.com) Nick Gwiazdowski, Wrestling The redshirt sophomore earned All-America accolades at heavyweight as a freshman at Binghamton in 2012. He sat out last season after transferring to NCSU, but he is back on the mat this fall and off to a strong start. Gwiazdowski won his first 10 matches, six of them by pins, and took first place at the Wolfpack Open Nov. 17 in Raleigh. The native of Delanson, N.Y., is ranked as the No. 3 grappler nationally in his weight class by InterMat.com. Alex Martinez, Men's Soccer The graduating senior midfielder from Rock Hill, S.C., led NCSU and was second in the ACC in assists during the regular season with eight. Half of them came in conference games, which was the third-best total in the ACC for league games. That helped Martinez earn his second straight AllACC selection, collecting third-team mention this season. Martinez may have a future in soccer after NC State. TopDrawerSoccer.com listed him as the No. 33 prospect for the 2014 Major League Soccer Draft.Teammate Nazmi Albadawi was No. 74 on that same list. Andreas Schiellerup, Men's Swimming The freshman from Birkerod, Denmark, set a new national record by winning the 50-meter backstroke in 24.21 seconds at the Denmark Short Course Meter National Championship Nov. 15. A day earlier, Schiellerup had won the 50-meter freestyle title in 22.12 seconds. Back in the United States, Schiellerup finished second in the 50-yard free Nov. 21 in Chapel Hill, N.C., and his time of 19.69 seconds in the prelims was eighth fastest in the country to date this year. He won the 100-yard backstroke a day later in a school-record time of 46.61 seconds, the fourth fastest time in the nation to date. Jackie Stengel, Women's Soccer Following a banner freshman season for NC State, the Melbourne, Fla., native is gaining invaluable experience after earning an invite to the U.S. Soccer U-20 Women's National Team training camp Dec. 14-21 in Sunrise, Fla., the final preparations for the CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean region) Women's U-20 Championships in the Cayman Islands Jan. 9-19. Stengel had nine goals for the Pack this year, tied for 10th in the ACC at the end of the regular season, and she was named third-team All-ACC and to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Joanna Thompson, Women's Cross Country Thompson, a junior from Knoxville, Tenn., carried the banner for women's cross country this year. For the third straight season, she earned All-ACC honors after finishing in seventh place at the ACC Championships Nov. 1 in Kernersville, N.C. She then placed fifth at the NCAA Southeast Regional Nov. 15 in Earlysville, Va., garnering all-region accolades for the third time and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.Thompson finished 36th at the national meet with a time of 20:42.9 for the six-kilometer race, good enough for her first career All-America nod. 14 ■ the wolfpacker 10,12,14,16,18.Tracking The Pack.indd 14 12/5/13 3:27 PM