The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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70 ■ THE WOLFPACKER How big a difference are we talking about? In high school, cross country races are 5,000 meters. In college, the varsity races start at 8,000 meters, but the NCAA regionals and finals are 10,000 meters, double the distance of a high school race. That's an enormous adjustment, and be- cause of that true freshmen seldom make an impact on the men's side of the sport. Even redshirt freshmen find themselves still climbing a steep learning curve. "There's not another sport that changes the way you play the game that way," Gei- ger said. "These things sometimes take time." Over the last six seasons, only two true freshmen have lined up for the Wolfpack, and one of those was Hill, who ranks among the greatest distance runners in school history. The other was current soph- omore Jacob Thomson, who lined up for all six races a year ago. Redshirt sopho- mores Sam Parsons and Sam Roberson, both in their third year in the program, also return after lining up for all six races in 2013. Parsons finished strong a year ago, earning all-region honors with a 23rd- place finish at the NCAA Southeast Re- gional. Parsons, Roberson and Thomson, along with Mintz and Mansy, are the most likely candidates to fill out the starting lineup behind Crawford. "It starts with Graham Crawford," Gei- ger said. "He was All-ACC last year. He ran 3:40 in the 1,500 meters on the track, which means he's a sub-four-minute miler. He's a penetrator, one of those guys who can get up front and be competitive. The other experience in the lineup would be Michael Mansy and Bobby Mintz, and that's it. After that we're going to have to improve as a program. Where I see that happening is that sophomore class of Par- sons, Roberson and Thomson. That's got to be a nucleus for us." While Thomson cracked the starting lineup a year ago, he was not the only tal- ented freshman on the roster. Bakri Abo- shouk, Sebastian Hanson and Nick Link all were state champions in high school and each redshirted last season. They will see their first varsity action this fall. How much they've adjusted in one year to the demands of the college game will determine how effective they will be, and to a large extent how deep the Wolfpack will be. "In high school, you do one thing — you go to the front and stay there," Geiger said. "If you have a bad day, you still probably win because you're just better than every- body else. In college, if you have a bad day, you get buried. Instead of being 25th at the conference race, you're 55th. So you've got to deal with the distance of the event and the quality of the competition in the race." Last year's freshman class was a strong group of four. This year's is a loaded group of eight, including four of the top five run- ners at the 2013 North Carolina 4-A state championships, plus state champions from South Carolina and Tennessee. Time will tell, but it could prove to be among the best recruiting classes Geiger has ever as- sembled. "Eight true freshmen is a big number," Geiger said. "I'd be the first to tell you that, but it's hard to turn down good. Maybe one or two of these freshmen can step into the lineup. We'll see. They're really good, but most of them are going to need time." Colley was a given last season, winning the ACC title and finishing second and seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regional and NCAA Championships, respectively. Behind him, the Pack spent most of the season looking for consistency. Crawford had a breakout season and the Wolfpack as a team peaked at the NCAA regional. Even with Colley gone, Geiger wants his team to build on that regional finish and run like that from September through November. "It's a young squad, but this is a tal- ented group," Geiger said. "We didn't have consistent racing throughout the year last year. The regional championships was a great meet for NC State, but we've got to get more consistent across the season. So we have our challenges as a staff because we're so young, but again, I think this is a solid group of athletes." ■ Noting The Pack • ACC expansion continues to play a factor in ACC cross country. A year ago, Notre Dame, Syra- cuse and Pittsburgh entered the conference, with Syracuse winning the men's championship. This year, Louisville — another strong cross country program — enters the conference. The 15-team field for the conference championship race should be stronger than any of the nine NCAA regional races. The conference now features schools from four differ- ent NCAA regions, meaning that the conference championship meet, which does not determine an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships, offers teams a chance to earn criteria points against teams from other regions. In order to qualify for the NCAA Championships, a team must either finish first or second in its respective NCAA regional, or have enough criteria points to earn one of 13 at-large berths. • When Andrew Colley finished seventh at last year's NCAA Championships, it marked the 53rd time an athlete coached by Rollie Geiger has earned All-America honors in cross country. Geiger has coached 173 all-conference runners, coached the Wolfpack men and/or women into the national top 10 a total of 22 times, and won 41 ACC team championships, counting cross country and track and field. He has been conference coach of the year 28 times in cross country, men's or women's, and five times in track and field. • Colley won the men's individual conference championship in 2013, marking the second time in three years, the third time in seven years and the 12th time overall since 1987 that an NC State runner won the ACC individual championship on the men's side. • The NC State men's cross country team has won 12 of the last 18 ACC championships and 14 of the last 22. The Wolfpack men have won 16 confer - ence championships in all, 15 of them under Geiger. Runners To Watch Redshirt junior Graham Crawford A two-time all-conference and all-region performer in cross country, as well as a two-time All-ACC runner and four-time NCAA qualifier in track, Crawford is a legitimate All-America candidate and the Wolfpack's unquestioned leader. Redshirt sophomore Sam Parsons After redshirting in 2012, Parsons showed flashes in 2013, peaking with a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional to earn all-region honors. Sophomore Jacob Thomson Thomson was the first true freshman to line up for the Wolfpack since Ryan Hill in 2008, and he just missed earning all-region honors by two spots at the NCAA Southeast Regional. ■ Key Meets To Watch Notre Dame Invitational, Oct. 3, South Bend, Ind. — The Wolfpack ran the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis the last several years, but the Notre Dame course is more forgiving physically than the rigorous course in Minneapolis, while the competition is just about as strong. NCAA Pre-Nationals, Oct. 19, Terre Haute, Ind. — After running at Wisconsin the last few seasons, NC State returns to the NCAA Pre-Nationals in 2014. Run on the same course as the NCAA Championships five weeks later, the Pre-Nationals meet allows athletes to familiarize themselves with the course in Terre Haute while competing against a deep field from all across the country. ACC Championships, Nov. 1, Charlottesville, Va. — The new and expanded ACC includes teams from four different NCAA regionals, allowing teams a final chance to earn criteria points at the con - ference championship race. With NC State in the Southeast Region, finishing ahead of non-Southeast powers from Notre Dame (Great Lakes), Syracuse (Northeast), Boston College (Northeast) and Florida State (South) would give the Wolfpack a chance to enhance its case for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.