The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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56 ■ THE WOLFPACKER field," Geiger said. "Then you have to look at Graham Crawford, who ran 3:58 for a full mile last year. That's a good mark, a national-level mark, so you look at Graham as being a possible ACC champion and an NCAA scorer." Beyond Addison, Crawford and maybe Parsons, though, the theme for the Wolf- pack men will be inexperience and devel- opment. The roster is dotted with talented athletes, including several highly regarded freshmen, who need to step forward and produce if NC State is to score enough points to make a dent at the conference meet and beyond. "We have upperclassmen coming back and we're looking for them to continue to develop," Geiger said. "That's kind of the key for us. We're looking for some prog- ress and development from several people within the program." In the throws, fifth-year senior Jule Rich was an NCAA regional qualifier two years ago in the discus, and will be the Pack's only experienced performer in that event and the shot put. Crawford and Parsons should be NC State's top two distance runners this season, but the Wolfpack will look for other talented but largely unproven athletes to step forward and score points in the dis- tance and middle-distance races. In the middle-distance events, redshirt freshman Bakri Abushouk had a solid cross country season and should compete in the middle-distance races. Redshirt junior Vi- bush Sivakumaran has run on a conference champion relay team, and John Wolfe was a regional qualifier in the 1,500 meters two years ago and finished 12th in the ACC outdoors last spring. True freshman Ian Milder was the Out- standing Athlete at the North Carolina 4-A high school championships last spring, win- ning state championships in the 16K and the 32K, and also anchoring a state cham- pion relay team. Abdur Rahmaan Kelly is a promising true freshman in the middle- distance events. In the sprints and hurdles, sophomores Cameron Cooper, Erin Jenkins and Will Krehnbrink, and junior Brian Davis all have shown promise but have yet to have a breakout performance. Cooper ran the 100 at the ACC Outdoor Championships and Davis ran the 200 and 400, but neither scored. True freshmen Qua Cunningham was a multi-event state champion a year ago at Mallard Creek High School in Char- lotte and was one of the best sprinters in the state. According to Geiger, the goal for the program will be to get out of the lower tier of the conference and get a more broad- based group of athletes to the NCAA meets. Addison and Crawford should be the headliners. How many others take that next step will determine the Wolfpack's ultimate destiny. "We're trying to finish higher than we did a year ago at the ACCs," Geiger said, "but whether it be Jonathan Addison or Graham Crawford or whoever, the goal is not only to advance from ACCs to regionals, and from regionals to nationals, but to score points. It's very challenging with the expansion of the conference. We only score the top eight at the conference and national meets, so it's tremendously challenging to score points. We're looking for development, for some progress within the program." ■ Noting The Pack • NC State's men are looking to break out of a bit of a dry spell. The men haven't won an individual ACC championship since Ryan Hill left two years ago. Hill won seven conference championships in five different events from 2010‑13. He won five championships outdoors and two indoors. Only Danny Peebles won more conference champion‑ ships than Hill. Peebles won nine in 1987‑88. • NC State had four All‑ACC performers a year ago in jumper/sprinter Jonathan Addison, distance runner Andrew Colley, distance runner Graham Crawford and thrower Nathaniel Williams. The last time the Wolfpack men had more than four all‑ conference performers was six years ago, in 2008, when seven men earned All‑ACC. • NC State's cross country team has been a major source of points for the track and field program, and the Wolfpack will be looking for points from its distance runners again in 2014‑15. The Pack also will be looking for some new blood to fill that pipeline as Hill and Michael Colley, two of the best of recent vintage to come from that program, are both gone. The favorite in the clubhouse to step forward and have a breakout year is sophomore Sam Parsons, who was the Pack's lead runner in all five varsity cross country races in the fall. Parsons earned All‑ ACC and all‑region honors in cross country with fourth‑place finishes at both the ACC Champion ‑ ship and the NCAA Southeast Regional. ■ Key Meets To Watch ACC Indoor Championships, Feb. 26‑28, Blacksburg, Va. Since most people think of the outdoor season and the spring when they think of track and field, the ACC Indoor Championships get overlooked, but with no NCAA indoor regional events, the conference indoor meet is the last chance for athletes to earn all‑conference honors and indoor ACC championships, and to qualify for indoor nationals. Raleigh Relays, March 27‑28, Paul Derr Track, NC State campus The Wolfpack hosts one track meet per year, and it's an extravaganza. The Raleigh Relays is the largest track and field meet in the Southeast and one of the largest in the entire nation, annually hosting teams from more than 100 colleges and universities, and more than 4,000 athletes from across the country. Given the home‑field advantage for NC State's track athletes, school records often fall during the Raleigh Relays and Wolfpack athletes frequently turn in NCAA‑qualifying times that weekend. ACC Outdoor Championships, May 14‑16, Tallahassee, Fla. NC State's team goals are two‑fold: 1) finishing as high as possible in the ACC, and 2) qualifying individual athletes for the NCAA postseason meets. The ACC Outdoor Championships is the raison d'etre for the first goal. As for the second, while there are several "last chance" meets around the country the weekend between the conference championship and the NCAA regionals, the ACC Championships will be the last real opportunity for most Wolfpack athletes looking to score that NCAA qualifying mark and move on to the NCAA postseason. Key Athletes To Watch Junior Jonathan Addison, jumps and sprints In a year when the Wolfpack is a little short on experienced performers, Addison brings proven point‑scoring capabilities in multiple events. He finished second in the long jump and fifth in the high jump at ACC indoors, and then won the ACC outdoor long jump in the spring. He also is capable of scoring points in the 60‑meter dash indoors, and both the 100 and 200 meters outdoors. Sophomore Graham Crawford, distance Crawford is coming off of a breakout season in cross country, with all‑conference and all‑ region trophies to show for his efforts, and the Wolfpack will look for the versatile sophomore to score points in the mile, the 800 meters, the 3,000 meters and the distance medley relay after earning all‑conference honors in 3,000 meters and the DMR in 2014. Senior Jule Rich, throws Rich has been knocking on the door for the last couple of years, qualifying for regionals in the discus two years ago. He finished fourth in the weight throw at the ACC indoors last winter, but trailed off to 17th in the discus outdoors. ■ By The Numbers 3 Three‑time ACC champions in the same event for the Wolfpack in Mike Patton (1987‑89) and Tyrell Tait (1991‑93) in the triple jump, and Bob Medlin (1975‑77) in the shot put. 4 All‑ACC performers a year ago: jumper/sprinter Jonathan Addison, distance runner Andrew Colley, distance runner Graham Crawford and thrower Nathan‑ iel Williams. Addison and Crawford are back in 2014‑15. 9 The number of number of first‑place finishes racked up by Addison between the indoor and outdoor seasons a year ago.