The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/430118
JANUARY 2015 ■ 61 A pair of true freshmen, Javonne Antoine and Imari McLean, both have potential in the long jump, and Geiger said Antoine could help in the triple jump as well. "We have some balance and we're not super deep, but any time you have balance, you're going to sacrifice depth," Geiger said. "We have a chance to score points in most every event group, and that's what you're looking for." It all begins at the conference level. With 15 teams in the ACC, notching a third con- secutive top-five finish won't be easy. But if the Pack can crack the top five in the confer- ence again, it will mark the first time since 1989, '90 and '91 that NC State has finished in the top five of the league three years in a row. That's a lofty goal, and would prove a good springboard moving to the NCAA meets ahead. "What we're trying to do is finish in the upper tier of the conference, and it's not easy," Geiger said. "And that's just the first goal. From there, we want to advance as many athletes as possible to regionals and then to nationals, and ultimately to score points at nationals. "The whole thing is about advancing to give yourself an opportunity at the NCAA meet, and then to score points." ■ ■ Key Meets To Watch ACC Indoor Championships, Feb. 26‑28, Blacks‑ burg, Va. Since most people think of the outdoor season and the spring when they think of track and field, the ACC In- door 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, Tal ‑ lahassee, 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. Les Merritt CPA-CFP NCSU Graduate Certified Public Accountant Certified Financial Planner Your CPA! les@lesmerrittcpa-cfp.com (919) 269-8553 1014 N. Arendell Avenue Zebulon, NC 27597 You worked your way through NCSU, one of America's great universities. Why then, would you take your professional or personal taxes to someone who graduated from Taxmart U?