The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2015 ■ 17 TRACKING THE PACK Jonathan Addison, Men's Indoor Track Addison, a junior, is picking up where he left off from last season, when the Raleigh native won the 2014 ACC Outdoor Championship in the long jump with a leap of 25-0 and qualified for the NCAA Championships. At this year's Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite in Blacksburg, Va., Feb. 7, Addison set a personal best of 25-10.5 to win the long jump by more than a foot. The leap was the fourth-best nationally in the this year at that time. Riki Bonnema, Women's Swimming The junior from Orlando, Fla., put on a show at the ACC Swimming Championships Feb. 18-21 in Atlanta. She won the 50-freestyle title after setting an ACC record of 21.87 seconds in the prelims. In the 100-freestyle, she finished third in a school-re - cord 48.73 seconds. Bonnema was also on the relay teams that captured first place in the 200-freestyle and 400-freestyle. The 200-relay set an ACC meet-record time of 1:28.18. The 400-relay swam an NC State best-ever time of 3:14.57. Nicole Chavis, Women's Indoor Track Chavis has already established herself as one of the top throwers in NCSU women's track and field history, and she continued to cement her legacy by setting a school record in the weight throw at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg, Va., on Feb. 20. Chavis broke her own previous mark with a heave of 69-9.50, a toss that ranked, at the time, as the best in the ACC this year and 10th-longest overall nationally. The redshirt junior from Lumberton, N.C., was NCSU's first-ever All-American in the weight throw for men or women last year during the outdoor season. Kevin Jack, Wrestling Through 22 duals this season, Jack, a native of Danbury, Conn., watched as a likely redshirt - ing freshman. Then against No. 14 Pittsburgh on Feb. 14, Jack made his Wolfpack debut in spectacu- lar fashion, pinning Ben Ross at 141 pounds in 5:31. Five days later at No. 13 Virginia in Charlottesville, Jack rolled to a 19-6 major decision over Joe Spi- sak. He concluded the regular season on Feb. 22 by upsetting No. 16 Dean Heil from No. 8 Oklahoma State in a 7-3 decision. Courtney Mirabella, Softball Taking the mound against Dayton at the Eagle Classic in Statesboro, Ga., on Feb. 20, the sopho- more from Bradenton, Fla., tossed her second ca- reer no-hitter. Mirabella settled down after a tough first inning that included three walks and an error, leading to an unearned run. The next 17 batters were all retired, and she finished with 10 strikeouts while allowing only one ball to get past the infield. In her first six games, Mirabella allowed just 20 hits in 32 1 ⁄3 innings and struck out 45. Preston Palmeiro, Baseball The son of former MLB All-Star Rafael Palmeiro is off to a strong start for his sophomore season. Through the first five games, the native of Col- leyville, Texas, was 9-for-18 at the plate with four walks, sporting an impressive .500 batting average and .591 on-base percentage. He had yet to strike out, and included in his nine hits was his first career home run. He was also pacing the team with nine RBI, three more than any other hitter in the first five contests. ■ PACK PERFORMERS QUOTING THE PACK "On a scale of 1-10, a 25. They're everywhere. Even when I'm randomly eating by myself people are tweeting me, 'I see you man, much love Wolfpack Nation.' I'm like, 'Wow, that's insane.'" — Princeton (N.C.) High senior run- ning back Johnny Frasier, who signed with NC State (HighSchoolOT.com) "NC State QB Jacoby Brissett scrambling touchdown pass vs. Florida State. Looking to expand on their lead over No. 1 FSU at the end of the first quarter, Brissett took a third-down snap and was immediately pressured on a blitz. He spun out of a sack in the pocket and was flushed right. He then gave a stiff arm to a defensive lineman that caused his helmet to pop off, and just as Brissett was about to step out of bounds he fluttered a pass across his body for an 8-yard touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 24-7 lead." — Blogger Jared Shanker on naming the touchdown pass the best "visual effects" for his 2015 ACC Oscars (ESPN.com) "NC State's Matt Dayes didn't get a full workload last season, and that might not change dramatically in 2015, but when it comes to all-around weapons, he's one of the ACC's best. Dayes was the only player in college football last season to tally at least 300 yards rushing, receiving, and on returns while scor- ing at least 10 touchdowns. In the last decade, just 14 others have done that." — Blogger David M. Hale on who could emerge as weapons in the ACC next fall (ESPN.com) "I'm proud to wear pink today, and it's an honor for NC State to be able to have an event of this type and know it started at NC State. The halftime cer- emony is extraordinary. It's poignant, it's emotional for everybody here. But it's encouraging, as well. They're here, they survived. And we all still hope we can find a cure." — NC State athletic director Debbie Yow on the Hoops 4 Hope game Feb. 23, which the Wolfpack won 72-59 over Duke (Raleigh News & Observer) "He always wanted to go to the court so much and never stopped talking about it. Back then, I knew. I said, 'Uh-oh, I think my son is going to love play- ing basketball more than anything,' but he liked football back then, too. As he got older, I asked him [when Cat was about 12], 'Son, which one are you going to stick with? Football or basketball?' He said right away, 'Dad, I'm going to stick with basketball.'" — James Barber on his son, NC State sophomore bas- ketball player Anthony Barber (Daily Press) "He has a lot of energy and a lot of passion. He shares the history with us too, having swam here. He knows the energy and history behind the team, and he brings it out every day." —Senior Michael Camper of NC State's No. 7-ranked men's swimming team on the impact of coach Braden Holloway (Technician) "It was never about Kay. She wanted the fund to help others. She was so genuine and authentic in her care for other folks. This is their chance to return the gift." ■ The Kay Yow Cancer Fund executive director Sue Donohoe on the impact of the late Kay Yow, who coached women's basketball at NC State (Raleigh News & Observer) PHOTO BY ROB BRADLEY