The Wolfpacker

82 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Erika Kemp, a junior who earned All- ACC honors in cross country this fall, is a two-time all-conference runner in track in the 5,000 meters and a two-time regional qualifier. She finally broke through a year ago to qualify for nationals. Her time of 15.57.84 in the outdoor 5,000 meters at last year's Raleigh Relays ranks 10th in the NC State record book and made her one of three runners on the current roster — along with George and newcomer Wesley Frazier — to crack the 16-minute mark in the 5,000 meters, which is a significant milestone. Sophomore Megan Rempel ran with the Wolfpack distance medley relay team for most of the indoor season, including the ACC Championships, before falling off a bicycle late in the indoor season. She is a former NCAA regional qualifier in the outdoor 1,500 meters. "All of those athletes are proven scor- ers at the conference and regional level," Geiger said. "That's a really solid group. Several of them are national qualifiers and a handful have scored points. "The challenge now is for the rest of that group to take that next step and advance to nationals, and try to score points." NC State's women's cross country team is coming off a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the program's best finish since 2001. Not surprisingly, several athletes had breakthrough seasons in cross country in the fall — which, Geiger said, could similarly translate to track and field. In particular, Geiger mentioned redshirt junior Kaitlyn Kramer and redshirt fresh- man Rachel Koon. Kramer was All-ACC in cross country for the first time this fall and has competed for the Wolfpack in the indoor mile and 3,000 meters, and the out- door mile and 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Koon earned All-ACC honors in cross country this fall as well. She runs the 1,500 and 3,000 meters in track. Sophomore jumper Javonne Antoine is another athlete who could be poised for a breakthrough. She went to the ACC Cham- pionships last spring and scored in the triple jump, giving the Wolfpack depth in the jumps. Beyond that group of veterans, Geiger and staff brought in a highly regarded re- cruiting class that was ranked No. 8 na- tionally by Flotrack. The headliners in that class were Gabrielle Cunningham of Charlotte's Mallard Creek High School and Ryen Frazier of Raleigh's Ravenscroft High School. Cunningham was a three-time high school All-American, excelled in the sprints and hurdles, and posted the third- best time in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles. Frazier was a four-time national champion, and a standout in the 1,600, 3,200 and 5,000 meters, as well as cross country. Between them, Cunningham and Fra- zier appear capable of scoring points in multiple events early in their careers, yet the Flotrack ranking did not reflect the presence of another national-caliber athlete who will make her official Wolfpack debut in January. Wesley Frazier, Ryen's older sister, transferred to NC State from Duke a year ago but had to sit out a year due to confer- ence transfer rules. An eight-time national champion in high school, Wesley Frazier gave NC State a taste of what to expect when she ran the 5,000 meters unattached in an event record time of 15:45.31 at last April's Raleigh Relays. "Gabby and Ryen are major players, but they're freshmen," Geiger said. "The thing with freshmen is it sometimes takes time for them to develop and adapt to this level. "Wesley's not a freshman. That's huge. She and her sister should be national play- ers in the distance events, and Gabby gives us a second hurdler behind Alexis. Those three athletes are a huge addition to our program." ■ Athletes To Watch Alexis Perry, senior, hurdles/jumps The mantra of the NC State track program is "Qualify And Score." Perry does both. She qualifies for meets and then leads all comers in scoring. She earned second-team All-America honors in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles and indoor long jump a year ago, won the ACC title in the long jump indoors, and is a six-time All-ACC performer in the long jump, the 60-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles. She also was a 2013 Junior Pan Am Games gold medalist in the 100-meter hurdles, and a silver medalist in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump at the 2013 USA Junior Championships. She's an honor student to boot (two-time Academic All-ACC both indoors and out - doors and a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic team member). Nicole Chavis, senior, throws The Wolfpack has established a tradition in the throws for the women in recent years, and Chavis is a prime example. She is a two-time All-American and school record-holder indoors in the weight throw. She's also a three- time All-ACC performer, a two-time NCAA regional qualifier outdoors in the discus. She finished sixth in the indoor weight throw each of the last two years. Paisley Simmons, junior, sprints Simmons is a four-time All-ACC performer, earning all-conference in the 60-meter dash indoors (2014 and 2015), the 200-meter dash indoors (2015), the 100-meter dash outdoors (2014 and 2015) and the 200-meter dash outdoors (2015). She also was an NCAA regional qualifier in the 100 and 200 meters in 2015. ■ By The Numbers 5 Returning All-Americans on the women's team — Alexis Perry (100-meter hurdles, outdoors); Nicole Chavis (weight throw, indoors); and Samantha George, Tiana Patillo and Megan Moye (distance medley relay, indoors). 7 Returning NCAA regional qualifiers, indoors and outdoors — Nicole Chavis (weight throw, in- doors); Samantha George, Tiana Patillo and Megan Moye (distance medley relay, indoors); Alexis Perry (long jump, indoors); Megan Rempel (1,500 meters, outdoors); and Paisley Simmons (100 and 200 meters, outdoors). 12 Individual ACC champions in the last 10 years. ■ Key Meets • Raleigh Relays, March 25-26, Paul Derr Track — There's no place like home, and NC State's annual showcase event has proven historically to be a great place for athletes to turn in qualifying marks for regionals and nationals. • Penn Relays, April 28-30, Philadelphia — One of the nation's flagship collegiate track events, the Penn Relays snuggle into the schedule two weeks prior to the ACC Championships, giving athletes a solid chal - lenge before embarking on the postseason. • ACC Outdoor Championships, May 13-15, Tallahassee, Fla. — Individual and team conference championships are the baseline goal for any NC State program, but the conference meet also is the last chance for athletes to qualify for NCAA regionals. Noting The Pack • While cross country and track and field are different sports, they fall under the same umbrella, with virtually the entire cross country team running track. NC State's women's cross country team finished fifth in the nation in November, the highest finish for the Wolfpack women in 14 years, a fact that should bode well for the middle distance and distance events for the women's track team. Junior Erika Kemp (57th), redshirt freshman Rachel Koon (59th), redshirt junior Samantha George (71st), redshirt junior Megan Moye (94th) and freshman Ryen Frazier (108th) ran in a tight group at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and finished within 20 seconds of one another. • Certain NC State athletes have dominated their event to the point that they own each of the 10 best times or distances listed for their events in the school record book. Kenyetta Iyevbele (800 meters) and Tremanisha Taylor (shot put), who both graduated last year, are two such athletes. So is current senior Nicole Chavis, who holds each of the 10 best marks in school history in the 20-pound throw. Chavis set the current school record a year ago with a throw of 70 feet, 3.75 inches. Fellow senior Alexis Perry has the distinction of holding nine of the top-10 marks in two events, the 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. Ebony Foster is the reigning record holder in both events.

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