The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/644580
16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK "At first, I was trying to be easy on my foot. I didn't want to aggravate it or anything, but now I'm comfortable with it. I'm not scared to put pressure on it. I thought that was probably going to be the hardest thing, to be mentally ready for it. But running is fine. I feel great running right now." — NC State rising senior running back Matthew Dayes on recovering from his season-ending foot injury (ESPN.com) "In the wake of everything that happened, they made the community stron- ger. They were really kind, calm, just extraordinary people. They did a lot of work to help people less fortunate than them. They did a lot of community work. They wanted to bring everyone together." — NC State sophomore power forward Abdul-Malik Abu on the murders of Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu- Salha and her sister Razan Abu-Salha, one year after the tragic Chapel Hill shooting (The Technician) "He's one of the best players in the country. The kid's really good. We didn't want him to come down and use his energy in the half court because you can't guard him one-on-one." — Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski on NC State junior point guard Anthony Barber (CBSSports.com) "If he's projected as a lottery pick, first-round guy, I'm the first guy that wants him to go. If not, I want him to eventually be that, so he's got to make a good decision, but I'm going to support him 100 percent either way." — NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried on junior point guard Anthony Barber's future after Hampton (Va.) High retired his jersey Feb. 11 (WAVY.com) "In fact, the conference, and especially Triangle teams, began an ascent to new prominence in 1980-81 that was sustained through the mid-90s. That season Krzyzewski took over at Duke, Jim Valvano arrived at NC State and Dean Smith led North Carolina to the national championship game. The ACC retained its preeminence, thanks especially to those schools, at least through the '94 season when the Blue Devils made their seventh Final Four appearance in a nine-year span." — Journalist Barry Jacobs on the competitive greatness of the ACC in the 1980s (The Raleigh News & Observer) "He's so passionate. He's a very good coach because he loves his team and he loves his job. All Elliott ever wanted was an opportunity at NC State and he has made the most of it." — Former NC State men's soccer coach George Tar- antini on his good friend, Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent (The Raleigh News & Observer) "When you're winning, everyone wants to follow your lead, so that sets the tone for our whole team. More than anything, I think it's their confidence. They are two of the most confident guys I've seen in the sport of wrestling." — NC State wrestling coach Pat Popolizio on seniors Nick Gwiazdowski and Tommy Gantt (The Raleigh News & Observer) "That I'm a leader of a team and I'm the quarterback that an organization wants behind their center — the guy that has the ball every play. It only takes one coach to like you, and that's my plan coming out here." ■ Former NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett on preparing for the NFL Draft (DallasCowboys.com) PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN QUOTING THE PACK Jonathan Addison, Men's Track & Field The senior from Enloe High in Raleigh earned back- to-back ACC Men's Field Performer of the Week honors. The first came after he set a new school record in the indoor long jump with a leap of 26-9.75 Feb. 5 in Blacksburg, Va., at the Virginia Tech Elite meet, tying the longest mark in the world at the time. The second honor came after he long jumped 26-1.75 and cleared 6-9 on the high jump at the Tyson Invitational Feb. 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark. Nyheim Hines, Men's Track & Field That's not a misprint with Hines; the freshman that stood out as a receiver, running back and kick returner in football during the fall is running track this spring. The Garner, N.C., native made his indoor season debut by finishing second in the 60-meter sprint at the Kent Taylor Invite Feb. 21 in Chapel Hill, N.C., with a time of 6.74 seconds — the fourth fastest mark in the ACC at that date. Hines accumulated a team-high 1,419 all- purpose yards in football last season and scored three touchdowns. Megan Moye, Women's Track & Field Moye, a redshirt junior from Moseley, Va., broke one of the longer standing school records at NC State. She set a new mark in the indoor mile, completing the race in 4:37.04 at the Husky Classic Feb. 14 in Seattle. Mary Ann Carraher (4:39.38) owned the previous best time at State since 1989. Moye's mark was the seventh best in the country at that time. She finished eighth at last year's ACC Championships in the indoor mile. Rachel Mumma, Women's Diving The fifth-year senior from Harrisburg, Pa., won NC State's first title in diving since Kristin Davies took the national crown in 2010. Mumma won the one- meter springboard dive at the ACC Championships Feb. 17 in Greensboro, N.C., during the first day of the women's swimming and diving conference meet. She continues to build off her success from last year when she finished fourth on the one-meter at the ACC Championships and was an honorable mention All-American at the NCAA Championships on the one-meter. Tyler Ross, Softball Ross, a junior outfielder from Cameron, N.C., started off the 2016 softball campaign swinging a red- hot bat. She hit .467 (7 for 15) with three home runs during the opening weekend at the Jacksonville (Fla.) Tournament hosted by the University of Jacksonville Feb. 12-14. The Pack went 3-2 in those contests, and Ross was named ACC Player of the Week. She added another homer during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a four-game series versus Wisconsin and Nebraska in Raleigh that NCSU split 2-2. Alexia Zevnik, Women's Swimming The junior from LaSalle, Canada, played a major role in NC State finishing second at the ACC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 17-20 in Greensboro, N.C. It marked the highest finish for the Pack in the conference meet since 1982. Zevnik took runner-up in the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes and 200 individual medley while setting school records in all three events. She also set a new NC State standard in the 100 free during her leadoff leg of the ACC title-winning 4x100 relay team. ■ PACK PERFORMERS