The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Olympians Of The Past • Joan (Benoit) Samuelson, Marathon: After beginning her college career at Bowdoin College in her native Maine, she came to NC State in 1977 for two years and then returned to her former school after they started a track team. During her short time with the Wolfpack, she earned All-America honors in 1977 and 1978, helping her squad to both the inaugural ACC women's cross country title and a second-place showing at AIAW National Championships in her final year. She continued to make her mark after leaving Raleigh, winning the 1979 Boston Marathon as a relative unknown. Despite undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery just 17 days before the U.S. Olym- pic Trials three years later, she won and went on to compete in 1984 Olympics, winning the first-ever women's marathon in Los Angeles with a time of 2:24:52. She beat the field by such a wide margin that she was able to celebrate as she neared the finish line to the roaring approval of Americans in Memorial Coliseum — the sight became one of the iconic moments of the year. She was later inducted into the Olympic and USA Track and Field Halls of Fame. • KAY YOW, Basketball Coach: After serving as an as- sistant coach for the 1984 squad that won a gold medal, she led the successful quest for a repeat four years later in Seoul — despite being diagnosed with breast cancer one year earlier. The two teams she helped coach went a combined 11-0 in the Olympics. Yow's sister Susan, who played one season at NC State and became the school's first female All-American in 1976, served as one of Kay's assistants on the 1988 squad. • Steve Rerych, Swimming: The 6-7 athlete was not only the first Wolfpack swimmer to compete and medal in the Olympics, he was the only one to win multiple medals in one year until Cullen Jones won three in 2012. Rerych was on a pair of victorious relay teams at the 1968 Games in Mexico City — the 4x100- meter freestyle relay set a new world record — alongside the legendary Mark Spitz. The 2014 NCSU Hall of Fame inductee was a nine-time ACC champion and the only swimmer in the league's history to ever win a trio of conference titles in three different events. NC STATE IN THE OLYMPICS BY RYAN TICE In honor of this year's Summer Olympic Games, set for Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, The Wolfpacker takes a look back at NC State alumni that have competed or are set to compete in the Games. Olympians Of The Present • Lucas Kozeniesky, Rifle: The Fairfax Station, Va., native became the first NCSU All-American in rifle since 1975 earlier this year during his junior season and was an individual selection to the NCAA Championships, where he finished fifth. This summer, he secured one of the two U.S. spots in the air rifle after winning the U.S. Trials by more than 18 points, thanks to the top score in the finals session. In June, he won the USA Shooting national championship in the 10-meter air rifle. • SIMONAS BILIS, Swimming: The school record holder with 19 All-America laurels is the headliner among the three foreigners who competed for the Pack this past season and are qualified for Rio. As a Pack senior, he swam the leadoff leg for the 400 freestyle relay team that won the ACC's first-ever NCAA title in a relay. The two-time ACC Male Swimmer of the Year also placed second in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, and third in the 200 freestyle. He'll be competing for his native Lithuania in the Olympics, swim - ming in the 50 and 100 freestyle. His time at the trials in the 100 is a re- cord for his home country and was the 16th-fastest mark in the world when he notched it in early April, while his time in the 50 was the 10th-fastest in the world at the time. Possible Olympians Who Have Not Qualified Yet • RYAN HILL, Track and Field: Six Wolfpackers will compete in the U.S. Olym- pic Trials July 1-10, and Hill should be one of the favorites after he just missed making the team in 2012. The 10-time All-American and seven-time ACC champion from 2009-13, won a silver medal in March at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters. He finished 0.18 seconds behind the winner in that race. The 26-year-old is the defending U.S. champion in the 5,000 meters — which is the event he'll try qualifying for on July 4 — and an experienced international competitor. • Cullen Jones, Swimming: Jones is the most visible NC State Olympian in recent history, winning a gold medal as part of a relay in 2008 that included Michael Phelps and then claiming another gold and two silvers in 2012. The gold and a silver came on relays that included Phelps again, while he broke through as an individual with a silver in the 50 freestyle in London. No other Wolfpacker holds four Olympic medals — and he's not done yet. The 32-year-old was looking to become a rare three-time Olympian, something only one other Wolfpacker (Rob Stull) has done, at the U.S. Trials June 26-July 3. "Cullen Jones, four-time Olympic medalist, may im - pact swimming more than any athlete in the United States when we look back on the sport 20 years from now," SwimSwam.com wrote in 2013. "As the first African-American swimmer to win Olympic gold in swimming [Beijing, 2008], Jones has been a tireless ambassador for diversity and an advocate for water safety." 3 Represents the previous high for NCSU swimmers in one Olympic Games, which happened in 1976, when two of the trio won medals (Steve Gregg, silver, 200 butterfly; Dan Harrigan, bronze, 200 backstroke). 3 Basketball alums have been selected to represent the U.S. in the Olympics — Tommy Burleson in 1972 (the team won the silver medal, which they did not ac- cept), Kenny Carr in 1976 (gold) and Tom Gugliotta was selected in 2000 but did not compete due to injury. Fellow alum Nate McMillan was an assistant coach in the 2008 and 2012 Games, helping the U.S. to a pair of gold medals. 5 The minimum number of swimmers with NCSU ties who will compete in Rio — Anton Ipsen (rep- resenting Denmark), Soren Dahl (Denmark) and Simonas Bilis (Lithuania), plus incoming recruit Andreas Vazaios (Greece), who participated in the 2012 Games as a 17-year-old, represent their home countries. Rising ju- nior Ryan Held is part of the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay. 12 NCSU swimmers have previously competed at the Olympics (not counting 2016) — nearly four times more than any other NCSU sport. Six of them combined for 11 medals, including six golds. 27 Current swimmers that represented NC State at the most recent U.S. Olympic Trials June 26- July 3 in Omaha, Neb. After sending just nine to the 2012 Trials, head coach Braden Holloway said: "It shows how much our program has grown." 1988 Was when the Pack set the previous high for most former athletes in the Olym- pics (five), according to The Wolfpacker contributor Tim Peeler. Former swimmer Rob Stull participated in fencing and modern pentathlon, Susan Yow assisted Kay Yow in women's basketball, Agnes Gerlach competed for Hun- gary in diving, Nikos Fokianos swam for Greece and Tab Ramos donned the red, white and blue on the soccer pitch. At least six with NCSU ties will take part in 2016. BY THE NUMBERS PHOTOS COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS