The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/714462
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK "Honestly, I'm not planning on getting off the field. I'm planning on staying on the field every single play." ■ Senior running back Matthew Dayes (TheWolfpacker.com) "[Dennis] Smith showed flashes of freshman-at-Wake Forest-era Chris Paul — the quick hands and disruptive defensive mentality, the elite ball-handling and drive-and-dish skills, a jumper that's not broken but still needs work — and did enough that his circle of advisors decided to shut him down for both games the following day as a precautionary measure." — Sports Illustrated writer Luke Winn on how NC State freshman point guard Dennis Smith performed at adidas Nations on July 30-Aug. 1 (SI.com) "He lines up at tight end, halfback, tailback, receiver … there's really not much [Jaylen] Samuels can't do — and do quite well. Last season, he racked up nearly 600 yards receiving, nearly 400 yards rushing and totaled 16 touchdowns. In NC State's new tempo offense, his numbers could be even more impressive in 2016." — Blogger David Hale on NC State junior tight end/fullback Jaylen Samuels (ESPN.com) "I think [Joe Thuney] is really a tremendous athlete. I think he's a smart kid. He has a really good playing style. He's a good person. He was going to be their center, started at guard, started at left tackle — all in a great conference. He's got good size. Really good mea- surables. We feel like he's got the traits that we covet for people that come in here." — New England Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia on former NC State lineman Joe Thuney (MassLive.com) "I grew up in the era of Lou Piniella. I grew up in the era of Earl Weaver. Arguing in baseball is as much a part of baseball lore as peanuts and beer. I said where is the pitch because my pitcher who hasn't shown emotion in four years is bent over on the mound. I just asked, 'Hey where was the pitch, what'd you see?' and he said 'That's enough, you're warned, you're out of here.' It didn't make any sense." — NC State baseball manager Elliott Avent on being ejected from the penultimate game last postseason (The Raleigh News & Observer) "I think all four of us going is huge for our program. We always talk about getting better and getting higher recruits, and I think this is a great start. Those top-end recruits will see that we are producing talent, and we are getting better short course and long course in the season." — NC State junior swimmer Ryan Held on having four Wolf- pack swimmers compete in the Olympics (The Technician) PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN QUOTING THE PACK Jonathan Addison, Men's Track & Field At the North American, Central American and Carib- bean (NACAC) Under-23 Championships July 15-17 in San Salvador, El Salvador, the Raleigh native represented the United States in his first career international meet and took the silver medal in the long jump with his leap of 25 feet, 7.25 inches. Addison concluded his illustrious NC State career as a four-time All-American, including in the 2016 outdoor season in the long jump and 4x100 relay. He is also the school record holder in the indoor long jump. Elliott Avent, Baseball The Pack bolstered its recruiting class with three significant additions during the summer. All three were formerly committed to other schools: catcher Brad Debo from Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange High (previously picked South Carolina), right-handed pitcher Dalton Feeney from Bismarck (N.D.) Century High (Missouri) and catcher Brady Gulakowski from Pittsburgh Chartiers Valley High (Pitt). Debo, the No. 27 player in the 2016 class nationally ac - cording to PerfectGame.org, and Feeney, MLB.com's No. 113 high school draft prospect, are considered elite talents. PerfectGame rates NC State's 2016 class No. 14 nationally. Cody Beckman, Baseball Despite being drafted in the 25th round by the New York Mets, the ris- ing redshirt junior left-handed pitcher announced on Instagram in July that he would be returning to play another year at NC State. He pitched in 16 games last season, emerging as a valuable reliever. Beckman gave up 14 hits in 19 1/3 innings and struck out 23 batters. During the summer, the Tampa, Fla., native played for the Sanford River Rats in the Florida League and was named an All-Star. Hannah Moore, Women's Swimming The rising junior from Cary, N.C., competed well at the United States Open Aug. 4-6 in Minneapolis. She was runner-up in the 800-meter freestyle, third in the 200-meter backstroke, fourth in the 400-meter individual medley and fifth in the 200-meter individual medley during her busy meet. She set personal best times in the first three of those listed races. Moore will be joined by her sister Kate after next season. The ris - ing senior at Green Hope High committed to NCSU and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials with Hannah earlier in the summer. Alexis Perry, Women's Track & Field The Wolfpacker's 2016 Female Athlete of the Year has made a successful transition to a professional career after graduating from NC State. She took the bronze medals at the NACAC Under-23 Championships in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 21-10.25 and the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.12 seconds. This was the Durham, N.C., native's second career international meet and first since leaving NC State after becoming the school's first-ever athlete to earn All-America honors in both of those events. Brian Reinhardt, Wrestling Communications On Aug. 1, the National Wrestling Coach Association and Elite Level Sport Marketing presented NC State with the Gold Standard Award for 2016 at its annual convention, the highest honor in the Best of Brand awards. It is a recognition for the program that had the strongest presence on social media. NCSU edged out Missouri (second place) and Rutgers (third place). Reinhardt, who has been with NC State since 1998 and is the director of athletics digital communications, handles media relations for wrestling and helps lead a team effort on social media for the Wolfpack. ■ PACK PEOPLE