The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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54 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY BRUCE WINKWORTH B alance, depth, talent and experi- ence should be the hallmarks of NC State's 2016 women's cross country team. The Wolfpack fin- ished fifth in the nation at the 2015 NCAA Championships and returns six of the seven runners that lined up for that race. Three of those returnees are seniors with a wealth of experience. Toss a handful of ex- perienced backups and an impressive fresh- man class into the mix and NC State would appear poised for a special season in 2016. Some teams might shy away from such lofty expectations. The Pack, though, wel- comes the challenge. Winning and competing for championships are what NC State cross country is all about, after all. Thirty times in 39 years, the Wolfpack women have finished in the national top 20, including 16 times in the top 10 and 11 in the top five. Twenty-four NC State runners have earned All-America honors, 12 of them multiple times. The Pack has won 21 ACC team cham- pionships and two AIAW (the governing body for women's college athletes prior to its move into the NCAA) national cham- pionships. Eleven NC State runners have won individual conference championships. Three have captured individual national championships, two of them twice. NC State finished fifth at the NCAA meet a year ago without a single Wolfpack runner finishing in the top 40 and earning All-America honors. "People talked at nationals last year about how that was such a team effort because we did it without any All-Americans," Wolf- pack head coach Laurie Henes said. "That's certainly not the way we prefer to do it." For an encore, Henes will build the 2016 Wolfpack around a trio of talented seniors. Megan Moye and Kaitlyn Kramer lined up in all six varsity races last season. Erika Kemp ran in five. Kramer and Kemp earned All-ACC honors, while Moye and Kemp were all-region. Kemp was the Wolfpack's lead runner at the NCAA Championships, missing All- America honors by seven seconds. She and Moye went on to enjoy breakthrough sea- sons in track, each earning All-America laurels indoors. ■ PREVIEW WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY After earning All-ACC and all-region honors last year, senior Erika Kemp went on to become the Pack's highest finisher at nationals, where NCSU placed fifth. PHOTO BY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS HIGH EXPECTATIONS The Wolfpack Wants To Build Off A Breakout 2015 Campaign ■ Key Meets adidas Cross Country Challenge, Sept. 16 — NC State's season opener has traditionally been more like a scrimmage, with numerous runners for both the men and women running unattached and few if any teams from major conferences participating. That all changes in 2016. NC State will host the ACC Championships on this course in November, and several conference teams are expected to line up for the adidas Challenge to gain familiarity with the surroundings. In addition, the NCAA has moved up the date for meets to qualify as criteria races, meaning teams can use the adidas Challenge in building their case for qualifying for at-large team bids to the NCAA Championships. Wisconsin Invitational, Oct. 14 — NC State switched from the NCAA Pre-National race to the Wisconsin Invitational a year ago because the competition level in Madison, Wis., was so strong. NC State finished fourth in this race last fall, with five of its seven starters that weekend returning in 2016. ACC Championships, Oct. 28 — The ACC Championships always ranks high on NC State's list of goals, and the 2016 conference race will be on the Pack's home course at WakeMed in Cary. Because the conference now covers four different regions, the ACC meet is a golden opportunity for teams to score criteria points for postseason NCAA bids.