The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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56 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY BRUCE WINKWORTH W hen you win as often as NC State's men's cross country team has under head coach Rol- lie Geiger, there is no set formula for success. Geiger has won with veterans, newcomers, heralded recruits and overlooked diamonds in the rough. They all come to NC State with the same goal: to win. Since Geiger's men's program made its big breakthrough in 1986, the Wolf- pack has won 16 ACC championships, in- cluding 15 since 1991 and 13 in a 16-year span from 1991-2006. The Pack added two more team titles in 2009 and '11, and finished second each of the last two years. NC State also has fielded 12 individual ACC champions the last 29 years, dating back to 1987. Wolfpack runners have earned All-ACC honors 82 times since 1995, an av- erage of 3.9 all-conference runners per year. At the national level, 16 NC State runners have combined to earn All-America honors 27 times, nearly one per year. Not surpris- ingly, the Wolfpack has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships nine times in 30 years since 1986, with 21 finishes in the top 20. You can't write out a résumé like that with- out developing some talent. And if Geiger's 2016 squad is to enjoy the level of success to which the program is accustomed, that de- velopment process must continue unabated. NC State will feature a pair of all-conference upperclassmen and a senior transfer with a solid collegiate background. The rest of the lineup will be talented but unproven. "We're going to be looking at athletes who have been in the p rogram one or two years, or even incoming freshmen, and now it's their turn," Geiger said. "The goals of the program do not change. The talent level for these ath- letes is high. It's a situation where it's your turn to have these roles within the program." Fortunately, the lineup will not be entirely unproven. Fifth-year senior Sam Parsons re turns as a two-time All-ACC and all-region performer, and a legitimate All-America contender. He finished seventh at the ACC Championships a year ago and fourth in 2014, and was NC State's lead runner eight times the last two years. "Obviously, Sam is going to be our point guy," Geiger said. "He's an all-conference and all-region performer, but the difference for Sam going into this fall as opposed to previous falls, I believe, is he actually had a track and field season. He competed in track and had a very solid year. "He was a national qualifier at 10,000. He had a nice 5,000. I think those things will make a difference for him this fall. I think that's a really positive thing." The second and third spots in the lineup should go to redshirt junior Bakri Abushouk and senior transfer Aubrey Myjer. Abushouk finished 18th at the 2015 ACC Champion- ships to earn all-conference status for the first time, then was 23rd at the NCAA Southeast Regional and a very respectable 71st at the NCAA Championships. Myjer was an All-Ivy League runner at Columbia a year ago. He finished 19th at the 2015 Wisconsin adidas Invitational, beating six of the seven athletes that NC State lined up in that event. He also was an NCAA quali- fier in the steeplechase in 2015. "Bakri was our No. 2 athlete at the national championships last year," Geiger said. "He had a solid track season. He's now in his ■ PREVIEW MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ■ Key Meets To Watch adidas Cross Country Challenge, Sept. 16 — With NC State hosting the ACC Championships at the WakeMed Cross Country Course in Cary in late October, this season-opening race suddenly takes on newfound sig- nificance as several ACC teams are likely to line up here to get the lay of the land. In addition, this race will now count for criteria points for at-large team bids to the NCAA Championships, making this a golden opportunity for the host team to start making its case for a possible postseason at-large bid. Wisconsin Invitational, Oct. 14 — NC State's coaches like to line their squads up for a big, national-caliber race just prior to the championship races that end the season, and the Wisconsin Invitational draws a stellar field two weeks prior to the ACC Championships. ACC Championships, Oct. 28 — Hosting the conference meet is a big edge for the home team, which not only practices several times a week at WakeMed, but also features several runners who ran high school races there as well. With the Wolfpack fielding a young and inexperienced squad, having two key races at home give NC State a chance to rack up criteria points as the national races approach. Fifth-year senior Sam Parsons is a two-time All-ACC and all-region performer with hopes of earn- ing his first All-America finish in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS RELOADING NC State Will Mix Veterans With Talented Youth