The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK LORENZO BROWN UNDERGOES KNEE SURGERY NC State junior point guard Lorenzo Brown under- and his playing status for the Wolfpack's exhibition tour of Spain Aug. 5-15 remains questionable. ■ Red And White Notebook went exploratory surgery on his right knee June 26, which revealed a tear in the lateral meniscus. Brown is expected to miss summer workouts in July, in the past two years, improving from 203.88 in 2009- 10 to 576.5 in the latest ranking. Thirteen NC State teams scored points, and six finished in the top 25 of the Cup standings — baseball (ninth), men's basketball (ninth), men's cross country (10th), gymnastics (13th), women's golf (13th) and women's cross country (23rd). NC State is one of just four BCS schools to win a NC State has doubled its Directors' Cup point total C Championships, and the NCAA Championships at Purdue. Karshen gained invaluable experience working under bowl game, finish in the top 20 in men's basketball and advance to a Super Regional in baseball (along with Florida, Baylor and Florida State). U.S. OLYMPIC TRACK TRIALS Current NC State distance runner Ryan Hill and runner to make the Olympics track and field team since Joan Benoit in 1984. She lost a photo finish to finish fourth in the 5,000 meters June 28. The former Wolfpack All-American and ACC cham- former Wolfpack distance runner Julia Lucas chased their U.S. Olympic dreams at the trials in Eugene, Ore. Lucas just missed becoming the first former NCSU the guidance of Purdue head diving coach Adam Soldati, who is regarded as one of the top diving coaches in the country. Karshen also aided in the development of David Boudia, a 2008 Olympian and former U.S. national champion. "Josh is a great teacher of the sport, and is very knowledgeable on all levels of diving," Holloway said. "This addition to our staff puts together a great team for the Wolfpack to move forward in achieving our goals at the conference and national levels." Karshen, who graduated from Purdue in 2006, was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and the former Purdue record holder on the platform. Karshen qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials, as well as the U.S. National Championships. Karshen is married to the former Purdue standout pion surged into the lead with three laps to go, and had a 30-meter lead going into the final lap. Kim Conley's lean at the end gave her the edge for third place (15 minutes, 19.79 seconds), while Lucas clocked 15:19.83. Only the top three finishers advance to the Olympics in London this summer, and Conley just made the Olympic qualifying time. If she hadn't, Lucas would have earned the third spot for the U.S. team. Hill broke his own school record by finishing fifth The surgery on Brown's right knee revealed a tear in the lateral meniscus that will likely keep him out of summer workouts this July and possibly longer. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN State head coach Mark Gottfried said. "The injury was limited to the meniscus. This is a temporary setback for Lorenzo. We will be conservative with what we do with Lorenzo moving forward." Brown averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.4 "My understanding is that surgery went well," NC in the 5,000 meters June 28. The NC State junior star went 13:27.49, and was the top collegiate finisher in the race. The Olympic qualifying standard was 13:20, which the eventual top three finishers had achieved prior to the trials. Former NCSU All-Americans Bobby Mack and Ste- phen Furst both competed in the preliminaries. Mack finished ninth (27:58.07) in the 10,000 meters (June 22), while Furst finished 19th (13:56.16) in the 5,000 meters preliminaries June 25. Former NC State high jumper Jesse Williams earned assists per game for the 24-13 Wolfpack, and earned third-team All-ACC honors. Brown ended the season strong with 14 straight a spot on the U.S Olympic Team to compete in London this summer. Williams, who attended Raleigh Enloe High and went games with at least 10 points scored. He scored at least 20 points in three contests, including a season- high 24 against Campbell Dec. 29, 2011. He also had 10 points, a season-high 13 assists and six rebounds against Syracuse Dec. 17. Brown flirted with a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament opener against San Diego State March 16. He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the 79-65 victory. Brown took part in the Chris Paul backcourt camp in early June in Winston-Salem, N.C. NC STATE FINISHES NO. 37 IN DIRECTORS' CUP NC State finished ranked No. 37 in the 2011-12 Di- to NCSU for a year before transferring to USC, fin- ished fourth while battling the rain at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 25. The reigning world champion in the high jump advanced to the Olympics because third-place finisher Nick Ross didn't have the Olympic "A" stan- dard of 7 feet, 7 inches. Only the top three earn spots to the Olympics. NEW DIVING COACH Josh Karshen was named the new NC State div- ing coach June 18 after spending the last three years coaching at Purdue and being a part of the Boiler Diving Academy. "We're very excited about Josh joining the Wolf- rectors' Cup standings by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). That mark is the highest for the Wolfpack program in six years and is an improvement of 52 spots in just two years. That two-year jump is the biggest by an ACC school in the history of the Directors' Cup, a metric that rec- ognizes all-sports success in collegiate athletics. 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER pack family," NC State swim coach Braden Holloway said. "He brings a lot of technical background and knowledge of elite diving with him. Purdue is a known environment for successful diving, and Josh has been able to create his own coaching style while learning from the best." Karshen served as the diving coordinator for the 2010 Women's Big Ten Championships, NCAA Zone SOFTBALL COACHING CHANGE Lisa Navas will not return next year as head coach of the NC State's softball program. Navas' teams posted a 296-226 overall record, in- cluding a 72-91 mark in ACC play. The team qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice during her nine-year tenure. The last time the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 2007. "We appreciate Lisa's efforts on behalf of our soft- Ashley Karnes, a former All-American and U.S. national finalist on both springboards. ball program and student-athletes," NCSU assistant athletics director and softball supervisor Doug Strom said. "We wish her the best in whatever she pursues professionally." A national search for a new head coach will begin im- mediately, chaired by Strom. Jeanine Gunther and Lisa Norris will continue in their current roles as assistant coaches and manage the team in the interim period. NEW JOB FOR STATE GRADUATE NC State graduate Stephen Ponder, who spent 16 years as a fundraiser in Raleigh, was named the Mis- sissippi senior executive associate athletic director for external relations. Ponder spent the previous five years at Arizona State, where he was the senior associate athletic director for external relations/executive director for the Sun Devil Club. Ponder helped NC State go from $3 million in annual giving in 1991, to $9.5 million when he left for Arizona State in 2005. Ponder's duties at Ole Miss will include oversight of all of the school's external areas, including the UMAA Foundation, ticket operations, ticket sales, marketing and communications, and facilities and game opera- tions. "I've grown to know Stephen and respect his abil- ity to connect with people and build relationships," Ole Miss athletics director Ross Bjork said. "He has the ability to see the big picture and should hit the ground running, particularly with the Forward Together campaign. "We were fortunate to attract a candidate of Ste- phen's caliber, and it speaks to the power of the Ole Miss brand and the passion of Rebel Nation that we can recruit such a high-level administrator."