NC State Olympic Roundup: Women’s cross country wins NCAA Regional, wrestling sweeps duals, volleyball completes in-state dominance
After a fifth-place finish at the ACC Championships, NC State women’s cross country’s bid for a fourth straight national title looked bleak. But the Wolfpack, which had won seven straight NCAA Southeast Regionals, got back on track this weekend in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Pack won its eighth regional championship in a row with 60 points, punching its ticket to the NCAA Championships as a team in the process. NC State was paced by junior Grace Hartman, who won the event in 20:04.2 in the women’s 6k, while junior Hannah Gapes placed third in 20:08.3 to give the Wolfpack a solid start on the competition.
NC State’s next two runners also finished inside the top-20 as senior Brooke Rauber placed ninth (20:42.2) and freshman Bethany Michalak came in 19th (21:03.7). Freshman Ellie Shea rounded out the Pack’s team score with a 28th-place finish in 21:21.5 to give the team another title.
While the women’s team qualified for the NCAA Championships, which are set for Saturday morning in Madison, Wisc., the men’s squad did not make it as a team with a 13th-place finish at the regional.
Graduate Brett Gardner, who finished in 13th-place with a 30:06.6 in the men’s 10k, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships as an individual. The Pack also had graduate Toby Gualter finish 36th (31:00.4), while junior Ryan Motondo came in 47th at 31:17.5.
NC State’s runners that finished inside the top-25 earned All-Region honors.
NC State wrestling sweeps weekend slate
No. 6 NC State wrestling entered a busy weekend with three duals in a three-day stretch, and the Wolfpack was able to emerge with three wins, including a top-25 victory.
The Pack downed App State 34-12 in its home dual opener at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night before the team cruised past Princeton (34-6) and No. 17 Rutgers (23-14) at the Journeyman Jersey Jostle on Sunday afternoon in Toms River, N.J.
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NC State’s weekend headlining wins came in its ranked bouts against Rutgers. No. 16 Vince Robinson beat No. 7 Dean Peterson by injury (led 11-4 at the time) at 125, while No. 25 Matty Singleton knocked off No. 12 Jackson Turley 9-6 at 174. Wolfpack heavyweight Isaac Trumble, who entered the weekend at No. 7 nationally, earned a marquee victory over No. 4 Yaraslau Slavikouski 2-0 to seal the dual over the Scarlet Knights.
Volleyball completes in-state dominance
NC State volleyball, which already held wins over Duke and North Carolina, completed the in-state sweep with a five-set victory over Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem.
The Wolfpack (14-10, 9-7 ACC) fell behind early as the Demon Deacons took two of the first three sets before NC State was able to edge Wake Forest in the final two periods 25-23, 15-11 to earn the victory.
Senior opposite hitter Amanda Rice led the Pack with 20 kills, her second such performance of the season, while she logged a team-best four aces with four blocks. Junior outside hitters Courtney Bryant and Ava Brizard combined for 29 kills, while graduate setter Naomi Cabello logged 36 assists and graduate defensive specialist Skye Stokes had a 15-dig effort. Senior middle blocker Jada Allen chipped in with a team-high five blocks
The win gave the Wolfpack its first season sweep of in-state teams in program history, knocking off all three in every match NC State played against them. The Pack beat North Carolina in four sets on Oct. 11 and Duke in three sets on Oct. 13. NC State also beat Wake Forest in three sets this past Wednesday in Raleigh.
NC State returns to Reynolds Coliseum to host SMU on Friday at 7 p.m.
