Wolfpack Men Return to NCAA Championships
11/20/2015 4:50:00 PM | Cross Country
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LOUISVILLE, Ken. - The NC State men's cross country team will make its 26th team appearance at the NCAA Championships Saturday. The men's race is set for 1:00 p.m. at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ken.
The team's return marks the end of a one-year absence from the NCAA Championships. Development within the squad and the addition of a fifth-year transfer, have helped the team return to the championships.
The new-look Wolfpack has placed three different runners in the top spot and scored seven different runners throughout the year. Last year's team was led by Sam Parsons, as he capped off a breakout cross country season with a 63rd-place finish at NCAAs. During the season, he led the team in all five team races.
His 2014 finish at nationals was a 112-place improvement and his fourth-place finish at ACCs was up 46 places from 2013. However, the team did not qualify in 2014 and Parsons competed at NCAAs as an individual.
The team improved steadily throughout 2014 and finished second at the ACC Championships, but a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, along with finishes during regular season races prevented the Pack from earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Last year marked only the sixth time in 32 years that team missed the championships.
"At regionals last year, I told myself I needed to be a low stick and score as low of points as possible for the team to make it," said Parsons. "I qualified individually that day, but unfortunately the team could not perform the way they wanted to and I had to go alone."
This year, Parsons and the Wolfpack have approached the season with a different mindset. Instead of focusing as much on goals, the team has tried to be the best they can be each race day.
"When we were doing our goal setting, I told the guys not to get caught up in the goals. With that mindset, it relaxed a lot of guys and we were able to run to our fitness level."
At the start of the 2015 season, the Pack was not ranked in the pre-season poll. The addition of Meron Simon and the development of Bakri Abushouk and Sebastian Hanson helped NC State roll through the regular season with strong results. After the conference championships, the team was ranked 10th in the nation.
"Honestly it is just a testament to Coach Geiger's training," said Parsons. Coach Geiger has seen every type of runner during his career. He knows what is best for every single guy. After two years under Geiger's training, if you have true commitment and dedication, and you keep your belief in him, greatness will follow."
On Saturday, several members the team will run in the national championships for the first time. Parsons, a two-time veteran of the NCAA Championships, believes the team will make the most of the opportunity.
"NCAAs is a big learning experience year after year," said Parsons. "This year we have a lot of first timers in the line up, so it will be great to have them get this experience with the team to run together and grow. NCAAs is the hardest race any NCAA cross country runner will run. This weekend, despite everything this team has been though, the team is going to get out there and fight and give it all for each other."
Social Media: Periscope | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Meet Information: Fan Guide | Meet Central
LOUISVILLE, Ken. - The NC State men's cross country team will make its 26th team appearance at the NCAA Championships Saturday. The men's race is set for 1:00 p.m. at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ken.
The team's return marks the end of a one-year absence from the NCAA Championships. Development within the squad and the addition of a fifth-year transfer, have helped the team return to the championships.
The new-look Wolfpack has placed three different runners in the top spot and scored seven different runners throughout the year. Last year's team was led by Sam Parsons, as he capped off a breakout cross country season with a 63rd-place finish at NCAAs. During the season, he led the team in all five team races.
His 2014 finish at nationals was a 112-place improvement and his fourth-place finish at ACCs was up 46 places from 2013. However, the team did not qualify in 2014 and Parsons competed at NCAAs as an individual.
The team improved steadily throughout 2014 and finished second at the ACC Championships, but a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, along with finishes during regular season races prevented the Pack from earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Last year marked only the sixth time in 32 years that team missed the championships.
"At regionals last year, I told myself I needed to be a low stick and score as low of points as possible for the team to make it," said Parsons. "I qualified individually that day, but unfortunately the team could not perform the way they wanted to and I had to go alone."
This year, Parsons and the Wolfpack have approached the season with a different mindset. Instead of focusing as much on goals, the team has tried to be the best they can be each race day.
"When we were doing our goal setting, I told the guys not to get caught up in the goals. With that mindset, it relaxed a lot of guys and we were able to run to our fitness level."
At the start of the 2015 season, the Pack was not ranked in the pre-season poll. The addition of Meron Simon and the development of Bakri Abushouk and Sebastian Hanson helped NC State roll through the regular season with strong results. After the conference championships, the team was ranked 10th in the nation.
"Honestly it is just a testament to Coach Geiger's training," said Parsons. Coach Geiger has seen every type of runner during his career. He knows what is best for every single guy. After two years under Geiger's training, if you have true commitment and dedication, and you keep your belief in him, greatness will follow."
On Saturday, several members the team will run in the national championships for the first time. Parsons, a two-time veteran of the NCAA Championships, believes the team will make the most of the opportunity.
"NCAAs is a big learning experience year after year," said Parsons. "This year we have a lot of first timers in the line up, so it will be great to have them get this experience with the team to run together and grow. NCAAs is the hardest race any NCAA cross country runner will run. This weekend, despite everything this team has been though, the team is going to get out there and fight and give it all for each other."
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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