For better and for worse, the last year was an eventful one for NC State athletics. From national titles to bowl game cancellations and upsets to heartbreaks, there’s been no shortage of action for Wolfpack fans to take in.
Likewise, there’s been no shortage of quotes about the events of the past year. Whether spicy or somber, comical or sincere, here’s a recap of the past year of Pack sports in quotes.
Colby Pederson: “We’re gonna beat UNC for the next, I would say, decade.”
NC State Icepack then-senior forward Colby Pederson started off the school year with a verbal bang following a 10-3 dismantling of the UNC Tar Heels in September 2021. After notching a hat trick in the season-opening win over Carolina, Pederson went on to rack up 13 goals and eight assists in his final collegiate season.
His words hold true to date: the Icepack dropped the Tar Heels 8-4 to win the Governor’s Cup last November before completing the season sweep in a 3-0 victory over Carolina for the Icepack’s fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League title.
The Icepack’s next chance to make good on Pederson’s word will come on Sept. 30, when NC State will take on the Tar Heels once again at home. The date of this year’s edition of the Governor’s Cup is still TBD, but the contest will still be held in PNC Arena.
Maria Echezarreta: “We are a family and that’s a win, that’s how we show it.”
Less than a month later, the NC State women’s soccer team executed its own Tar Heel takedown thanks in large part to then-freshman goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta. The Wolfpack’s star goalie set a career high of eight saves in the hard-fought 1-0 victory to knock off then-No. 3 UNC at home.
Despite her own individual success, Echezarreta cited the defensive effort of her teammates as paramount to that success, emphasizing the result as a team win.
Echezarreta went on to match that career high with eight saves twice more in 2021 in a 2-0 loss at Pitt and a season-ending 3-0 loss against Pepperdine. With a new season just now getting underway, the Wolfpack’s junior keeper will have plenty more opportunities to rack up saves this year.
Katelyn Tuohy: “Winning nationals is definitely a memory I will cherish forever.”
Winning a school’s first national title in nearly 40 years is a huge accomplishment on its own, but the 2021 NC State cross country team somehow made it even bigger. After finishing runner-up to BYU the year prior, the Wolfpack steeled its mentality of national championship or bust in 2021.
And it paid off. The quote from then-sophomore Katelyn Tuohy matches the sentiment of that entire squad, as Tuohy described the Pack as “all-in” for that season. Then-junior Kelsey Chmiel was State’s top finisher at nationals, placing sixth as the first of the Wolfpack’s four representatives in the top 25.
The championship was NC State’s first in any sport since men’s basketball’s 1983 title, highlighting the achievement as not just about cross country but the whole of NC State athletics. With Tuohy and Chmiel both returning for 2022, the Pack is bound to set its sights on a repeat.
Dave Doeren: “Well, the NCAA stands for No Clue At All, in my opinion, so I don’t really care what they say about it.”
After a 9-3 regular season, the 2021 NC State football team had a chance to cap off the year with head coach Dave Doeren’s first 10-win season with the Wolfpack. However, the UCLA Bruins’ last-minute exit from the Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19 issues eliminated the chance to finalize that 10th win on the gridiron as a replacement opponent could not be found.
In a sequence of events that mirrored the 2021 NC State baseball team’s exit from the College World Series less than six months prior, a large pack of fans greeted Doeren and the team upon their return to Raleigh. As Doeren addressed the crowd, he made it clear that the Wolfpack had earned that elusive 10th win despite NCAA regulations ruling the bowl game a no contest.
With a plethora of returning starters on the 2022 squad, the Wolfpack enters the season ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP poll, tying the program rank and the Pack’s highest preseason ranking since 1975. Despite recent success under Doeren bringing the program more and more prestige, NC State still seems to maintain that chip on its shoulder.
Terquavion Smith: “We definitely need to get back on track.”
After getting blown out by the Tar Heels 100-80 on the road Jan. 29, then-freshman guard Terquavion Smith made this blunt statement in the midst of a disappointing season for Wolfpack men’s basketball. Smith’s 34-point effort led the Pack that night along with 25 points from then-senior forward Jericole Hellems, with only 21 points from all other NC State players, so the Wolfpack’s need to turn things around was abundantly clear.
Those that kept up with the rest of the 2021-22 season know that the Pack did not, in fact, get back on track. The loss at UNC was the second in a six-game losing skid down the stretch of conference play, broken only by a 76-61 win at Georgia Tech Feb. 15. The Wolfpack closed out the season by losing 10 of its last 11 regular season games before bowing out of the first round of the ACC Tournament against Clemson.
With Smith back for another season of college ball, NC State has a glimmer of hope to cling on to in 2022-23. With former star forward Manny Bates’ transfer to Butler, the Pack will need a strong frontcourt to contend in the ACC, but head coach Kevin Keatts has worked the transfer portal himself by acquiring graduate forward Dusan Mahorcic, redshirt junior forward Greg Gantt and graduate forward D.J. Burns to help the Pack get back on track this season.
Pat Popolizio: “You look at our young guys … a lot of them came here because they believe we can win a national title.”
NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio capped off his 10th year at the helm for the Pack with the program’s fourth straight ACC Championship. After securing the 2022 conference title, Popolizio expressed his confidence in bringing a national championship to the school.
While State already boasts three individual national championships over the past decade, Wolfpack is still missing a team natty despite being a perennial top-10 program. But as Popolizio said, the Pack’s young guns are hungry to earn NC State the distinction of national champions. Then-freshman Ed Scott won the conference title at 157 last season, with then-freshmen Ryan Jack and Isaac Trumble earning silver at 141 and 197, respectively.
Even with the departures of program legends like Hayden Hidlay, Thomas Bullard and Tariq Wilson, Wolfpack wrestling is primed for another go at a national title under Popolizio.
Wes Moore: “One year at a time, baby. One year at a time.”
NC State women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore is no stranger to quirky quotes. From likening his team’s consistency to that of McDonald’s french fries to preferring a root canal over watching the first three quarters of a near loss against Louisville, Moore has a way with words that, if not for baseball head coach Elliott Avent’s trademark “Avent-ese,” would be unrivaled among NC State coaches.
However, Moore showcased his sincerity as well after knocking off Miami to win the 2022 ACC Championships, completing the first ACC three-peat in program history. Despite the Pack’s success with Moore running the show, he shook his head and denied the notion of a dynasty.
Moore’s trepidation is not without cause. The 2021-22 squad was primarily driven by seasoned veterans like center Elissa Cunane, forward Kayla Jones and guard Raina Perez, each of whom were playing their last season of college ball. The electric scoring of junior guard Diamond Johnson remains along with a handful of transfers to bolster the roster, but the Wolfpack enters the upcoming season needing to prove it’s still a top-tier program.
