At the NCAA Southeast Regional in Rock Hill, South Carolina, NC State women’s cross country placed first in a thrilling race — putting two runners on the podium and all seven runners in the top 50. This marks its eighth straight NCAA Southeast Regional title.
NC State men’s cross country finished seventh, failing to automatically qualify for nationals.
Junior Grace Hartman won the individual competition in a tight race. Hartman led the whole race but never increased her lead to more than one second, eventually crossing the finish line at 20:04.2 — two-tenths of a second ahead of Clemson’s Silvia Jelego. Hartman has come into her own in the back half of the season, with this win joining the individual ACC championship she claimed earlier in the month.
Close behind, junior Hannah Gapes finished third at 20:08.3, giving the Pack another spot on the podium. Gapes has been a consistent top finisher, as this race is her fifth top-10 finish of the season at a major event.
After Gapes, Senior Brooke Rauber came in at 20:42.2 to place ninth. Freshman Bethany Michalak was next to cross the finish line at 21:03.7, placing 19th. Freshman Ellie Shea came in at 21:21.5 to finish 28th. Sophomore Angelina Napoleon finished at 21:40.3 to place 43rd. Sophomore Kate Putman rounded out the Pack coming in at 21:48.2 for 50th. The team finished with an impressive 60 points — 25 points ahead of second-place Virginia.
Graduate Brett Gardner led the NC State men to a seventh-place finish with each runner placing top-100. Gardner finished the race in 30:06.6, placing 13th. Gardner was positioned around the ninth spot for the majority of the race but fell off pace in the last few kilometers.
Following Gardner, graduate Toby Gaulter finished at 31:00.4 for 36th. Next to cross the finish line was junior Ryan Motondo coming in at 31:17.5, finishing 47th. Freshman Noah Valyo finished in 31:28.5, placing 55th. Sophomore Wesely Larson finished in 31:39.9 to place 67th. Senior Matt Bogdan finished in 32:12.8 for 86th. Graduate JJ Malach finished in 32:21.6, placing 98th. The team finished with 218 points — 139 points behind first-place Virginia.
Regarding national championship qualifications, the top two teams from each region receive an automatic bid. Therefore, as the southeast regional champion, the Pack women will be headed to Verona, Wisconsin for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23. It looks to win its fourth-straight national championship.
The fate of the men lies in the hands of the selection committee which will choose 13 teams at large to join the automatic qualifiers — although its chances are slim. The selection show is set for Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. After placing 13th, Gardner qualified for the individual portion of the NCAA Championships.
