It’s the spring semester, which means it’s time for track and field. Last year, two female distance runners, who also competed for the two-time national champion Wolfpack cross country team, ended the season with multiple first-place finishes at the ACC Track and Field Championships. Senior Sam Bush and junior Katelyn Tuohy will look to continue their dominance in 2023.
Women
Bush and Tuohy headline the women’s track roster but are joined by freshman Grace Hartman and junior Gionna Quarzo, both of whom got their feet wet last month at the Boston Opener.
Apart from distance runners, graduate student Savannah Shaw performed well last season, placing fifth in the women’s 5000-meter at last year’s Raleigh Relay.
Junior Mahkayla Hart will be returning after recording a personal-best 52.06-meter hammer throw at last year’s ACC championships and will look to improve upon that to represent the Pack in that event this year.
Men
The men aren’t as star-studded as the women but have big names in their own right. Graduate sprinter Alan Alvarez is a former All-ACC performer, graduate jumper Jamar Davis is a former NCAA All-American and distance runner Gavin Gaynor is a five-time recipient of All-ACC honors.
Both the male and female squads have a handful of freshmen, with eight women and seven men looking to make their mark. Among these freshmen are women’s distance runner Briley Bickerstaff, women’s thrower Ta’Honny Exum and men’s jumper Kyzaiah Stone, all of whom were decorated high school athletes in their respective events.
Schedule
The Pack will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia the weekend of Jan. 13 to participate in the VT Invitational. The best Wolfpack athletes will be tested against other ACC athletes from schools such as Virginia Tech, Clemson and Duke. Last year, the Pack found success at the event with first place finishes in the women’s 300-meter and the men’s long jump. Look for NC State track and field athletes to win multiple events during the back-half of the season.
Last April at the UVA Challenge, multiple NC State athletes set new personal records and had top-10 finishes, and Tuohy placed first in the 5000-meter after running a 15:14.61, a top-10 time in collegiate history for the 5000.
There will be meets every weekend leading up to ACC Indoor Championships taking place from Feb. 23-25 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The outdoor season will pick up from there, with ACC championships for outdoor taking place in early May, preceded by the NCAA Championships in late May and early June. While Bush and Tuohy are expected to do well, other athletes on the team are plenty capable of winning events for the Wolfpack this season.
