The Wolfpack track and field teams are set to begin their indoor seasons with the Gamecock Opener in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 16. NC State will compete against a handful of teams in what will be the first of five indoor track meets in preparation for the ACC Indoor Championships, which are slated for Feb. 25-27 in Clemson.

As for the rest of the season, NC State will be traveling to both Virginia Tech and Clemson twice and visiting Winston-Salem once in February for the Camel City Invite. With meets nearly every weekend up until the ACC championships in February, the Wolfpack will have plenty of opportunity to prepare.

Before the untimely end of last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NC State men placed seventh at the indoor track and field ACCs and the women placed eighth in a tie with Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack finished with one gold medal, captured by graduate Cravont Charleston in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.58 seconds.

Among those returning to the track for another season with the Pack, senior Michelle Cobb is set to build upon what is already an impressive indoor track career. With a third-place finish at the 2020 ACCs in the triple jump event and three indoor All-ACC Performer titles, her improvement is hard to overlook.

Alongside Cobb is junior Timara Chapman, returning for her third season with the Wolfpack. As a top-three finisher in the indoor pentathlon event at the ACCs in 2019 and 2020, and a two-time All-ACC Performer for indoor pentathlon, Chapman is set for a decorated indoor track career.

As for the men, Charleston is set to come back for his fifth and final year with the Wolfpack. He currently owns the school record for the indoor 60-meter dash and holds four outdoor ACC titles to boot.

Redshirt junior Ian Shanklin is also returning to the indoor track off an impressive cross country season. In October, he took second at the cross country ACCs in the 8K, contributing to the Pack’s second-place finish. Although Shanklin placed eighth in the 5,000-meter run at the 2020 ACCs, he captured gold in 2019 in the same event.

With many star runners returning for another season, there aren’t many holes to fill in the indoor track team’s roster. However, this will be the last season for several veterans, such as Charleston and Elly Henes, who is returning for her fifth and final year with an impressive seven NCAA All-American titles across cross-country and track and field.