The NC State track team sent multiple entrants to the NCAA Championships, which concluded Saturday, June 12. The Wolfpack’s solid all-around performance was made even better on the final day, as graduate student Elly Henes finished her NC State career as a national champion.

Henes placed first in the women’s 5000-meter event with a time of 15:28.05, earning her not only the gold medal, but also first team All-American honors. 30 years ago, Elly’s mother and current women’s track and field head coach Laurie Henes accomplished the same feat.

Junior Savannah Shaw participated in the same race, posting a 16:02.90 to put her in 16th place. She won second team All-American honors after her debut in the NCAA Championships.

On the men’s side, redshirt junior Ian Shanklin posted a new school record in the men’s 5,000-meter event, clocking in at 13:23.48. This was his personal best by almost 25 seconds and beat the school record by almost 3 seconds. This time was also an Olympic Trials qualifying mark.

On the second day of the Championships, sophomore Kelsey Chmiel participated in the 10,000-meter race. She finished with a time of 32:45.83 which was good for eighth place. This time beat her personal best by nearly a minute and is the second-best time in school history. She also received first team All-American honors. 

Junior Hannah Steelman participated on the same day, racing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. She placed 14th in the event and was awarded 2nd team All-American honors. 

On the first day of the Championships, the men’s relay team participated in the 4×100 relay race. The team, composed of sophomore Henry Young, junior Alan Alvarez, senior Von Douglas, and redshirt senior Junpai Dowdy, placed 20th in the semifinals with a time of 39.88. All four members received honorable mention All-American honors.