Thrice as Nice: NC State is back-to-back-to-back cross country National Champions

As the old saying goes, good things come in threes. The NC State Wolfpack proved that to be true as their capped off their third straight women’s cross country national championship on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Wolfpack became the first team to win three consecutive national championships since Stanford did so from 2005-07.

With NC State’s third consecutive national championship, the ACC now has claimed five titles in women’s cross country history, with Virginia claiming back-to-back crowns in 1981 and 1982.

Missing Kelsey Chimel, who recorded a third-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championship, the Wolfpack needed some strong showings from different faces. Sam Bush, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, jumped 14 spots in the final 1000 meters of the race to help NC State reach the pinnacle once more. Bush’s late push helped NC State pass No. 1 Northern Arizona, completing a one-point victory, 123 to 124.

Katelyn Tuohy posted the best finish for NC State on Saturday, crossing the tape with a time of 19:23.0. Tuohy once again claimed All-America status, leading a trio of Wolfpack runners to secure All-America honors in the race. While the ACC posted a national-best 11 All-Americans, both NC State and Notre Dame notched a conference-best three apiece.

Following the Wolfpack, Notre Dame added a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships, finishing with 237 points. Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich crossed the line in third to lead the ACC women, clocking a time of 19:10.0. Among those ACC student-athletes who qualified as individuals for the national meet, Amina Maatoug of Duke led the pack, finishing with a time of 19:29.9 at Panorama Farms. Florida State’s Alyson Churchill finished 22nd on Saturday, marking the best finish by a Seminole since 2013.

ACC Women’s All-Americans
3       Olivia Markezich, Notre Dame – 19:10.0
5       Katelyn Tuohy, NC State – 19:23.0
9       Amina Maatoug, Duke – 19:29.9
22     Alyson Churchill, Florida State – 19:53.9
24     Gladys Chepngetich, Clemson – 19:54.7
25     Amaris Tyynismaa, NC State – 19:55.3
28     Samantha Bush, NC State – 20:00.7
32     Fatima Alanis, North Carolina – 20:03.6
35     Andrea Markezich, Notre Dame – 20:05.4
37     Erin Strzelecki, Notre Dame – 20:06.2
39     Jenny Schilling, Virginia – 20:06.4

Totaling 249 points, North Carolina led the ACC men on Saturday, finishing sixth at the national meet. The Tar Heels were paced by ACC Champion Parker Wolfe, who finished ninth with a time of 29:12.6 to claim All-America status. Wolfe was the first of five All-Americans to cross the line for ACC schools and the first of two Tar Heels. The sixth-place finish for North Carolina was the second-best placement in school history.

Syracuse finished ninth in Charlottesville, Virginia, to add another top-10 finish to the ACC’s resume. The Orange were led by a pair of All-Americans in Perry Mackinnon and Sam Lawler en route to their best finish at the NCAA Championships in seven years. Prior to this season, the last time that Syracuse had multiple All-Americans was 2016.

ACC Men’s All-Americans
9       Parker Wolfe, North Carolina – 29:12.6
17     Alex Phillip, North Carolina – 29:26.8
19     Perry Mackinnon, Syracuse – 29:30.8
34     Sam Lawler, Syracuse – 29:42.5
40     David Mullarkey, Florida State – 29:50.8