NC State Woman’s XC rebuild

Let’s set the record straight for the Tar Heel trolls who repeatedly lie about NC State’s academic strength because they are jealous of getting their asses dragged every fall by our powerhouse women’s cross country program. I would also point out that UNC is the only NCAA school to have ever been placed on academic probation by its accreditation agency for fraudulent classes and “lack of rigor.”

NC State is a Tier 1 research and the #26 ranked public university in America, with a beautiful rolling main campus on the edge of downtown Raleigh, and one of the country’s most vibrant and successful public/private partnership campuses surrounding Lake Raleigh.

A few facts:

Top 1% of universities worldwide (Center for World University Rankings)

#2 best public college in North Carolina for value (Money)

#2 for research commercialization among public universities nationally (Heartland Forward)

#2 nationwide for active licenses and options

#3 nationwide for startups launched among universities without a medical school (AUTM Licensing Activity Survey, 2021)

#3 in the nation for the share of our research sponsored by private industry (for universities without a medical school), according to the Association of University Technology Managers

#3 graduate nuclear engineering program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#4 graduate biological/agricultural engineering program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#5 veterinary medicine program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#6 in research expenditures nationally for universities without a medical school (National Science Foundation)

#6 online graduate electrical engineering program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#7 online graduate education program for veterans nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#8 online graduate business analytics program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#8 undergraduate biological/agricultural engineering program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#8 best for financial aid among public universities nationally (Princeton Review)

#9 best value among public universities nationally (Princeton Review)

#11 graduate statistics program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#13 online graduate information technology program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#18 graduate applied mathematics program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

#20 online graduate education program nationally (U.S. News & World Report)

NC State was recognized as one of the universities with the highest number of faculty selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Programs for the 2024-025 academic year, with eight faculty members selected for Fulbright awards.

NC State was chosen as the first North American location for an IBM Quantum Hub, a collaborative effort to advance quantum computing.

NC State is home to the James B. Hunt Jr. Library: Winner of the prestigious Stanford Prize for Innovation in Research Libraries, and one of the most technologically advanced learning and collaboration spaces in the world.

The National Science Foundation awarded its prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship to 17 NC State students in 2024. The fellowship program recognizes outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.

200+ startups and spinoffs based on NC State research, attracting a total of $1.7 billion in venture capital

1,500+ patents issued in the U.S., yielding 600+ consumer products

The Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) matches NC State alumni investors with promising university-affiliated startups to facilitate mentoring, support and angel investments for entrepreneurial businesses. WIN members have invested more than $13 million in 23 NC State startups.

The Milken Institute, an economic think tank, cited the collaboration and innovation fostered by NC State — and particularly by Centennial Campus — as key reasons why Raleigh is one of the best-performing large cities in the United States.

NC State and its students, alumni and associated startups generate $6.5 billion of North Carolina income annually.

Stanford, ND, and UVA are fine schools with no problems getting their recruits. The answer really depends on one’s priorities. If a student athlete is fully committed to running to their potential, the college reputation may be a secondary factor although nc state is a fine school in technology and engineering. On the other hand, if a student athlete just wants to use running as a ticket to get into a top school, then coaching, team environment, and program culture may need to take backseat. Something is clicking at NC State. It’s hard for a top recruit to pass on opportunities to train with Henes, Tuohy, Bush, Hartman, and Napoleon.

Any of you NC State insiders - any word on Leah Stephens and where she is in the injury rehab? I was hoping to see her on the track this spring. The team is going to be pretty strong in the fall and having her would make them that much stronger.

This is all very nice, but it's really lipstick on a pig...I mean wolf.

I'm usually defending NC State academics - you can go to NC State for any major and go to a good grad school to become a Doc/Vet, lawyer, CEO, engineer etc...Athletes with academic goals don't really have to give anything up to join the Wolfpack...

...but it still isn't Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Stanford, Rice, Notre Dame or Cal, UCLA, UVA, Michigan etc no matter how many superlative factoids we throw at it.

NC State is a very good school and a great fit for many people. A great value, and although a stereotype, the school is home to genuinely nice people. I went to one of those prestige schools and while I thought the education was great, I would have done well at State. It is all about fit.,

Leah is still battling some nagging injuries, and needs to get her fitness back.

The point is when you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to leverage your athletic talent to attend a truly elite university, NC State is an odd choice. Factoids aside, prestige is prestige and it is a minus one in that regard. You can get a great education in any university in the USA, but that misses the point. There are several schools with equally good running programs but with much better academic reputations. When you are 40 and retired from running, no one is impressed by NC State. Nothing with “state” in it is opening up any doors in the places that matter.

if you still need your alma mater or your daddy to open doors for you at 40, you don’t impress anyone anyway.

update:
One would think that a team including 2 top 10 returners (one at 14:58), a 50th place returner, a 9:29 steeplechaser, 2 15:43-45 5000 runners, and a sub 9:00 3000 runner might be a title favorite but if OR returns everyone they can, I'd say that is not the case.

They going to rebuild with link 7 all- Americans again

There is also the incoming class at NCS that is very strong.

Here’s the reference to the 14:58. I don’t know what’s happening in women’s distance running right now, but this is getting crazy. A mark that no collegian woman had broken up until just over a year ago, and now MANY have all of a sudden? (Even a high schooler?)…

Awesome that Grace smashed that barrier as well! (Now faster than Tuohy).

Faster than Tuohy's lifetime PR.

Yes Pack looking promising for XC.

Hartman, Gapes, Rauber, Napolèon, Putman, Michalak

plus any recovering injured and maybe one of the freshmen being ready.

BYU, Oregon, maybe Stanford, however, can all be very good too. Will be a great season.

It's the shoes. Seriously, it's the shoes. We're seeing the same thing on the men's side.

These are fine athletes with a ton of talent, and overall the coaching improves every year, but the deciding factor is the shoes.

I don't have an issue with the times the men & women are running and as long as everyone has access to the shoes and it's a level playing field, it's fair. I know it bothers the "purists" but innovation is a part of athletics. There are better tennis racquets now, skis are better and allow for better and easier turning, bikes, bike wheels and tires are better. Just about all sports have innovations that have improved the performances.

Shoes have been around since 2018. Shoes are no longer a discussion with athletes. It's all coming down to training. Training is insane. Never did I run double thresholds two times per week.. never did I consider running a PR in the 1500m and double back in hard 10,000m.

Stanford I completely get - great resources, great weather, great facilities, and of course it's Stanford (the degree). It's also not as academically challenging as you think; the average GPA is above 3.7 - basically, it's very hard to get in, even harder to fail out of. If you're offered there, let alone with a good chunk of $, I can't see why you'd turn it down. Also very easy to get to really competitive meets outdoors without as much travel since a ton are all in CA.

ND is good but not as elite. Weather also is terrible which isn't insignificant. It does make sense why UNC and Duke get a lot of good recruits though - good weather (at least when people are on campus), great resources, strong academics, good programs, etc.

NC State is a good school of course with a very good engineering program, but I think it being in the 'shadow' of Duke and UNC does hurt it a bit.

Spike technology has progressed a ton since the first dragonfly. And the shoes save your legs so much as well. if I'd run 10 miles of double t I'd be shredded in old flats. But I don't feel it the next day in super shoes.