When the dust settled at the 2025 ACC championships there was no doubt: NC State women’s cross country remains the Pack’s most dominant athletics team. The Wolfpack won its ninth ACC Championship in 10 years and its 30th ACC title in program history, while totaling six All-ACC honors runners.
The Wolfpack placed five runners in the top 10 runners of this year’s ACC championships, hosted by Louisville. Furthermore, the Wolfpack placed three runners in the top five, filling the top of the leaderboard with runners that are plenty talented enough to take the ACC crown.
In one of the more surprising finishes in the women’s 6k championship race, junior Angelina Napoleon pulled off an upset by earning first place with a time of 19:13.9 — good enough to break the previous course record. The championship is the result of impressive growth from last season, when Napoleon’s time in both the ACC and NCAA championships 6k was over 20 minutes. With the ACC crown, Napoleon will be a name worth watching in the NCAA Tournament as she pursues a national championship.
Behind Napoleon, senior Grace Hartman took fourth place with a 19.16.9 finish. Hartman earned All-ACC honors for the third straight year, adding on to her already decorated career. While she fell short of last year’s mark, when she won the ACC individual championship, Hartman’s performance was enough to help NC State maintain its firm grip as a team over the rest of the ACC. Watch for a potential bounceback in the NCAA championships.
Rounding out the top five, senior Hannah Gapes finished in 19:24.4 for fifth place. The time was almost identical to her time last season in the ACC championships, with a 2.1 second improvement. Once again an All-ACC performer, Gapes is closing her collegiate career strong and will look to carry the momentum into the NCAA championships.
Three more runners were named to the All-ACC team for NC State. Sophomore Bethany Michalak, freshman Sadie Engelhardt and graduate Brooke Rauber. Finishing in eighth place, Michalak completed the course in 19:35.4. Meanwhile Engelhardt’s 10th place finish in 19:45.5 proved to be especially impressive for a freshman, who could be next on the Wolfpack’s long list of cross country stars. Finally, Rauber took 12th place with her time of 19:50.3, a strong ending against ACC competition for the graduate student.
On the men’s side, NC State as a team finished in 10th place, with no All-ACC award winners. Only one runner placed in the top 50, sophomore Noah Valyo. The Cary native finished 31st with his time of 23:33.9 in the 8k race. Behind Valyo, senior Jimmy Mullarkey completed the course in 24:01.4 and junior Luke Wiley finished in 24:17.9 — good for 61st and 83rd respectively.
Next up, NC State will compete in the NCAA southeast regionals, hosted in Charlottesville Virginia. The competition is set for Friday Nov. 14.
