Redshirt senior Andrew Colley took the individual title at the ACC Championship on Friday. Colley finished with a time of 23:37.9, a full 24 seconds ahead of the next fastest runner.
“This feels great,” Colley said. “I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s even better because I did it in front of my family. My mom, dad, sister and grandparents were here to see it.”
Colley has historically run well at the ACC Championships, finishing third place in last year’s event and second in 2011. This is the second time in three years that a Wolfpack runner has taken the individual title, with Ryan Hill winning in 2011.
“Andrew was on top of his game today,” men’s head coach Rollie Geiger said. “He’s such a high-level athlete. His performance today was really great for him, his family and for N.C. State.”
“Right around 4K, I was able to make my move and lock it down from there,” Colley said. “It was nice to soak it in for the last bit as a senior.”
The State men’s team finished eighth in its 8K event with an average team time of 24:43.94. No. 14 Syracuse finished first in the men’s competition with none of its racers finishing outside the top 25.
Redshirt sophomore Graham Crawford recorded a top 10 finish on Friday with a time of 24:17.4, the second fastest time for the Wolfpack. Crawford’s run helped him earn an All-ACC nomination.
In the women’s competition, State took seventh place in its 6K race with an average team time of 21:31.90. No. 5 Florida State took first prize with three of its racers finishing inside the top 10.
The Wolfpack women had four racers finish in the top 50 on Friday. Junior Joanna Thompson had the top time for the Pack, completing the race in a time of 20:29.6, good enough for seventh overall in the women’s event.
“We’re going to get it together,” women’s head coach Laurie Henes said. “This is a resilient group. We have two weeks until regionals so we just have to go back and go to work for two weeks.”
In just her third race back from injury, redshirt senior Emily Pritt finished 34th overall and second on the team with a time of 21:36.0. Pritt missed the past three seasons due to injury.
“When someone like Emily Pritt, who has missed three years and has had her hip shaved, comes out and races like this, I want to have that kind of consistent effort from everybody,” Henes said.
Both teams will head to Cary on Nov. 9 to face East Carolina and Duke in the Three Stripe Invitational, a yearly exhibition match hosted by N.C. State.
