Jermaine Hudson
Senior runners Ian Harrison, JJ Malach, and graduate runner Toby Gualter leads the pack during the XC Adidas Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 The men's cross country team won first place overall with Malach finishing first place with a time of 17:50.9.
The second meet of the year is done and dusted for NC State cross country after it absolutely crushed at the Adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park. The men’s team finished first among the 17 teams competing, with a Wolfpack runner in nine of the top 15 positions in the men’s 6,000-meter.
Sweeping the top spots at the first meet doesn’t just fall into your lap — it came with a lot of work during the offseason.
“We had a bunch of guys stay in Raleigh this summer,” said senior JJ Malach. “We tried to get together with the guys over the summer and have been working really hard during these first few weeks back at school.”
Malach paced the field with a time of 17:50.9 and an average mile of 4:47.2. The Raleigh native set the Pack on the right track to open the season before competition ramps up at the following meets.
“The real goals are going to start coming together when we get into those bigger meets at Notre Dame and Wisconsin,” Malach said. “They’ll give us a good reference for where we want to be in the postseason races.”
After Malach, the red-and-white filled out the next five slots — all in under 18:11. While it is only the beginning of the season, the results provide an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year.
“The boys were just looking to come in and pack up today,” Malach said. “We didn’t have all of our guys out here, but I think we swept the top six spots, … so we’re excited for this season after today.”
NC State’s women’s team didn’t race many of the top names that helped the Pack win back-to-back national championships, but those who did race finished above the rest.
Led by freshman Leah Stephens, the Wolfpack had four runners run unattached with three of them sweeping the top three spots. Stephens was the only woman to finish with a time below the 17-minute mark.
Graduate student Heather Holt was the first NC State affiliated runner to finish the women’s 5,00, where she emphasized the mentality of the team.
“We just come out and run the way we usually do,” Holt said. “We try to go into it with the same mentality every time. … It’s a new season, and today’s day one.”
The results here were undoubtedly good for the team, but with tougher competition coming up, the Pack has its eyes set on future events.
“This is like a warmup for Notre Dame next, Wisconsin and in-conference to see where you’re at in your training, and they were instructed to run as a group,” said men’s head coach Rollie Geiger. “They did a really nice job with it, so I’m pleased.”
The Pack will return to action on Sept. 29 at the Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame.