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NC State Swimmers Collect 3 Golds at WUGS

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – NC State men’s & women’s swimming & diving head coach Braden Holloway could not have asked for a better start to the World University Games for the Wolfpack representatives, as Ryan Held and Justin Ress earned gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle relay for the USA, while Alexia Zevnik also captured gold in the 400 freestyle relay for Canada on Sunday morning.

Held and Ress teamed with Maxime Rooney and Justin Lynch as part of the 400 freestyle relay team, and their time of 3:14.01 seconds earned them gold in the final. While Rooney had them fifth on the lead-off, Held’s time of 48.25 follow by Ress’ time of 48.07 gave the USA a lead of over a second-and-a-half prior to Lynch finishing things off to earn gold.

NC State’s third gold medal came courtesy of Zevnik, who showed tremendous grit as she backed up from the semifinals of the 200 backstroke to anchor the Canadians. Teaming with Katerine Savard, Jacqueline Keire and Sarah Fournier, the race came down to Canada and the Russians, with the Russians taking the lead during the third leg. Zevnik then closed out the race in a time of 54.10, taking back the lead for the Canadians securing gold.

Despite the tremendous success achieved by the Wolfpack swimmers in the relays, they were not the only bright spots on the day.

Ress showed why he is quickly becoming one of the rising stars of world swimming, finishing the 100 backstroke semifinal in 53.54, earning the top seed for tomorrow’s final. He was only 0.07 short of his personal best time, and shaved 0.07 off his preliminary time from earlier in the day.

Ress was not alone in qualifying for a final, as Zevnik and Mackenzie Glover both earned spots in the 200 backstroke final. Glover’s time of 2:10.50 seconds in the semifinal has her seeded fourth, while Zevnik completed the race in 2:10.62 seconds, seeing her seeded fifth.

Holloway, also a member of the USA coaching staff in Taipei, was extremely pleased with how the day panned out.

“Proud of the Wolfpack in Taipei today” he said. “Coming away with gold medals is always an achievement, and even sweeter when in a relay representing your country. Justin Ress had a huge day, splitting well minutes after a great 100 backstroke performance was tough and gritty. Ryan got his meet off to a good start in the relay. He overworked the first 35 meters, so he can make a few adjustments before his next race. Alexia and Mackenzie were great for Canada in the 200 backstroke, and then Alexia then turned right around to anchor Canada for gold in the 400 freestyle relay. For NC State, she was always our leadoff leg, so it was great to see her finish strong.

Up Next
On Aug. 21, Ress will look to capture gold in the 100 backstroke final, while Zevnik and Glover will look to do the same in the 200 backstroke final. Zevnik will also compete in the heat of the 100 freestyle, and look to earn her way into the semifinal later in the day.

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NC State Falls Out of the Top-10 After Losses to UNC & Duke

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After losing to rivals UNC and Duke last week, the NC State Women’s Basketball team fell out of the Top-10 in the Week 17 AP Poll, landing at #12. NC State started the 2023-24 season unranked, but jumped to #14 in the first Poll after the Preseason Poll. The Wolfpack have been ranked in the Top-10 since November 20th, which equals 14 straight polls.

ACC Teams in the Top-25

5. Virginia Tech
12. NC State
17. Notre Dame
19. Syracuse
22. Louisville
27. Duke
29. UNC
30. FSU

The Wolfpack will host #19 Syracuse on Thursday night at 7pm.

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NC State’s Week 1 Depth Chart Against UCONN (with Notes)

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NC State will kick off their 2023 Football season next Thursday night against UCONN at 7:30pm. The Wolfpack released their Depth Chart for the game today.

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Notes

  • Redshirt Sophomore Anthony Carter Jr. is listed as the starting Left Guard. If Redshirt Sophomore Lyndon Cooper wasn’t missing the first game due to injury, I wonder if Carter would be starting. Doeren did praise Carter in his press conference today. Also, he stated that Cooper should be back for the Notre Dame game.
  • Noticeably, Graduate Transfer Offensive Lineman Dawson Jaramillo is also missing from the Depth Chart. Unfortunately, Jaramillo has suffered an injury, and will miss the entirety of the 2023 season. This is a huge blow for Jaramillo, and a huge blow for the depth of the Wolfpack Offensive Line. Jaramillo was a Swiss Army knife, having the ability to play in numerous positions.
  • Very often, Doeren has stated that the “Or” in between two names means that the coaching staff sees both players as starters. There is an “Or” in between Chris Toudle and Trent Pennix at Tight End, with the former being listed first. Maybe it doesn’t matter whose name is listed first, but I’m shocked Pennix’s name wasn’t the one at the top.
  • I’m not shocked that Julian Gray and Keyon Lesane are listed as the starters at the X and Y Wide Receiver positions. They both have had a lot of buzz surrounding them in Fall Camp, and Lesane was named a captain. Obviously, with Gray’s speed, Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae is going to want to find a way to get the ball in his hands. With that being said, and this is no disrespect to the two of them, but both of them are 5’11”, which isn’t exactly the way you would sculpt your prototypical outside receivers. I expect Terrell Timmons and Bradley Rozner to both be heavily in rotation at the X and Y, to give the outside receivers a good dose of speed as well as height.
  • True Freshman Running Back Kendrick Raphael might be buried at the bottom of the Depth Chart at his position, but I bet he sees a carry before Mimms or Jones. Doeren mentioned that we would see Raphael against UCONN, but didn’t mention Jones or Mimms. Anae likes to run 2 Running Back sets, with one of them almost functioning like a Full Back. As a result, I’m not shocked to see Jones and Mimms where they are in the Depth Chart.
  • Props to True Freshman Kevin Concepcion for earning the starting job at the Inside Wide Receiver position. Get ready to hear his name a lot this year. KC is backed up by Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit, who Doeren spoke highly of today.
  • Junior Porter Rooks is no longer sitting behind Thayer Thomas on the Depth Chart. Doeren said that Rooks has had a great camp. The former 4-Star prospect has an opportunity to show that those stars meant something by his name. With that being said, he will be pushed by True Freshman Javonte “Juice” Vereen, who even has national media buzzing about him heading into the season.
  • Three True Freshman are on the Offensive Depth Chart: Left Guard Kamen Smith, IWR Kevin Concepcion and FLEXY Juice Vereen.
  • True Freshman Kamal Bonner is 2nd on the Depth Chart at the Will Linebacker spot, backing up Payton Wilson. What’s noteworthy, is that he’s ahead of former 4-Star prospect Jordan Poole in the Depth Chart. Bonner must have made a heck of a first impression.
  • As expected, ODU Graduate Transfer Robert Kennedy is starting at Nickel.
  • True Freshman Brandon Cisse is backing up Aydan White at Right Corner, and Doeren said we should expect him to contribute.
  • Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit will be filling in the shoes of Thayer Thomas at Punt Returner.

 

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Elliot Avent is interviewed on MLB Network about rule changes and Wolfpack Alums

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Elliot Avent gave a great interview on MLB Network.

Avent talks about the rules changes in baseball and doesn’t seem too pleaseed about them, while also breaking some news that they might be naming the hitting facility after Trea Turner and the Pitching lab after Carlos Rodon.

Give it a watch.

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NC State Basketball

Mady Traore Will No Longer Enroll at NC State

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This unfortunately seemed inevitable.

According to 247Sports’ Travis Branham, 3-Star Mady Traore is no longer planning on enrolling at NC State.

Traore was a member of the Wolfpack’s 2022 recruiting class, but wasn’t able to enroll in the Fall because of Visa issues and the English Competency Test.

Back on November 29th, I posted the following article, saying that Traore was set to join the team for the 2nd semester. Traore himself told me when I posted it, that he was expecting to join the team in December.

I received the intel 2 weeks prior to posting, and prior to things beginning to brew between NC State and Isaiah Miranda. In hindsight, I wish I would have posted it when I got the intel (haha).

4-Star Mady Traore Expected to Suit up for NC State Soon

Obviously, that didn’t happen, and isn’t happening.

When I posted the article, things were in flux, because there was one scholarship available. If Miranda came, he was going to get the scholarship, and the staff was hoping Traore would be willing to wait and enroll in April. If Miranda didn’t come, then the expectation was for Traore to join the team in December, in the way that Miranda just did.

I still believe my source’s info was solid, and there are always a lot of moving pieces in play that can change scenarios quickly.

From what I hear, the staff was genuinely hopeful they could add Miranda in December, and Traore in April, but it didn’t work out that way, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.

We wish you the best Mady! You’ve got a special future in basketball.

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