The Pack’s title streak came to an end this weekend.
The three-time defending national champion NC State women’s cross country team saw its reign end on Saturday with an eighth-place finish at nationals, concluding the most dominant streak of success in Wolfpack athletics history.
There’s certainly no shame in that finish—and the Pack had a pair of runners place in the top 10. It’s worth a moment to appreciate all over again what this program accomplished over the last four years: 2nd place, then 1st, 1st, 1st. Only two other schools have managed a three-peat since cross country became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in the early 1980s.
It’s really tough to be that good for that long, regardless of the sport. Now somebody get to work on the team statue.