N.C. State was one of 2024’s most memorable teams, dominating the first year of the revived ACC and storming into the top 20 nationwide by the end of the regular season. This year, the Wolfpack will be looking to consolidate that success and cap it with a regionals performance that reflects its quality. Some important routines graduated, particularly from star all-arounder Emily Shepard, but this is a deep team with a large freshman class that can find ways to fill in the gaps.
2024 Rewind
No. 28 overall | No. 1 at ACCs | No. 16 in regular season | Regional Semifinals
N.C. State crushed the regular season last year and then had one of its worst meets of the year at regionals, which hurt its ranking significantly. Winning the ACC was expected, but the margin of victory was still satisfyingly emphatic.
Losses & Gains
| Returning | In |
| Sixth-Years Chloe Negrete Seniors Peyton Childs Macy Jennings Lucy Lehman Brooke Smead Krista Zultevicz Juniors Meg Adler Kailee Adomaites Katya Edwards Madeline Reid Sophomores Raina Gandhi Elle Hadrick Maddie Hall Katie Harper Ashley Knight Lauren Wright | Freshmen Ava Myers Bella O’Bryant Kyla Petrocci Jenna Rusk Syniya Thomas Caroline Volk |
| Out | |
| Graduated Madison Benson Alexis Ortega (AA) Emily Shepard (AA) Retired Wells Fischer Sofia Obregon | |
| Injury Update | |
| Elle Hadrick competed a few meets in 2024 before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury. | |
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2024 Event Ranking: No. 24 | NQS: 49.195 | Average: 49.102
| Event Overview: This is a pretty vault rotation composed primarily of Yurchenko fulls with a little variety. Ashley Knight’s front handspring pike half is a highlight while Chloe Negrete has a long history of absolutely drilling her Yurchenko full. Freshmen contribute more nice, tidy fulls and will help to keep this lineup looking similar to last year. | ||
| Locks: Ashley Knight, Chloe Negrete | ||
| Contenders: Meg Adler, Maddie Hall, Ava Myers, Syniya Thomas, Caroline Volk, Krista Zultevicz | ||
| Wildcards: Katya Edwards, Lucy Lehmann, Lauren Wright |
Bars
2024 Event Ranking: No. 16 | NQS: 49.335 | Average: 49.125
| Event Overview: Bars was a strength in 2024, but the pressure’s on to replace the final two routines in the lineup. Luckily, this event is a strength for the Wolfpack newcomers. It might take a few weeks to settle in, but there shouldn’t be a major bars decline. | ||
| Locks: Katie Harper, Madeline Reid | ||
| Contenders: Kailee Adomaites, Peyton Childs, Ava Myers, Jenna Rusk, Caroline Volk | ||
| Wildcards: Elle Hadrick, Maddie Hall, Brooke Smead, Krista Zultevicz |
Beam
2024 Event Ranking: No. 12 | NQS: 49.405 | Average: 49.090
| Event Overview: Beam was the keynote event for the 2024 Wolfpack, and the leadership of beam anchor Negrete will continue to be important here. Freshman Caroline Volk’s needle scale and triple series have gotten a lot of play time in training clips; is she a future star? | ||
| Locks: Meg Adler, Katie Harper, Macy Jennings, Chloe Negrete | ||
| Contenders: Maddie Hall, Kyla Petrocci, Caroline Volk | ||
| Wildcards: Kailee Adomaites, Peyton Childs, Ashley Knight, Ava Myers, Brooke Smead, Syniya Thomas, Lauren Wright, Krista Zultevicz |
Floor
2024 Event Ranking: No. 26 | NQS: 49.360 | Average: 49.244
| Event Overview: Floor was a reliable strength last year, and enough of the core returns that it should remain a comfortable strength for the Wolfpack. There are lots of freshman options here, too, though it’s hard to identify the frontrunners. | ||
| Locks: Katya Edwards, Ashley Knight, Chloe Negrete, Krista Zultevicz | ||
| Contenders: Meg Adler, Elle Hadrick, Maddie Hall, Syniya Thomas, Jenna Rusk | ||
| Wildcards: Kailee Adomaites, Macy Jennings, Ava Myers, Kyla Petrocci |
Records Watch
Team: 197.725 | AA: 39.750 | VT: 49.325/9.950 | UB: 49.450/9.975 | BB: 49.525/10.000 | FX: 49.775/10.000
Many of these records are quite old and still a stretch for the modern Wolfpack, but some are plausible. Vault and beam team records are within reach with a strong home meet. The team bars record was tied last year, though graduated seniors played a major role in that number. Sixth-year senior Chloe Negrete has career highs of 9.950 on beam and 9.975 on floor, so perfect 10s on either aren’t inconceivable.
The Big Picture
Replacing Shepard and Alexis Ortega is a big ask. Those 9.900-plus scores won’t appear overnight. This is a team with a succession plan, though; lots of returning athletes have been showing events they didn’t previously compete in training while most of the newcomers could plausibly be in the mix for at least a couple of lineups. One last year with Negrete is a great opportunity for N.C. State to prove last year wasn’t a fluke while easing the generational transition that’s coming up next year.
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Article by Rebecca Scally
