Angelina and NES

On September 17, 2025, Angelina Napoleon achieved her most resounding triumph to date, finishing ninth overall – and first among all American women – in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Just one week later, Napoleon Engineering Services (NES), by providing critical bearing support, helped a world-leading aircraft engine supplier reach the altitude testing phase with its next-generation small engine for national defense.

Two entities.

Two milestones to add to the growing list for both.

One primary link between them, aside from the name: the ongoing pursuit – and the unremitting achievement – of excellence in their respective fields. For Angelina, the daughter of NES president and chief engineer Chris Napoleon, greatness has come on the track, where, at just 21 years old, she’s cemented herself as a world-class runner at North Carolina State University and Team USA Track and Field (see her myriad accomplishments below). For NES, it comes in the form of its world-class bearing services: NES is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-precision, custom bearings for the aerospace and aviation industries, houses the largest independent bearing inspection and testing facility in North America and has AS9100, ISO 90001 and Nadcap certification.

Angelina has become elite due to her unwavering commitment to the process. She establishes her goals and does everything needed to reach them; indeed, she’s elite in her work ethic, training, preparation and recovery, and her results reflect that nearly unparalleled dedication.

This is also true of NES.

The Olean, New York-based company has set a high standard as a bearing service provider, and it’s resolute in what it does each day to meet that bar. As a result, NES, too, is elite at what it does, including bearing reverse engineering, supplier qualification, bearing testing and custom bearing manufacturing.

Two entities, two different versions of excellence.

One shared mantra which has fueled that mirrored success:

As Angelina likes to say, “A focused intensity over time.”

Angelina Napoleon Highlights

 

 

World Honors

  • Currently ranks No. 17 in the World in the women’s 3000m steeplechase
  • Sits No. 5 in the United States in the women’s 3000m steeplechase
  • Holds the 10th-fastest 3000m steeplechase time in US history
  • Owns the 49th-fastest 3000m steeplechase time in World history

 

NC State Honors

Major Awards

  • 2026 Women’s H.C. Kennett Award Winner (Female Athlete of the Year)
  • 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District
  • 2025 ACC Women’s Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year
  • 2025 ACC Cross Country Individual Champion
  • 2025 ACC 3000m Steeplechase Champion

 

All-American Honors

March 2025: Indoor Track (distance medley relay)

June 2025: Outdoor Track (3000-meter steeplechase)

November 2025: Cross Country (top 40 finish)

March 2026: Indoor Track (3000 meters)

March 2026: Indoor Track (distance medley relay)

June 2026: Outdoor Track (3000-meter steeplechase)

 

All-ACC Honors

2023-24: Indoor Track

2024: Outdoor Track

2024-25: Indoor Track

2025: Outdoor Track x2

2025: Cross Country

2025-26: Indoor Track x2

2026: Outdoor Track

ACC All-Academic Honors

2026 Outdoor

2025-26 Indoor

2025 Cross Country

2025 Outdoor

2024-25 Indoor

2024 Cross Country

 

Highlights

Team USA – National & International

  • 2025 World Athletics Championships, Tokyo, Japan: Finished ninth in the 3000m steeplechase (9:17.44) final – and No. 1 among Americans. Qualified for the final by taking fifth in her preliminary with a 9:18.03.
  • 2025 U.S. Track & Field Championships, Eugene, Oregon: Placed second in the 3000m steeplechase with a 9:10.96 – just .24 seconds off her personal best – to qualify for the World Athletics Championships.
  • 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships, Lima, Peru: Finished 10th in the 3000m steeplechase (9:58.58) – the top American finisher in this event by 11 seconds.
  • 2024 U.S. U20 World Championships, Eugene, Oregon: Took second in the 3000m steeplechase (10:02.27) in Eugene, Oregon, to qualify for the World U20 Championships.

 

Wanda Diamond League – Professional

  • Meeting de Paris, Paris, France: Shined at the Paris 2025 event, running a world-class and personal-best time of 9:10.72 (while finishing seventh overall) – the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history, No. 8 in U.S. women’s history and the new NC State standard.
  • Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Oregon: Ran in the prestigious American leg of the Diamond League series in 2026, turning in a 9:19.41 steeplechase time to finish 11th

 

North Carolina State – College

Junior Year (2025-26)

Cross Country

  • Opened the season with a second-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational with a 6K time of 19:34.6
  • Won the ACC Cross Country individual title, breaking the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer course record by more than five seconds (19:13.9) while becoming the Wolfpack’s seventh-consecutive ACC women’s individual champion
  • Finished sixth overall at the NCAA Southeast Regional (19:15.0) to earn All-Region honors
  • Ran a 9:22.7 to finish 40th individually, earn All-American honors and help NC State to the 2025 NCAA National Championship, its fourth title in the last five years

Indoor track & field

  • Ran a personal-best 8:46.15 in the 3000m at the Sharon Colyear-Danville season-opener, good for No. 2 all-time at NC State.
  • Set the school record in the DMR, alongside Bethany Michalak, Sadie Engelhardt and Brooke Rauber, with a time of 10:46.0 at the ASICS Last Chance Invite
  • A member of the DMR team which was named ACC Track Athletes of the Week (Feb. 24)
  • Part of the DMR team that took second place at the ACC Championships with a time of 10:52.59, tied for the sixth-best mark in program history
  • Placed second in the 3000m at the ACC Championships, clocking an 8:56.75 to earn First Team All-ACC honors
  • Helped the DMR team to fifth place at the NCAA Championships with a 10:51.12, the third-best time in NC State history
  • Earned Second Team All-American honors with a 10th-place finish in the 3000m at the NCAA Championships (8:55.45)

 

Outdoor Track & Field

  • Ran a personal-best time of 4:11.96 in the 1500m at the Raleigh Relays – No. 8 all-time at NC State
  • Won her steeplechase debut in 9:37.72 at the Penn Relays, shattering the meet record by nearly 14 seconds
  • Helped the 4x1500m relay team to first place at the Penn Relays in 16:59.86, the second-best time in program history
  • Earned First Team All-ACC honors with a second-place finish in the steeplechase (9:43.52) at the ACC Championships
  • Qualified for the NCAA Championships by taking fourth in the steeplechase (9:43.40) at the NCAA East Regional
  • Garnered First Team All-American honors with a fourth-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase at the NCAA Championships, crossing the line in a season-best time of 9:35.56

 

Sophomore Year (2024-25)

Cross Country

  • Competed at the ACC Championships, finishing 59th individually with a 6K time of 20:47.7
  • Helped NC State to its eighth-straight NCAA Southeast Regional title with a 6K time of 21:40.3
  • Ran a 20:31.0 (96th place) at the NCAA Championships

 

Indoor Track & Field

  • Helped NC State to a fifth-place finish in the DMR at the Eagle Elite Meet with a time of 10:55.91.
  • Garnered First Team All-ACC honors after guiding NC State to first place in the DMR (10:52.59, sixth-best time in program annals) at the ACC Championships
  • Earned All-American accolades with NC State’s sixth-place finish in the DMR (10:55.11) at the NCAA Championships

 

Outdoor Track & Field

  • Opened the season with a 9:34.22 in the 3000m steeplechase to win the Raleigh Relays, a performance that ranked No. 1 in the NCAA at the time and established a new meet, facility and NC State record
  • Won the ACC Championship in the 3000m steeplechase with a meet-record time of 9:27.85
  • Finished fourth in the 5000m at the ACC Championships in 15:40.45 to earn Second Team All-ACC honors
  • Earned All-American honors with a third-place finish in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championships (9:16.66), hitting the World Athletics Championships standard while recording the 13th-fastest time in American history

 

Freshman Year (2023-24)

Indoor Track & Field

  • Won the 800m at the Camel City Distance Meet with a time of 2:07.46
  • Set the NC State program record in the 800 meters with a 2:06.79 at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational
  • Earned Second Team All-ACC honors in the DMR, helping NC State to a fourth-place finish (10:58.25) at the ACC Championships

 

Outdoor Track & Field

  • Earned Second Team All-ACC honors with a fourth-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase (10:07.29) at the ACC Championships
  • Ran a season-best 9:54.08 in the steeplechase to place fourth at the NCAA East Regional
  • Competed at the NCAA Championships, finishing 20th (10:10.40) in the steeplechase prelims

 

NC State Top 10s

Outdoor Events

3000-meter steeplechase, 1st, 9:10.72, 2025

4x1500 meters (Napoleon, Putman, Gapes, Engelhardt), 2nd, 16:59.86

800 meters, 6th, 2:06.37, 2025

1500 meters, 8th, 4:11.96, 2026

Indoor Events

600 meters, 1st, 1:33.78, 2024

800 meters, 1st, 2:06.79, 2024

Distance Medley Relay (Napoleon, Michalak, Rauber, Engelhardt), 1st, 10:46.00, 2026

1000 meters, 2nd, 2:45.99, 2024

3000 meters, 2nd, 8:46.15, 2025

Distance Medley Relay (Napoleon, Ingraham, Michalak, Gapes), 3rd, 10:51.12, 2026

3000 meters, 6th, 8:55.45, 2026

Distance Medley Relay (Napoleon, Michalak, Ingraham, Engelhardt), 6th, 10:52.59, 2025, 2026

3000 meters, 7th, 8:56.72, 2026

Distance Medley Relay (Napoleon, Putman, Parker, Gapes), 7th, 10:55.11

Distance Medley Relay (Napoleon, Hartman, Putman, Bush), 9th, 10:55.91, 2025

 

Links

MEET RECORD! Angelina Napoleon Sets Penn Relays 3000m Steeplechase Record, FloTrack, 4/23/26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiPcFo9TNAg

Angelina Napoleon, guest speaker at CA-DIDI’s annual Girls in Manufacturing Day, CA-DIDI, 3/27/26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8t_fSYypxY&t=163s

A Day in the Life with ELITE NC State Standout Angelina Napoleon, The Stride Report, 12/28/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv673lgV1_A

NC State’s Angelina Napoleon Wins ACC XC Title, runnerspace, 10/31/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rezjazTYW-k

After racing at the World Athletics Championships, Angelina reflects on the 2025 season, the grind and the race itself, NC State, 10/12/25: NC State Track & Field and Cross Country on X: "A little less than a month after racing at the @WorldAthletics Championships, Angelina reflects on the 2025 season, the grind and the race itself. #WolfpackTF | #GoPack" / X

Angelina Napoleon Reflects on her 9th Place Finish at the World Championships, Citius Mag, 10/3/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B99Wua3P1g0&t=1235s

She Made Team USA at 20 – Meet Steeplechase Star Angelina Napoleon, The Running Effect Podcast, 8/11/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaQsHXpkrU4&t=12s

(Angelina Napoleon takes second) at USATF Outdoor Championships, NBC Sports, 8/2/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xotcle_soSo&t=3s

Angelina Napoleon runs steeple PB one week after third at NCAAs, Citius Mag, 6/20/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDObGnkmtEI

Women’s 3000m steeplechase final – 2025 NCAA outdoor track and field championships, NCAA Championships, 6/14/25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBLPRBn-Fck

3-Time NCAA Champions NC State 7x1K Workout, TRACK: All-Access, 10/8/24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVAMcUzguu0&t=1162s