The No. 6 NC State men’s wrestling team (15-2, 5-0 ACC) will be competing Thursday through Saturday at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. NC State will be looking to take down Penn State which will be looking for its third straight title, and seventh in eight years.
Nine NC State wrestlers will be competing with all weight classes represented with the exception of the 165-pound division.
Redshirt junior Sean Fausz will be wrestling as the five seed in the 125-pound division after going 14-2 on the regular season. Fausz’s first round opponent will be Michael McGee, a freshman from Old Dominion. Fausz will be looking to turn his ACC individual Championship into a NCAA tourney win.
Redshirt freshman Tariq Wilson will face off against No. 5 seed John Erneste of Missouri in his first-round matchup. Wilson is 22-9 on the season including four ranked wins.
Senior Kevin Jack is the fifth seed in the 141-pound division after going 18-3 this season. Jack’s first-round matchup is against Russell Rohlfing of Cal State Bakersfield. Jack could potentially face Brent Moore in the second round; Moore defeated Jack in the final of the ACC championships in overtime.
Redshirt senior Beau Donahue, the 14th seed will wrestle Wisconsin’s Cole Martin in the first round of the 149 on Thursday after finishing the season 19-6.
Redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay has not lost yet this season heading into the tournament 22-0 as the top seed in the 157-pound division. Hidlay’s first-round opponent is Drexel’s Garrett Hammond. Hidlay cannot face an opponent with fewer than two losses on the season until the final four.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Bullard faces off against No. 14 Yoanse Mejias in a rematch of the Journeymen Northeast Duals back in November, Mejias won 8-6. Daniel Bullard finished third in the ACC championships with a record of 3-1 after going 2-3 during the regular season.
Redshirt senior Pete Renda heads in as the No. 4 seed after he started off the season going 19-0 but has lost two straight to finish out the regular season. Renda avenged his losses with an ACC tournament win. Renda’s first round opponent is Keegan Moore of Oklahoma State, Renda defeated him 3-0 earlier this season.
Redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello will also enter as a No. 4 seed after losing in the finals of the ACC tournament. Macchiavello’s first-round opponent will be Thomas Lane of Cal Poly who Macchievello defeated in a 16-4 major decision in the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.
Senior Michael Boykin, who clinched the ACC dual championship for NC State against Virginia Tech, comes in as the No. 14 seed with 20-6 a record. Boykin faces off with Gage Hutchison of Eastern Michigan in the first round.
The Wolfpack, coming off a second-place finish at the ACC tournament will look to wrap up a historic season for the program that saw its first ACC regular season championship under head coach Pat Popolizio.
