Aptly sitting outside the NC State wrestling room in front of a wall adorned with pictures of the Pack’s other six national champions, Michael Macchiavello, still somewhat in awe of his most recent accomplishment, reflected on a journey that brought him from an unsung high school recruit to an NCAA champion.

Macchiavello, a redshirt senior from Monroe, North Carolina, made an improbable run in last week’s NCAA Championships to win a national title at 197 pounds as the four seed. Macchiavello knocked off third-seeded Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, who had beaten him twice already this season, scoring a takedown with 14 seconds on the clock to wrap up the win.

The title for Macchiavello made him the eighth wrestler in Wolfpack history to win at NCAAs, and was something no one, except himself, saw coming for the kid from North Carolina who won just one state title in high school.

“If you ask anybody in the wrestling world, or people outside of the NC State wrestling program, it’s not somewhere I was supposed to be,” Macchiavello said. “I was a one-time North Carolina state champ. I was not nationally ranked as a recruit. I had a losing record my freshman year of college. … It’s been a long journey. Throughout the entire time, I’ve always believed that’s where I was going to get. That’s the key difference. Just that belief that you’re going to get there at the end.”

That belief is something that never faltered for Macchiavello, who had an underwhelming 20-22 record through two years at NC State before taking a redshirt season to work on his technique. The year off panned out well for Macchiavello, who finished 26-8 the next season and earned a bid to NCAAs, before capping off his career with a national title.

Macchiavello has always been confident, but the ability to believe in himself and know that someone from NC State could win that ultimate prize was helped along by a former teammate: two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski.

“Nick Gwiazdowski set the bar,” Macchiavello said. “I learned that from him, the confidence and the belief. He’s a very confident dude. I remember sophomore year he told me this one quote, that it’s as hard as you make it. Now, I find that to be true more than anything else. It’s all belief. The biggest thing is believing in yourself. Once you do that, and you have no doubt, you’re going to be able to accomplish whatever you want.”

While confidence and belief definitely have driven Macchiavello, there is something to be said about hard work and trusting the process as well, two things Macchiavello preached as reasons for his success.

Developing a process that worked for him, through the help of Gwiazdowski, head coach Pat Popolizio and a number of other resources including a sports psychologist, brought Macchiavello from an unheralded, struggling wrestler to the top of the NCAA wrestling world.

“For us, that’s what makes this really special,” Popolizio said. “It shows that if guys commit themselves, and do everything right, they can win a national title. Macchiavello fed off that.”

Now Macchiavello will leave the NC State program with a legacy of fighting and working hard for what he believed he could do. The impact a run like that can have on others is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Popolizio, who praised Macchiavello’s drive and acknowledged how meaningful seeing that could be to the younger guys in this program.

The impact of Macchiavello’s win reaches far beyond just NC State though, as his run to a title is already inspiring kids in his home state that isn’t exactly known for its wrestling. Macchiavello said coming into college wrestling from North Carolina put a chip on his shoulder from the very start. He also said that the state where kids don’t start wrestling until they’re into their teenage years doesn’t get the respect that the Northern or Midwest states, where wrestling is a way of life, do.

However, North Carolina is making strides, something Popolizio said starts with the college programs becoming more competitive. Macchiavello is just the second wrestler from North Carolina to win an NCAA title, joining NC State’s Tab Thacker who won in 1984.

Having an NCAA champion from the state will only help push the sport, and the outreach Macchiavello has already received from North Carolina wrestlers shows how much of an impact this championship could have.

“It’s amazing. I’m glad I was able to do that,” Macchiavello said. “I’ve had a lot of North Carolina wrestlers reach out to me. Former high school teammates. Other North Carolina wrestlers who are in college and have just told me ‘you inspired me man.’ They’re extremely motivated. … For me to inspire that group of individuals in the state, it’s an amazing feeling. Whatever I can do to continue to help the state grow wrestling wise, I’ll do.”

Macchiavello will now leave State as a decorated champion. Along with his individual title, Macchiavello’s name will forever be linked to this 2018 team that brought home the program’s first-ever team trophy, finishing fourth at NCAAs thanks greatly to its 197-pound champ.

As for that wall of national champions that sits outside of the NC State wrestling room, Macchiavello knows exactly where he wants himself put; right next to Gwiazdowski in a spot currently occupied by a picture of the NC State Belltower.

“I always joke around that I’m reserving that spot right next to Nick,” Macchiavello said. “For me to be up on that wall with that same group of people, it’s surreal. I’m still coming to terms with it. I still can’t believe it. It’s an awesome feeling.”