The No. 6 NC State men’s wrestling team (15-2, 5-0 ACC) will be competing this Saturday at the ACC Championship in Chapel Hill. The Pack will try to win both the regular season dual championship and the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2004.
Ten NC State wrestlers will be competing in the ACC championship for the Wolfpack with no wrestler being seeded under fourth and two top seeds. With five wrestlers seeded second, NC State had the most wrestlers seeded in the top two of any school in the tournament. Defending champion Virginia Tech leads with four No.1 seeds.
Redshirt junior Sean Fausz is the No. 2 wrestler in the 125-pound weight class behind Louie Hayes of Virginia despite Fausz being ranked higher in the Flowrestling rankings at No. 8 compared to Hayes’ No.11. Fausz is 12-2 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC.
Redshirt freshman Tariq Wilson was given a three seed in the 133-pound division after finishing the season 3-2 in the ACC, losing both matches against top-20 wrestlers. Wilson has faced off against the other five wrestlers already this season, posting a 3-2 record including a win over No. 5 Jack Mueller.
Senior Kevin Jack is the top seed for the 141-pound division with his 4-0 ACC record. Jack comes in as the two-time defending ACC Champion and has not lost to an ACC opponent since the 2016 NCAA tournament. Jack is 12-0 in the ACC since that loss and will look to continue that streak for his third straight ACC title.
Redshirt senior Beau Donahue is 4-1 in the ACC with his only loss coming against a top-ten opponent. Donahue will be the second seed in the tournament after not even competing in the tournament a year ago.
Redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay has not lost yet this season and has won 27 straight matches. Hidlay goes into the the championships as the No. 1 seed in the 157-pound division. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kennedy Monday and Hidlay will both be in Greensboro after their first match this season sparked a bit of animosity between the two after Monday hit him in the earlobe which caused Hidlay to shove his head in the mat.
Redshirt senior Brian Hamann will be the No. 3 seed after going 2-2 in the ACC. Hamann made it to the ACC finals last year as the No. 2 seed but came up short; he will be looking for redemption this season.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Bullard is the only NC State wrestler entering with a losing ACC record at 2-3. All three wrestlers Bullard lost to were in the top-50 of the rankings in the weight class. Bullard has just one win against a top-50 opponent in December; he has lost six straight since then.
Redshirt senior Pete Renda started off the season going 19-0 but has lost two straight since then. Renda’s two losses were both against top-five wrestlers, and he has a chance to redeem himself for one of those loses at the tournament. Renda will come in as the No. 2 seed.
Redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello will also enter as a No. 2 seed for the tournament going 3-1 in the ACC. Macchiavello enters the tournament off one of the biggest wins of his career, defeating then No. 1 Kollin Moore of Ohio State, a win that should give Macchiavello a big confidence and momentum booster to face off with Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, who Macchiavello lost to two weeks go.
Senior Michael Boykin, who clinched the ACC dual championship for NC State against Virginia Tech comes in as the No. 2 seed with a 3-3 record in ACC play. Boykin will need to rebound from his big loss against Ohio State in order to get the victory in Greensboro.
NC State has had no shortage of great performances this season from many different wrestlers, but in a loaded ACC, it will need more of the same to clinch the tournament and its first regular season and tournament win since 2004.
