The No. 6 NC State wrestling team won eight of 10 bouts against Virginia in Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday for its second ACC win.
The Wolfpack (12-1) notched four technical falls on the Cavaliers (3-7) on its way to the 32-7 victory. Though the bonus-point victories were impressive, redshirt freshman Tariq Wilson stole the show in his upset victory over No. 5 Jack Mueller of Virginia.
“I’m 0-1 against ranked opponents,” Wilson said. “So a win here in front of the home crowd, especially against a guy like that who’s an All-American; so right now [the win] ranks at the top.”
Wilson faced Mueller in the next-to-last bout of the evening at 133 pounds. The wrestlers were tied 2-2 entering the third period until Wilson jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a takedown and 2-point near fall.
The crowd got into the action after Mueller asked for an injury timeout. After UVA challenged the original takedown, Wilson fought off a headlock for another takedown to extend his lead to six.
With 47 seconds remaining, the Steubenville, Ohio native managed to hold off Mueller and secure the huge upset in front of the home crowd.
“Having that momentum makes me feel like I can do anything [for the ACC Championships],” Wilson said. “And I am up there with the top-level guys, and if I keep working, I could reach a spot on the podium.”
Wolfpack fans wasted no time getting into this match as No. 13 redshirt senior Beau Donahue faced off against No. 23 Cavalier Sam Krivus in the 149 bout.
Deadlocked at 3-3 at the start of the third period, Krivus escaped Donahue and then got another takedown. Donahue would then escape, but was still down 6-4. The redshirt senior all of a sudden pulled off a miraculous move for a takedown and 4-point near fall with just 38 seconds left.
Reynolds Coliseum roared in approval as Donahue held on to win for the 11-6 decision.
The tech falls began with the undefeated redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay.
Cavalier Fred Green was outmatched by the No. 3 wrestler at 157. Hidlay picked up Green and promptly slammed him into the mat just 10 seconds in the first period for his first takedown. Three takedowns and a 2-point near fall later resulted in an 11-6 lead by the end of the first.
He used that strong first period to eventually capture a 26-12 major decision midway through the third to secure the win.
No. 3 redshirt senior Pete Renda continued his quietly successful season for the Pack’s second tech fall.
Renda took advantage of a 4-point near fall to shut down Virginia’s Drew Peck and wrapped up the bout in the second period. Though senior Kevin Jack, redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello and Hidlay receive more attention, Renda extended his record to 17-0 on the year.
“[Bonus points] is what makes us a good team right now,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “When you have a lot of guys that can do that, you take advantage of those opportunities to put yourself, teamwise, in a good spot.”
After the intermission, No. 3 redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello didn’t waste any time in his impressive outing against UVA’s No. 31 Jay Aiello.
Macchiavello put on a clinic in the first period, registering seven takedowns and a 4-point near fall for a staggering 18-6 lead to start the second. The Monroe, NC worked Aiello some more for a 14-point lead at the end of the second, and with a quick escape he got the tech fall for bonus points.
With the Pack up 23-3 Virginia desperately needed to record some bonus points at 125. No. 11 Louis Hayes tried to secure a tech fall in the third period to add to his stellar freshman season.
Sophomore Tommy Cox was outmatched but didn’t go down without a fight. Hayes was aggressive in the third but Cox managed to prevent the tech fall, losing 19-6.
In the last bout, No. 2 senior Kevin Jack dominated Virginia’s freshman at 141 pounds. He pinned his opponent in the second period even though he already clinched the tech fall.
The Wolfpack heads to Pittsburgh on Feb. 2 before returning to Reynolds Coliseum for a ranked matchup against archival No. 25 UNC-Chapel Hill on Feb. 9.
