Bryan Murphy
Reshirt senior Nick Gwiazdowski, ranked No. 1 nationally, wrestles his opponent in the Wolfpack's meet against No. 17 Virginia on Jan. 17. The 285-pound Gwiazdowski won his bout 19-3 on a technical fall and helped the Wolfpack to a 35-7 win over Virginia at Dorton Arena.
Nick Gwiazdowski concluded his impressive career with NC State Saturday night in Madison Square Garden but not the way he wanted to. The senior fell to world champion Kyle Snyder 7-5 in the title bout of the heavyweight class in the NCAA tournament.
Coming into the match, Gwiazdowski had won 88-straight matches dating back to 2014, while reigning world champion Snyder defeated Virginia Tech’s Kyle Walz to reach the final.
Gwiazdowski went through the first scoreless, but both wrestlers traded shots early. Gwiazdowski got an escape and a takedown to start the second to get an early 3-0 lead. Snyder fought Gwiazdowski from that point on, outscoring Gwiazdowski 5-2 in the final two rounds to force overtime.
It took just 25 seconds into overtime for Snyder to force a takedown on Gwiazdowski to seal the victory. NC State challenged the call, but it was upheld and Snyder’s victory over Gwiazdowski stood.
The match concludes one of the most storied careers in NC State athletic history, as Gwiazdowski amassed 140 wins in his college career, winning 30 or more matches all four years of his collegiate career.
With the loss by Gwiazdowski, the NC State wrestling team finishes 11th overall for the tournament with Gwiazdowski, redshirt senior Tommy Gantt and junior Pete Renda finishing the year as All-Americans.