For the last three years at NC State, redshirt senior Nick Gwiazdowski helped transform the NC State wrestling program from middle-of-the-road to one of the best in the country. On Saturday night, the Delanson, New York, native put on an NC State singlet one last time.
Gwiazdowski fell to world champion Kyle Snyder from Ohio State 7-5 in overtime, failing to become a three-time national champion. The Wolfpack finished 11th overall at the NCAA wrestling championships this weekend. The 11th-place finish is the highest finish since the 1993 season, when the Wolfpack finished seventh in the country at the NCAAs.
In addition to Gwiazdowski, the wrestling team had junior Pete Renda at 184 pounds and redshirt senior Tommy Gantt at 157 pounds finish the tournament in third and eighth place, respectively, both of which were good enough to garner All-American status. The three All-Americans tied a school record set in 1993, when NC State had three wrestlers finish with the honor.
Despite tying a school record with eight wrestlers receiving a bid for the tournament, only Gwiazdowski and Renda reached the semifinals. Renda lost his semifinal bout to eventual champion Gabe Dean but defeated Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State to receive third place in the 184-pound division.
The match between Gwiazdowski and Snyder was labeled beforehand as one of the most-anticipated wrestling matches in recent memory. Some, including Roger Moore of NCAA.com, had even labeled the match “one of the most anticipated wrestling matches in decades” and compared it to the likes of Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier.
Going into his final collegiate match, Gwiazdowski won 88-straight matches, including an undefeated season in 2015-2016. Snyder was an impressive wrestler in his own right. After finishing as a national runner-up at the 197-pound weight class last season at Ohio State, Snyder became the youngest American wrestler to ever win the world championship at the age of 19.
Snyder was expected to use the Olympic redshirt this season, but he decided to compete this season anyway. He jumped up to the heavyweight class and won all six of his matches during the regular season, four of which were tech-fall victories.
The first period was relatively quiet between the two. Despite trading shots early and often through the match, neither wrestler was able to get a leg up on the other, and the first period ended tied at zero.
However, things heated up in the second period, as Gwiazdowski started on bottom and would look to get an escape point. Gwiazdowski got his escape and then a takedown just 20 seconds into the second period to jump to an early 3-0 lead on Snyder. Snyder eventually got an escape late in the period to make it 3-1 going into the third.
Snyder chose to start on bottom to begin the third and got an escape to bring it to 3-2, but Gwiz countered with another takedown to score two points. Snyder got an escape to make things 5-3 midway through the third, but Gwiz had a minute of ride time.
Gwiz tried to take a shot on Snyder late in the third, but Snyder managed to turn Gwiazdowski’s aggressiveness into a takedown and put ride time at 58 seconds for Gwiazdowski, taking away the bonus point. Gwiazdowski and Snyder needed overtime to settle the match, as regulation ended with a 5-5 tie.
Twenty-five seconds into the overtime period, Gwiazdowski’s 88-match win streak came to an end. Snyder got a takedown on Gwiazdowski and ended the match on a 7-5 decision. Head coach Pat Popolizio challenged the call, but it was upheld, resulting in Gwiazdowski’s first loss in more than two years.
Despite losing his final match, Gwiazdowski finished his career as one of the most accomplished athletes in NC State history. Gwiz won national championships in 2014 and 2015, and finished tied for second in school-career wins with Darion Caldwell with 109 wins.
Including his freshman year at Binghamton University, Gwiazdowski finishes his career with 139 wins and four All-American honors, including three at NC State. Despite the finish Saturday night, Gwiazdowski’s NC State career will be remembered for years to come.
