When a coaching change happens, the transition can be rocky for athletes. Oftentimes, the remaining players will transfer, quit or fail to live up to expectations set by the new regime.
Redshirt senior Tommy Gantt is the perfect example of what can happen if an athlete accepts the challenge, buys in and becomes the leader the new coach is looking for as the program begins to take form.
“He was a freshman at the end of the year when first we met with the team,” NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio said. “He was the first guy to come up and talk to me, and it made a big impact and impression because he backed up everything he said. We have brought a lot of guys in that think and act like him and it’s made a big difference.”
Gantt was a highly ranked wrestler coming out of Cahokia High School in Illinois, where wrestling tends to be more popular than in the Southeast. Oftentimes, people view top athletes as entitled and selfish, but last year as a senior, Gantt decided to redshirt, which gave him an extra year of eligibility to fine-tune his skills and come back this year to help propel the team to new heights.
The NC State wrestling program is certainly on the upswing with multiple national championship contenders, an unblemished 18-0 team record and five wins over ranked opponents. Popolizio has instilled a drive for greatness and an understanding of the sacrifices and work required while the leadership on the team is steering the team toward believing they can reach the ultimate goal of a national championship.
“Coach talks about it every day; you hear it, and it sounds crazy,” Gantt said. “But he’s a coach, and that’s what he is supposed to do, and then you go home and dream about it, and it starts to become real. Then you go to practice and work hard and beat all these guys, and you’re undefeated. And then at nationals all you have to do is go 5-0 and you’re the national champ.”
Gantt is currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in the 157-pound weight class and boasts an undefeated 16-0 record so far. Last season, Gantt finished ninth overall and one spot short of an All-American selection. Needless to say, Gantt is setting his sights even higher as he finishes up his Wolfpack wrestling career.
“Being an All-American means a lot, but I have my eyes set on much higher goals: being a national champion,” Gantt said.
Unlike other sports, it is difficult to use metrics and statistics to rate wrestlers — even more so for someone like Gantt whose best attributes may be his tenacity, mental approach and incredible conditioning that allows him to turn the tide of a match in an instant or wear down opponents throughout the long contest.
Against No. 17 Virginia, Gantt put his cardiovascular conditioning to the test in one of the most exciting finishes to a match this season. Down 6-7 in the third period, Gantt out-worked Andrew Atkinson to a tied score and then finished off the match with a takedown to give him an 11-9 win. It was arguably the decisive match of the dual that enabled the Wolfpack to tighten its grip on the lead and put the Cavaliers away for good.
The work ethic and grit that enabled him to persevere in a tougher-than-expected match is also what the NC State wrestling program as a whole is becoming known for. Gantt and fellow senior Nick Gwiazdowski are the forged and battle-tested results of the tenets set by the coaching staff who will enable the team to continue pushing towards loftier goals and a place amongst the historical wrestling elite.
“We have set a standard for being great and not compromise to get there,” Popolizio said. “It’s a process; once one guy buys in and then there are two guys, and that was Nick and Tommy. Then there was four, and then eight; and if someone comes in and they are not on the same page, they weed themselves out because we go at such a fast pace and do things at such a high level.”
Gantt has enjoyed his five years in Raleigh, but his favorite memory was a recent trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma when the Wolfpack took down the historically dominant Oklahoma State Cowboys and solidified its standing this year as a championship-caliber team.
“It was great to beat them in their own gym,” Gantt said. “They are the best historical program in the country … and last year when I was redshirting, I could’ve beaten that guy and given the team a nine-point swing.”
March 17 is the start of the NCAA Championships, with Gantt likely to be poised as one of the favorites to win the 157-pound title and one of the keys to the Wolfpack winning the team championship.
