In his second season at NC State, redshirt junior Nick Gwiazdowski is primed to repeat as the national heavyweight champion.
In March, Gwiazdowski made a storybook run through the NCAA Championships to claim his first title. Seeded No. 2 in the tournament, Gwiazdowski met the two-time defending champ Tony Nelson of Minnesota in the title match. Despite having lost to Nelson earlier in the season, Gwiazdowski was able to come away from the match with a 4-2 victory.
“It’s a body of work that someone has put together coming to a head at the most important time,” Wolfpack Head Coach Pat Popolizio said of Gwiazdowski’s victory. “He was chasing a life-long dream out there, and he really put into perspective the amount of hard work and dedication that he put into the sport.”
With the championship victory, Gwiazdowski became the sixth NC State wrestler to win a national title and the third at the heavyweight class.
Along the way, Gwiazdowski earned a multitude of honors, including ACC Wrestler of the Year. The heavyweight also set an NC State record for most single season wins (42) and compiled a perfect 20-0 record in duals.
Since his impressive victory in the spring, Gwiazdowski has kept up his work ethic. Over the summer, the junior trained overseas and participated in a tournament with the USA World Team Trials, where he finished fourth. As the only collegiate athlete in his weight class, Gwiazdowski said that the tournament was a good measure of where he was at and what he needs to do.
However, the most memorable moment of the champ’s summer came at a children’s camp which Gwiazdowski helped host. Gwiazdowski said while teaching his students at the camp, he was able to learn from them as well.
“It really opens your mind to things that you don’t normally do,” Gwiazdowski said. “When you teach a move and show the finer details of it, you start to think about it and see how it could lead to another move.”
In the upcoming season, Gwiazdowski will have a shot to avenge one of his losses from the 2014 season during the Cliff Keen Invitational. Last season, freshman Adam Coon of Michigan defeated Gwiazdowski on his way to taking the title. Despite that, Gwiazdowski said Coon will likely be anticipating the match even more.
“When someone beats you, of course you want to beat them,” Gwiazdowski said. “But I’m sure he’s more worried about beating me because I won in March. It’ll be a good test, but win or lose, March is March.”
As a team, the Pack finished 19th in the nation at the NCAA Championships, thanks completely to the 24 points that came with Gwiazdowski’s first place finish. The Pack’s age was a large factor in this, as the team started six freshmen in 2014. With all six of those wrestlers returning and one starting role to be filled, Gwiazdowski said his team can be a serious threat.
“We can definitely get back into the Top 20,” Gwiazdowski said. “To get inside the Top 15 would be the next goal. Now, it’s not about just winning two at nationals; you have to be wrestling on Saturday to get points.”
Gwiazdowski said during the preseason he has seen a greater level competition within the Wolfpack squad, which has been a source of inspiration for him to work harder on the mat.
“When my teammates do well in dual meets, it fires me up,” Gwiazdowski said. “I want to go out and beat my guy even worse.”
In the end, Gwiazdowski said in order to repeat as the nation heavyweight champ, he needs only to worry about himself.
“I can’t focus on what guys in the Big 10 are doing,” Gwiazdowski said. “I need to stay within myself and keep moving forward. It may not be a fast pace, but I have to stick to what I do.”
