CHARLOTTESVILLE — The No. 4 NC State wrestling team won its fourth straight ACC Championship on Sunday, March 6. NC State blew out its opponents, finishing with a team score of 98.5 to second-place No. 8 Virginia Tech’s 76. No other team had more than 51.
NC State put seven out of the 10 wrestlers in its lineup into the finals, and every member of Pack got a podium finish. This is just the second time NC State has won four straight ACC titles.
“Coaches, athletes, administration, that’s what we came here for, is to produce and win,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “And it’s not just coaches doing it. It’s the guys. It’s the administrators, the fans, it’s what you guys are doing [in the media]. We need the total package if we’re gonna win a national title here. … This starts it, you start creating a little bit of history, and kids want to come wrestle for NC State because of that.”
The finals started at 157 pounds, and No. 7 freshman Ed Scott started the momentum for NC State against UNC’s No. 4 Austin O’Connor. Both wrestlers were banged up during their bout: Scott suffering a bloody nose which caused frequent blood stoppages and O’Connor hurt his knee. But Scott scored the lone takedown of the day and that proved enough to win a 3-2 decision and take the title at 157.
Scott was clear that he doesn’t want to lose another bout this year, and he’s wrestling like he really meant that.
“What a performance by Ed Scott,” said No. 3 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay. “It’s great to have a gunslinger like that in the lineup.”
In the 184 finals, Trent Hidlay took on UNC’s No. 11 Gavin Kane. Trent Hidlay’s been on a tear all season, and today was no different, as he dominated Kane, blanking him en route to a 11-0 major decision and two straight years with an ACC Championship.
“I’ve been wrestling really free this year,” Hidlay said. “Soon as a whistle blows I’m going after [it], I’m trying to score a lot of points and just trust in my conditioning. And really I’m just enjoying this process a lot and this last journey I have with Hayden and I’m just making the most of it.”
In the 197 finals, Pitt’s No. 9 Nino Bonaccorsi finally got one on No. 15 freshman Isaac Trumble. Bonaccorsi got a few takedowns on Trumble early, and that was too much for the freshman to come back from, losing a tight 5-2 decision.
The 125 finals boasted one of the best championship bouts. NC State’s No. 19 redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho and Virginia Tech’s No. 18 Sam Latona have history, but it’s hard to have a rivalry without both sides getting the better of each other now and again. Like Trent Hidlay and Hunter Bolen last year, Camacho hadn’t beaten Latona before, either in duals or postseason play, but that changed Sunday.
Tied 1-1 late in the third period, it was Camacho’s turn to stun Latona at the buzzer, shooting in bout-sealing takedown as time expired to stun the Hokie-heavy crowd.
“It was awesome,” Camacho said. “I got the takedown, I looked over at my coaches and it was reassuring. ‘We did it, we did it.’ And it was a great moment. And these are the moments that we train for. I mean, we work our butts off from the summer all the way through until the ACC tournament and the coaches have a phenomenal plan in place for us. I trust them with everything. … We chase those moments.”
The 149 finals hardly made any sense. Against Virginia Tech’s No. 8 Bryce Andonian, No. 3 graduate Tariq Wilson seemed off. He was lethargic early and seemed to nurse a knee injury. As he played keep-away, the crowd called for stalling, and once they got it, Wilson exploded for a takedown, looking like his usual self.
Later in the third, with the bout decidedly in his favor, Wilson stumbled and fell after a break in action. After a check-up, he returned to play and nearly ended things immediately with a pin. Wilson’s known for being clutch, and Sunday was just another example of him refusing to lose, ultimately taking a 10-4 decision for his second ACC championship.
“He’s just a gamer,” Popolizio said. “You get a little rattled here and there, that comes with wrestling and he’s gonna be alright in the long run. So, [it’s just] his composure, and he lives for the limelight. And I think that’s what you see, you know, he’s been known to really elevate his game come postseason. And that’s what got, the kid’s dangerous and really good at wrestling.”
In the heavyweight finals, junior Tyrie Houghton took on VT’s No. 14 Nathan Traxler. Houghton seemed to have no gas offensively, keeping things competitive but ultimately losing a 9-6 decision despite a third-period comeback effort.
In the 141 finals, No. 21 freshman Ryan Jack’s bout with Pitt’s No. 5 Cole Matthews was even closer than their dual matchup. That one ended 3-1 in Matthews’ favor, but this one ended similarly enough with a 3-2 decision for the Panther.
Graduate Thomas Bullard’s trip through the 165-pound bracket was a low-scoring one. He lost 1-0 early on, but came back with 1-0 decisions over UNC’s Sonny Santiago and Virginia Tech’s Clayton Ulrey to take third place.
Redshirt freshman 133-pounder Kai Orine also had a strong day, losing only to Virginia Tech’s Korbin Myers and topping UNC’s Joseph Heilmann 5-3 in the third-place bout.
Graduate 174-pounder Hayden Hidlay and Mehki Lewis were unfortunately seeded two and three respectively, and Lewis got the better of Hidlay in their rematch, leading the sixth-year senior to settle for third place this year.
“Those guys can wrestle 100 times and I think you’re gonna get a different result,” Popolizio said. “It’s just two really good guys, we just got to win the last one. That’s what it’s gonna come down for him. … We were talking about in the back and it was like, ‘You do realize both those guys have a really good shot at placing alongside you this year at NCAA.’ So it’s good. We’re gonna be prepared for good competition.”
Next up, NCAAs. After a dominant performance against the best of the ACC, the Pack heads to Detroit from March 17-19.
“You look at our young guys, Ed Scott, Isaac, Ryan Jack, Kai — you got a young group and a lot of them came here because they believe we can win a national title,” Popolizio said. “That’s the goal. You know, I think that’s where we’re at now. The next thing is to bring home a real trophy.”
