The No. 4 NC State wrestling team took care of things on the road against Pitt. In its last road dual of the year, the team left Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a 26-9 victory.

The Panthers (7-6, 1-3 ACC) hung tough early with the Wolfpack (11-1, 4-0 ACC). While No. 12 125-pound redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho opened things up with a 15-6 major decision over No. 28 Gage Curry, things didn’t go as well at 133 and 141 pounds as NC State couldn’t find an upset. 

No. 15 redshirt freshman Kai Orine lost a 4-1 decision to No. 9 Micky Phillippi and though No. 21 redshirt freshman Ryan Jack put a scare into No. 8 Cole Matthews, a takedown in the waning moments of the bout sealed a 3-1 decision for the Pitt Panther. With the losses, NC State fell behind 6-4 in the match. 

No. 3 graduate Tariq Wilson drew an unranked opponent in the 149-pound bout, but was unable to capitalize, winning without bonus points in a 6-3 decision over Dan Mancini. Still, the victory allowed NC State to regain the team score advantage.

At 157 pounds, No. 9 freshman Ed Scott got back in the win column, keeping the momentum going and taking a 6-2 decision over No. 23 Elijah Cleary.

Pitt bounced back, though, with No. 14 Jake Wentzel winning a pivotal mid-dual bout against No. 21 graduate Thomas Bullard to bring Pitt to within striking distance. Neither of the two could get much offense going as the bout went to overtime and past the sudden death period, and a Wentzel escape made the difference in a 4-3 decision. 

With the team score at 10-9, head coach Pat Popolizio needed his guys to be guys, and boy did the Hidlays deliver. At 174 pounds, No. 4 graduate Hayden Hidlay blanked Hunter Kernan, achieving a 18-0 technical fall in just 2:53. Then at 184, No. 3 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay cruised against No. 29 Gregg Harvey, ending the bout in the third period with a 22-7 technical fall.

With that, NC State’s lead ballooned to a nearly insurmountable 11 points with two bouts left, and its heavies ensured the win wouldn’t even be in doubt.

No. 18 freshman Isaac Trumble, healthy enough to take the mat after his knee was banged up last week, proved last year’s victory over No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi was no fluke. With an escape and a riding time point, Trumble won a 2-0 decision.

To close the proceedings, No. 24 junior heavyweight Tyrie Houghton won a hard-fought 9-4 decision over Jake Slinger to keep his win streak alive and end the dual.

Next up comes a tough weekend for NC State: Feb. 18 versus No. 21 UNC and Feb. 20 versus No. 7 Virginia Tech. Sparks will fly next week in Raleigh.