This past summer, freshman Ed Scott of the NC State wrestling team made a decision to move up from the 149-pound weight class to the 157-pound class. That move has more than paid off as Scott is off to a dominant start to the season, posting an 19-1 record with five wins over ranked opponents and five falls.

In the 2020-21 season, Scott went 6-6 as a true freshman and just missed out on the NCAA Championships by placing fourth in the ACC Championships. After the season, graduate student Hayden Hidlay, who had been in the 157-pound class the last four seasons, moved up to 174, and Scott saw an opportunity.

“I was kind of suffering at 149, so I decided that I wanted to go up in weight,” Scott said. “[Head coach Pat Popolizio] agreed with me. … It was kind of a decision both of us made together, and we thought it would be good.”

Moving up a weight class requires a change in habits. For Scott, that included not only an increased strength regimen and practice routine, but a change in diet as well.

“I worked a lot on my strength training and just trying to get big enough for the new weight class,” Scott said. “I also worked a lot on my technique with my coaches and getting with some bigger partners like Hayden over the summer was really good for me. … I just tried to eat healthy and eat more to grow in my weight class in a healthy manner.”

Coming into a weight class that was once filled by a four-time ACC Champion, ACC Wrestler of the Year in 2020, and three-time All-American in Hidlay is a task of filling in big shoes, but Scott has picked up right where Hidlay left off and has received guidance from his teammate along the way.

“To be able to step in and fill the weight class and have Hayden [Hidlay] still on the team is really special because he’s such a good guy, and he’s very helpful,” Scott said. “He’ll stay there and help you work overtime and go extra with you if you want, and he’ll give you pointers. He’s just a great guy all around. Really happy to be on the team with him.”

Scott is a key piece of a program that has been one of the most dominant in the country the last few seasons, winning three consecutive ACC Championships and finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships last season, and he believes the team is once again ready to compete for championships.

“Competing with this team is great,” Scott said. “The energy that we bring to the table and the amount of talent that we have is something very special. We’re ranked fourth in the country right now, but I think that might even be low-balling us at this point. I think we’re a true contender for a national title. If we all wrestled to our capability, you never know what’s gonna happen, so that’s super exciting.”

Teams and athletes everywhere were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. For the NC State wrestling team, the pandemic meant a shortened season, a number of protocols and competing in mostly empty arenas, including the team’s home venue of Reynolds Coliseum. While the pandemic is still here in 2022, Scott said the gradual return to normalcy is relieving.

“It was very different last year competing in arenas with no people, and it’s just a very different environment,” Scott said. “To be able to have crowds again and just feel the excitement, that gets me amped up, and I’m sure it gets a lot of other guys on the team amped up too.”

In a recent match against Virginia, Scott suffered his first loss of the season. It was a close bout, but Scott barely lost by decision 11-10 to No. 29 Jake Keating of Virginia.

“I think he burned his arms and body out a little bit,” Popolizio said following the match. “You gotta give him credit; he put a lot of points up. He’s not happy, but it’ll motivate him, it’ll light a fire. That’s not gonna set him back at all.”

For Scott, that loss provided an opportunity for reflection, and it has indeed lit a fire under him. He has since posted two wins, one against then-No. 29 Elijah Cleary from Pitt and another dominant win over UNC’s Mason Phillips. Scott said he has his eyes set on greatness.

“I’m a person who has always set myself to the highest standard that I think I can achieve,” Scott said. “My goal is to win a national title and go the rest of the season undefeated after the loss that I took. There’s nothing that I can do about that except get better from it and use it to propel myself forward. At the end of the day, I just want to win the rest of my matches this season one at a time and hope it takes me to an NCAA Championship.”