The No. 4 NC State wrestling team dominated the Virginia Cavaliers 32-2 in the team’s ACC home-opener on Friday, Feb. 4 in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (10-1, 3-0 ACC) won every bout except for one for its eighth straight win over the Cavaliers (3-5, 0-3 ACC).
“We came out, executed very well offensively and put a lot of points up,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “Nothing affected our guys. We just kept wrestling through positions and showed a lot of heart in some of those matches that came out being a little gritty.”
To open the match, No. 14 redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho scored all five takedowns and added 2:10 of ride time in the 125-pound match for a 12-3 win by major decision, putting the Pack up 4-0.
In the 133-pound match, No. 15 redshirt freshman Kai Orine was tied with his opponent 3-3 going into the third period, but used a six-point move in the final period to take his bout 10-4 by decision, putting the Pack up 7-0.
In the 141-pound match, No. 24 freshman Ryan Jack had a takedown in the first and 1:39 of ride time to win his bout 4-3 by decision, putting the Pack up 10-0.
In the 149-pound match, No. 3 graduate student Tariq Wilson had a takedown in the first period and 1:58 of ride time to score a 5-1 win by decision over No. 30 Jarod Verkleeren, putting the Pack up 13-0.
The Pack’s lone loss of the night came in the 157-pound bout when No. 10 freshman Ed Scott barely lost 11-10. The Cavaliers were deducted a team point after their coach came out onto the mat as the Pack held a 13-2 lead at the intermission.
In the 165-pound match, No. 21 graduate student Thomas Bullard scored the lone takedown of the bout with 54 seconds left and added 1:01 of ride time to win his bout 4-1 against No. 17 Justin McCoy, which was his first loss of the season. That put the Pack up 16-2.
In the 174-pound match, No. 4 graduate student Hayden Hidlay made quick work of his opponent, building up a 14-0 lead and getting a pin with five seconds left in the first period to put the Pack up 22-2.
In the 184-pound match, No. 3 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay followed in his brother’s footsteps with six takedowns and 2:52 of ride time to beat No. 25 Michael Battista 16-5 by major decision, putting the Pack up 16-2.
Perhaps the most exciting match of the evening came in the 197-pound bout between No. 20 freshman Isaac Trumble and No. 13 Jay Aiello. The two were tied 5-5 at the end of the third period, sending it into a sudden-death overtime. With 21 seconds left in OT, Trumble scored the winning takedown to win 7-5, putting the Pack up 29-2. In a match full of highlights for NC State, that was perhaps the loudest that Reynolds Coliseum was the whole night.
“I knew it was gonna be a dogfight,” Trumble said. “[Popolizio] told me, ‘If you can get him in on your legs, you need to score. That’s your best position.’ I knew if he was gonna get in on my legs, I was gonna score.”
Another great moment came after the match when Trumble took the Oath of Enlistment and was commissioned into the United States Army. This came as the team was already having Military Appreciation Night as veterans were honored throughout the match. When Trumble was commissioned, that brought the crowd back to its feet and cheering as loud as it had cheered during the match.
“I’ll never forget that,” Trumble said. “When the crowd goes crazy for a win or a loss, but especially when I said the Oath, you just go numb, kind of. You get some type of rush that just makes you feel so good.”
The night was rounded out with No. 26 junior Tyrie Houghton winning his bout 4-2 against No. 31 Quinn Miller thanks to a late takedown as the Pack finished it off 32-2.
This was the Pack’s first match back in Reynolds since Dec. 2, and it was perhaps the best crowd atmosphere for wrestling in the Old Barn since the 2020 season after not having fans last year.
“This is awesome, we’ve missed this,” Popolizio said. “This is, to me, one of the best venues. For a [Virginia] team that wasn’t ranked, this many people showing up, I think speaks volumes to where we’re going with the sport of wrestling here in Raleigh and at NC State.”
Next up, NC State travels to take on No. 19 Pitt on Friday, Feb. 11, before returning for two huge home bouts against No. 24 North Carolina on Friday, Feb. 18 and against No. 8 Virginia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 20 to round out the regular season. Popolizio wants and expects another great crowd atmosphere for both of the final two matchups.
“We need to sell out for UNC and Virginia Tech,” Popolizio said. “I know people in our student body will show up for UNC just because it’s something that the students here are into, we just gotta have back-to-back. This is a hard arena to come in and wrestle. It can be intimidating.”
