Now halfway through its conference season, the No. 4 NC State wrestling team has a key stretch in front of it. Before some pivotal ranked matches to close its season, let’s look at what we’ve learned from the Wolfpack (10-1, 3-0 ACC) so far.
Tyrie Houghton taking over at heavyweight
In a surprise, No. 26 junior Tyrie Houghton is now NC State’s starter at 285. Houghton, who has leapt over junior Deonte Wilson and redshirt freshman Owen Trephan on the depth chart, took the mat for the Wolfpack its past six duals and he’s up to a 3-3 record in those appearances. All three losses came to ranked wrestlers, and last week he topped a ranked Quinn Miller 4-2.
“Winning is what we’re looking for,” said head coach Pat Popolizio after the Virginia dual. “We’ve got three really good heavyweights and it’s tough decision to make, but right now Tyrie’s going out there and winning so it’s hard to make any moves.”
Kai Orine settling in
133-pound redshirt freshman No. 14 Kai Orine is now 12-1 in duals this season, including an impressive performance against then-No. 22 Brian Courtney. Courtney seemed to have Orine’s number going into the third, but the redshirt freshman exploded in the final period to best the veteran. That showing displayed a lot of heart from Orine and further solidified his starting role.
“Discipline, focus — everything that we’ve been working on as a person, he’s starting to show,” Popolizio said. “His weight’s in check, his diet’s good. His conditioning is there. He’s building confidence and can be dangerous.”
Thomas Bullard
At 165, No. 22 graduate Thomas Bullard had a tough late November and December, going 1-3 with losses to three ranked wrestlers and an unranked win by decision. After suffering an injury during the Southern Scuffle, Bullard had three weeks to recover and that time off did him well.
The veteran’s been on a tear now that he’s back, recording a couple technical falls and a victory over Virginia’s then-No. 17 Justin McCoy. He’s wrestling well at a great time because Pitt’s No. 16 Jake Wentzel awaits in this week’s dual.
Home advantage huge for Wolfpack
Last week’s Virginia dual marked NC State’s first return to Reynolds Coliseum in the new year, and it drew a huge response even for an unranked opponent. The raucous environment clearly aided the wrestlers, who played to the crowd, and the coaching staff, whose animated actions goaded them to get even louder. At a pivotal moment, No. 16 Isaac Trumble’s overtime takedown of No. 17 Jay Aiello, the roar of the crowd was nearly deafening. Even after the dual ended and bonus bouts were underway, a small contingent stayed to cheer them on, and with home duals against ranked teams in No. 21 UNC and No. 7 Virginia Tech coming, that home advantage is huge.
“This is, to me, one of the best venues — we were just talking about it, [the crowd for] those extra matches after is what our fan base used to be,” Popolizio said. “For a team that wasn’t ranked in the top whatever, this many people showing up I think speaks volumes of where we’re going with the sport of wrestling here in Raleigh and at NC State.”
Toughest stretch of the year coming
Though Pitt has dropped out of the top 25, the No. 26 Panthers, UNC and Virginia Tech always provide NC State with its closest duals of the year. While having back to back bouts against No. 10 Missouri and then-No. 1 Iowa proved the team’s mettle early on, the hardware and pride implications in taking on NC State’s ACC rivals makes them much more important. With the ACC and NCAA Championships on the horizon, the team is rounding into form at every weight.
“Our conditioning still will get better and we’re not at where we want to be yet with peaking, so that’s another part of it, but we just got to show up [and] compete hard,” Popolizio said. “[The] next three duals is going to be a challenge for us.”
