After a strong start to the season, No. 5 NC State wrestling is no longer undefeated. The Wolfpack suffered a 34-3 beatdown at No. 3 Oklahoma State. The loss was NC State’s first in a dual meet since it lost to Oklahoma State last season over a full year ago.
The Wolfpack (7-1) lost nine of 10 matches, showing the entire team has work to do. However, the Wolfpack is a relatively young squad this year and will certainly improve under head coach Pat Popolizio’s guidance. Getting experience against the Cowboys (8-0) exposed flaws for several wrestlers — but now the Pack will have the opportunity to learn from the match after seeing where it has room to improve.
The evening started strong for the red-and-white in the 125-pound bout. In the Wolfpack’s only win of the night, No. 11 redshirt freshman Vince Robinson pulled off an impressive upset over No. 2 Troy Spratley. Robinson is a rising star for the Pack, earning the biggest win of his career in a 7-3 decision. After jumping ahead to a 3-1 lead, Robinson relentlessly kept the pressure on Spratley, leading nearly from start to finish. Despite the team’s loss, Robinson is quickly emerging as one of the nation’s best after the win.
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Things quickly went south for NC State, starting with No. 7 redshirt senior Kai Orine suffering a fall in the 133-pound bout to Oklahoma State’s Cael Hughes. Despite entering the match as one of only two unranked wrestlers to compete in the dual meet, Hughes proved his talent with the win. The two entered the final period tied at 0-0 before Hughes stunned Orine. After nearly suffering a takedown, Hughes flipped Orine and pinned him, giving Oklahoma State a 6-3 lead that it never lost.
The 141-pound bout proved to be a mismatch for the Wolfpack as No. 4 Tagen Jamison cruised past NC State redshirt freshman Tyler Tracy. Jamison led almost the entire way en route to a 21-5 tech fall, ending the match before the third period could end. No. 33 Koy Buesgens then suffered a 5-2 loss in the 149-pound match to Oklahoma State’s No. 15 Carter Young, putting the Wolfpack in a deep hole early, trailing 14-3.
With No. 12 senior Ed Scott up, the Pack found itself with its back against the wall. Scott’s opponent, No. 14 Caleb Fish started strong and led 4-1 entering the final period. However, Scott stormed back to a 5-5 tie late. A rare seven-point move pushed Fish back ahead late for a 12-5 win over Scott, making it nearly impossible for the red-and-white to have a puncher’s chance to win the dual meet.
The next few matches proved to be close, but the Pack couldn’t pull upsets. Dropping decisions in the 165, 174 and 184-pound bouts, NC State saw itself fall further and further behind. No. 19 redshirt sophomore Matty Singleton had the most promising start of the three, striking first against Oklahoma State’s No. 3 Dean Hamiti Jr. with a takedown. However, by the end of the first period Hamiti found his footing and pulled away for an 8-4 win over Singleton.
The final two matches proved to be relatively lopsided, with the Cowboys taking both. No. 26 redshirt senior Christian Knop suffered an 18-2 tech fall in the 197-pound match before No. 4 redshirt junior Isaac Trumble took a rare 10-4 loss. After dropping nine straight to end the night, NC State found itself on the wrong side of a 34-point beatdown.
Next up, NC State will remain on the road for a road conference match at Virginia. The ACC showdown is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. and will be available on ACC Network Extra.
