After nine hard-fought bouts, Utah Valley sat within striking distance of upsetting No. 6 NC State wrestling. However, the potentially season-altering statement was shattered within minutes by one man — No. 4 redshirt junior Isaac Trumble. With the match on the line, Trumble and Utah Valley’s Jack Forbes began the match-deciding heavyweight bout.
“I kind of had a little chip on my shoulder,” Trumble said. “We needed to put the nail in the coffin.”
With the clock starting, Trumble immediately got to work. Within two minutes, Trumble took down Forbes, scoring three quick points. Trying to escape, Forbes struggled with Trumble before being slammed to the mat. The sequence foreshadowed the rest of the bout, with Trumble viciously hounding Forbes and throwing him to the mat time and time again en route to a 20-3 tech fall.
With the tech fall, NC State could finally breathe easy after clinching a 23-16 victory over Utah Valley. The Wolfpack (5-0) has plenty to work on following a win far too close for comfort, but credit is earned for the Wolverines (3-4). Utah Valley proved to be a formidable opponent under the leadership of new head coach Adam Hall — formerly the associate head coach at NC State.
“[Hall’s] been a huge part of what NC State is,” said head coach Pat Popolizio. “It showed what he’s doing over there. Their guys came here and they didn’t back down from anything, they’re in shape, they’re very well coached, and great kids across the board.”
The Wolfpack got off to a strong start thanks to No. 13 redshirt freshman Vince Robinson. The breakout star earned a 5-2 decision in the 125-pound bout. An early takedown for Robinson doomed Utah Valley’s Bridger Ricks and proved to be the difference. Despite being relatively inexperienced at the collegiate level, Robinson is consistently taking care of business this season.
“It felt pretty good,” Robinson said. “I wish I put up a little more points, but at certain points, you just got to win. That’s what we came here to do.”
After Robinson’s win, things got rocky for the Wolfpack. Redshirt sophomore Troy Hohman suffered a second-period injury default, resulting in a 6-3 advantage for the Wolverines. No. 7 redshirt senior Kai Orine then suffered an upset loss at the hands of No. 25 Haiden Drury. In one of just two ranked matchups, Orine never got into a rhythm, failing to score in a 5-0 decision.
The match’s other ranked bout took place between No. 27 redshirt junior Derek Fields and No. 5 Terrell Barraclaugh in the 165-pound class. Facing an uphill battle, Fields did everything he could against the Wolverine’s top-ranked wrestler but fell short in an 8-3 decision. While the loss wasn’t shocking, it stung as Utah Valley continued to hang with NC State late into the night.
“They had a couple ranked guys and those are the matches that you got to circle and be ready to compete,” Popolizio said. “Tonight we lost two of them, so we got to continue to get better. It’s only November and we got a lot of time to work on that.”
The Wolfpack however fought back and gained important victories. Redshirt freshman Koy Buesgens and No. 8 senior Ed Scott took the 149 and 157-pound bouts respectively. Buesgens poured it on against his opponent in a 12-3 major decision, while Scott won a 19-11 shootout in the match’s highest-scoring bout. Despite the pressure of the moment, NC State didn’t fold when Utah Valley started hot — a sign of strength for the Wolfpack program.
Down the stretch, NC State won its share of matches, but could not secure extra points that would have ended Utah Valley’s upset bid. A loss by redshirt sophomore Chase Horne then left the door open for Utah Valley in the heavyweight bout, but Trumble made sure to leave no doubt that the Wolfpack would emerge victorious.
“We kinda let them crawl out of the coffin when we had them almost nailed shut,” Trumble said. “I think that’s something as a team we need to work on.”
Next up, NC State will travel west to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Cliff Keen Invitational. The two-day competition will take place on Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7.
