In a disappointing weekend for N.C. State, the men’s wrestling team lost both matchups against Virginia and Virginia Tech at the Reynolds Coliseum over the weekend.
The Cavaliers (4-1, 1-1 ACC) and the Hokies (4-2, 2-1 ACC), ranked No. 21 and No. 17 in the nation, respectively, dominated the Pack (3-4, 0-2 ACC) and handed them their second and third consecutive loss following last week’s debacle against Bloomsburg.
Despite the valiant efforts of redshirt senior No. 13 Darius Little and sophomore Matt Nereim, who won their encounters via pin falls, the Pack lost eight out of the 10 bouts in a landslide victory for the Cavaliers.
The Pack looked like a different team altogether going in against the Hokies but failed to capitalize on their good start, which saw them lead 12-8 at half time.
Freshman Coltin Fought, who wrestled in the 125-pound category and won his fight over Tech’s Ty Mitch by decision, felt the win was a big step towards achieving a greater goal and that a team effort was required in order to win a whole match.
“It was the first time I wrestled a complete match, which is a big step that I reached in my career,” Fought said. “As a team you need to work together, as 10 guys coming together as one out there. We just need to get rid of the weak spots and put together a win.”
Fought, who is 20-5 for the season and ranked No.20 in the nation in his weight category, felt his hunger to succeed has put him in his current position.
“Ever since high school, I set high goals for myself, that I want to be top of the podium,” Fought said. “You are only going to be something if you work hard for it.”
Redshirt senior Colton Palmer, who was responsible for the Pack’s only pin fall in their 15-24 loss to the Hokies, felt the result was a defining moment in his career.
“It was somewhat of a turning point for me,” Palmer said. “I have been struggling for the past couple of weeks with injuries and what not but last night, I kind of had a little time alone to think about the end of my career and this is my last season.
“It was reflected on the mat, and I was happy.”
Palmer agreed that the team’s performance had improved on Sunday in comparison to what they put up in their 12-33 loss to Virginia and that there were a lot of positives to take out of it.
“The team’s performance was a lot better, there were a lot of positives to take from it,” Palmer said. “We still have a little way to go but you can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.”
There were a lot of mixed feelings from Coach Carter Jordan, who started as many as five freshmen against the Hokies.
“I am really disappointed,” Jordan said. “But how can one watch this team wrestle and not be excited for the future?”
Jordan felt the team’s inexperience showed during their encounters against their nationally ranked opponents, which saw the Pack concede the match-up against Tech despite being in a superior position with three bouts to go.
“We are not experienced enough to wrestle ranked teams and beat them,” Jordan said. “Every piston is got to be firing, all 10 guys need to come out and give their best.”
“I mean we had an opportunity to beat the No. 17 team in the country, we got to take it, ” Jordan said. “But that’s why they are the No. 17 team in the country, they just didn’t quit.”
Jordan felt that the experience would prove vital for the team, especially for the younger players and that they would not stop until they had achieved their goal.
“In this sport you have to be really good to fight the critical points through all seven minutes,” Jordan said. “For young guys, those are hard lessons to learn, it just takes almost the whole year to learn that. It would have been nice to put it all together tonight, as it would have the first victory over a top-20 program in four years.
“There is no rest for the weary. We have American University on Friday and then Maryland who beat Virginia Tech, on Sunday.”
