Junior Kevin Jack lunges around a Duke wrestler for a takedown. The NC State wrestling team beat Duke 34-6 in the ACC opener at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 11." />
Logan LaBo
Junior Kevin Jack lunges around a Duke wrestler for a takedown. The NC State wrestling team beat Duke 34-6 in the ACC opener at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 11.
Grade: A-
Head coach Pat Popolizio has done some amazing work with the NC State wrestling team, but this year may have been one of his best with the Wolfpack. What was first written off by critics as a rebuilding season because of the losses of Nick Gwiazdowski, Tommy Gantt and Max Rohskopf, ended up turning into a record-breaking season.
For the first time in its history, NC State sent 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, one of only two schools nationwide to do so. The Wolfpack remained ranked within the top-10 in the country for the entirety of the regular season, going 13-2 overall and coming in second in both the ACC regular season and the ACC Championship.
All season long, junior Kevin Jack was the Wolfpack’s headline wrestler. Jack went 35-2 on the year, including a perfect 12-0 in dual meets. For the second-straight season, Jack won the ACC Championship at 141 pounds. Jack wrestled his way to a career-best, third-place podium finish at the NCAA Championships and All-American status to end his season.
Of the 10 starting wrestlers sent to the NCAAs, only two, Sam Speno and Mike Kosoy, were redshirt seniors. Two true freshmen, Thomas Bullard and Nick Reenan, played major roles for Popolizio, starting nearly every match at 157 and 174, respectively, and receiving at-large NCAA bids.
The Wolfpack turned a suspected mediocre season and a relatively young roster into a conference and national force to be reckoned with. The team lost only two duals all season, both of which were to top-10 teams. The Pack also came in second in the ACC Championship, recording one individual title and four runner-up finishes. Finally, State sent all 10 starters to the NCAA Championships, with Jack reaching All-American status and redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello and redshirt sophomore Sean Fausz falling just one win shy of the accolade themselves.
The 2016-17 NC State wrestling season had its fair share of ups and downs, although many more of the former. To try and relate this season to that of a year ago is an unfair comparison because of the stark differences on the roster. Overall, however, it’s hard to write off a season with so many accomplishments.