Wolfpack wins National Duals

A year ago, the NC State wrestling team marched into Iowa City as part of the 2016 NWCA National Duals Championship Series and promptly shocked the nation, defeating No. 2 Iowa 21-17. The loss was the Hawkeyes first of the season, and the first time a team from the ACC had ever beaten them.

Fast-forward to 2017, and NC State was once again invited to the NWCA National Duals, but this time the No. 7 Wolfpack (13-1, 4-1 ACC) was the host, welcoming No. 16 Michigan (8-7, 4-5 Big Ten) to historic Reynolds Coliseum Friday evening.

Ignited by redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello’s major decision at 184 and redshirt senior Mike Kosoy’s pin in the heavyweight matchup, NC State stormed back from an early 10-0 deficit to take the National Duals title 23-15.

“I think it’s a good confidence booster for our program across the board,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “Everybody that’s invested time and energy and resources into this program, to know that it’s all gonna pay off and the commitment that everybody has to it, they’re getting rewarded with winning.”

While the night may have ended in the Pack’s favor, Popolizio’s team didn’t get off to the best start. In the 157 bout, a ranked matchup between NC State freshman No. 24 Thomas Bullard and senior No. 10 Brian Murphy of Michigan went down to the final period, but saw Murphy score a critical late takedown to get the 7-4 decision.

Michigan’s top wrestler took to the mat for the next matchup. Ranked as the No. 2 wrestler in the nation in the 165 class, Logan Massa dominated NC State’s redshirt junior Chad Pyke for the whole bout, scoring multiple takedowns and a four-point near fall en route to a 21-8 major decision.

The Wolverines took the first two matches and held a 7-0 lead over the Wolfpack.

The next bout was the 174 class, which was also the second ranked bout of the evening, pitting NC State’s freshman No. 33 Nick Reenan up against Michigan’s No. 9 Myles Amine. Reenan and Amine battled it out through all three periods in a low-scoring affair, but Amine ended on top with a 5-3 decision win.

Down 10-0 in the team score after three-straight losses to begin the National Dual, Reynolds Coliseum was unnaturally quiet and the NC State bench looked a bit bewildered.

Knowing that he could be the spark that brought the Pack back into the match, redshirt junior No. 10 Michael Macchiavello stepped up to the mat for the 185 bout.

“I wasn’t really worried,” Macchiavello said. “I know it’s easy to shift momentum, especially in a dual meet, so I knew as long as I go out there and take care of business in my own match, that’ll help.”

Macchiavello wasted no time in his attack, and scored a two-point takedown just 14 seconds into the first period. The Monroe, North Carolina native kept the pressure on for the entirety of the bout, scoring multiple takedowns and completely dominating his opponent. When the final buzzer sounded, the ACC Wrestler of the Week had himself an 18-7 major decision victory and had given his team its first points of the evening.

“As a guy who is a leader on the team, I want to be able to do that,” Macchiavello said. “I want to be able to set the tone, especially for a match like that. I’m glad that I was able to do that, it would have been disappointing if I wasn’t. I’m just glad I wrestled well.”

Redshirt sophomore No. 25 Malik McDonald followed his teammates big win with one of his own. In another ranked matchup, McDonald dominated the second and third periods to register a 9-5 decision.

After losing the first three bouts, the Wolfpack roared back to win two straight to cut a 10-0 Wolverine lead down to 10-7 heading into the intermission.

Coming out of the break, redshirt senior No. 20 Mike Kosoy didn’t seem to want to savor his last home dual. Kosoy scored a lightning quick takedown just six seconds into the 285 bout, but more incredibly, pinned his opponent just 17 seconds later. The matchup was over in just 23 seconds…Kosoy hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“For college that’s pretty fast,” Popolizio said with a chuckle.

The fall gave NC State six team points, its first lead of the evening, and all the momentum.

After the heavyweights, redshirt sophomore No. 23 Sean Fausz faced off with two-time All-American Conor Youtsey. A low-scoring mental battle between the two lightweights needed extra time to proclaim a winner and with roughly 20 seconds to go in overtime, Fausz scored a takedown to win the matchup.

Once down 10 points, NC State had won four-straight matchups, two of which by bonus points, and held a 16-10 lead.

However, Michigan wasn’t going down without a fight, scoring five team points when No. 7 Stevan Micic won a technical fall over NC State’s No. 16 Jamal Morris in the 133 bout.

Junior No. 2 Kevin Jack and redshirt senior No. 10 Sam Speno were business as usual for the Wolfpack in the 141 and 149 bouts, winning by major decision and decision respectively to close the deal, with the final being 23-15.

For the second-straight year, NC State had been invited to the NWCA National Duals Championship Series, and for the second-straight year, NC State has taken home the winning plaque.

Up next for the Wolfpack is the ACC Championship, which the team won a year ago for the first time since 2007. This season, Reynolds Coliseum will host the championships, which are all held on Saturday, March 4.