Redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello holds the leg of a Duke wrestler. The NC State wrestling team beat Duke 34-6 in the ACC opener at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 11." />
Logan LaBo
Redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello holds the leg of a Duke wrestler. The NC State wrestling team beat Duke 34-6 in the ACC opener at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 11.
The renowned Reynolds Coliseum will open its doors to wrestling fans for the first time this season on Saturday, as the NC State wrestling team is set to host the annual Wolfpack Duals. Furthermore, NC State wrestlers will compete in the Wolfpack Open on Sunday, inside Carmichael Gymnasium.
The No. 7 Wolfpack (3-0) moved up one spot in the national rankings after a strong performance last weekend, winning all three of its dual matches, including one over a ranked opponent. This weekend, the Pack will face three more programs at the Wolfpack Duals: UNC-Pembroke, Utah Valley and Reinhardt.
Heading into the competition, senior No. 2 Kevin Jack was given co-ACC Wrestler of the Week honors after defeating No. 3 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming, No. 16 Mike Longo of Oklahoma and Ethan Phillips of The Citadel to open his season.
Besides Jack, six other members of the Wolfpack will enter the weekend ranked in their respective weight classes. They are redshirt senior No. 3 Pete Renda (184 pounds), redshirt senior No. 9 Michael Macchiavello (197 pounds), redshirt junior No. 7 Sean Fausz (125 pounds), redshirt senior No. 19 Brian Hamann (165 pounds), redshirt junior No. 20 Jamal Morris (149 pounds) and redshirt freshman No. 20 Hayden Hidlay (157 pounds).
NC State will face off with UNC-P (0-0) first at 4 p.m. A year ago in the same event, NC State defeated Pembroke 43-6 behind four pins and three technical falls. The Braves were no match for State’s firepower, falling behind 28-0 halfway through the match and winning only two of the 10 bouts.
The Braves have already competed in two events thus far this season, albeit neither were dual matchups. The first was the Virginia Tech Hokie Open, in which the team finished 12th out of 25 teams. The second was the Pembroke Classic, which saw two Braves wrestlers, Eric Milks at 157 and Brandon Sloop at 174, go undefeated through four matches apiece.
The second matchup for the Pack will come against Utah Valley University (2-1) at 5:30 p.m. The Wolverines competed in the Clarion Duals earlier this season, defeating West Virginia and Clarion before falling to Kent State.
A year ago, the Wolverines finished with a 5-6 overall record, including a 2-3 Big 12 record. Two of the five wins came over ranked opponents, No. 23 Oregon State and No. 24 North Dakota State. This season, the program welcomes back eight of its 10 starters, two of which were NCAA qualifiers, heavyweight Dustin Dennison and 197-pounder Tanner Orndorff.
Finally, the Wolfpack will conclude its day with a 7 p.m. matchup against Reinhardt (1-0). The Eagles defeated Huntingdon College 46-5 on Nov. 4 to open its season. Last year was Reinhardt’s inaugural wrestling season, in which the Eagles went 4-8 overall and finished eighth out of 12 in its conference championship.
The Wolfpack Open on Sunday will not count toward NC State’s dual record, but is instead an opportunity for individual wrestlers to compete. The event will take place all day in Carmichael Gymnasium.