The only wrestler competing for NC State on Saturday at the NCAA Championships was redshirt sophomore Hayden Hidlay, who lost his consolation finals match to finish fourth in the 157-pound bracket.

The 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships finish wasn’t as successful as last season for the Pack, losing all but one wrestler on Friday, but Hidlay provided a bright light for the Pack. He finished second last season, showing his consistency and power.

In the consolation semifinal match, No. 5 Hidlay faced off against No. 3 Ryan Deakin of Northwestern and won easily 8-2. The Pack wrestler had two takedowns and a two-point near fall in the first period, adding one more takedown in the second period. The only two points he allowed were one-point escapes.

The next match, the consolation bracket final, was a championship bracket quarterfinal rematch between Hidlay and Michigan’s fourth-ranked Alec Pantaleo. In that quarterfinals match, Hidlay topped Pantaleo 5-3 thanks to an overtime takedown with 12 seconds on the clock.

This time around, Hidlay was unable to get the takedown in the closing seconds, falling 5-3 to a fourth-place finish.

“I went all out, and my fans went all out too,” Hidlay said on Twitter. “Love you guys! My time is coming.”

Hidlay is the third wrestler in NC State history to earn All-American honors as a freshman and a sophomore.

Although Hidlay has come up short of a national championship his first two years competing, he will continue to rank toward the top of the list in his weight class.