Swathi Karthik
*Editor's note: the original photo has been replaced.
Redshirt sophomore Daniel Bullard, No. 21 in the 174 weight class, tries to take down Duke sophomore Matt Finesilver, No. 16 in the 174 weight class, on Friday, Jan. 25 in Reynolds Coliseum. Finesilver eventually defeated Bullard 8-7, but the No. 8 Wolfpack beat Duke 30-12.
NC State wrestling began conference play with a win against Duke on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum in front of a loud crowd.
The Wolfpack (13-2, 1-0 ACC) remained perfect at home as it cruised to a 30-12 team victory over the Blue Devils (1-3, 0-1 ACC). Redshirt senior Jamel Morris led the way with a six-point pin in the 141-pound bout.
“It’s a good energy in here,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “As we get more people in the stands, it’s a great place to wrestle dual meets. It brings excitement and energy for these guys and we have to take advantage of that when we are at home because we know we are going to go to a couple of tough places.”
At heavyweight, freshman Deonte Wilson kicked things off with a win against Duke’s Araad Fisher. The two took a period to feel each other out before Wilson scored an escape to begin the second. Wilson hung on to his one point lead for dear life in the third, riding Fisher for close to two-thirds of the final period to win a 2-0 decision.
“It was solid,” Popolizio said. “[Wilson] did a great job on top getting riding time and then riding the guy out. He dominated the mat wrestling, but we have to put points up on our feet.”
Redshirt freshman Zurich Storm took the mat at 125, recording a takedown and two-point near fall in the first 30 seconds of the bout. After dominating the match and taking a 14-4 advantage in the third, Storm reversed Campbell, took him down and secured a near fall to win a technical fall.
After Duke forfeited at 133, No. 26 Morris took the mat for NC State, and if you blinked, you missed his match. Morris quickly took down Duke’s No. 30 Josh Finesilver, who rolled himself into an easy pin for Morris.
“I knew that he’s really good,” Morris said. “I knew I had to finish him off really quickly. My mentality is to score as many points as possible [and] get on and off the mat.”
The marquee matchup of the night came at 149 pounds as No. 7 graduate Justin Oliver took on No. 6 Mitch Finesilver. Finesilver controlled the match in the first period, taking Oliver down and riding him for a minute. Oliver struggled to gain a single leg against Finesilver falling to a 10-0 major decision.
At 157, No. 4 redshirt sophomore Hayden Hidlay scored a blue-collar 15-5 major decision over Duke’s Ben Anderson. Hidlay took Anderson down at will but Anderson refused to be pinned as Hidlay racked up over three minutes of riding time.
No. 16 redshirt sophomore Thomas Bullard took on Duke’s No. 25 Zach Finesilver at 165. Battling from behind throughout the whole match, Finesilver surprised Bullard with a takedown to tie the bout at 3-3 with a minute remaining but Bullard escaped to win a 4-3 decision.
At 174, No. 21 redshirt sophomore Daniel Bullard took on Duke’s No. 16 Matt Finesilver, the final Finesilver of the day. Down 6-3 with less than a minute remaining, Finesilver turned up the pressure, scoring an escape and two takedowns to stun Bullard with an 8-7 decision.
“Just the lack of concentration,” Popolizio said. “When you’re up by three points and you blow that with 39 seconds in the match, we’ve got to be better. Those are the matches and situations that we’ll be in at the NCAA tournament and we’ve got to find a way to win. Hopefully he’ll learn from his mistakes tonight.”
Freshman Alex Faison took the mat against Duke’s Kaden Russell at 184. Faison, who usually wrestles at 165, filled in for the injured redshirt sophomore Nick Reenan and struggled at the heavier weight as Russell cruised to a 19-3 technical fall.
To close out the match, No. 21 redshirt senior Malik McDonald took on Duke’s Alec Schenk at 197 and won an 8-5 decision. McDonald took Schenk down halfway through the first but Schenk evened the score at 2-2. Then, McDonald threw him to the ground in a massive takedown and took control.
“I think we did really good as a team,” Morris said. “We still have ways and areas to improve, getting prepared for the ACC tournament and NCAAs. We’re not at our full potential yet but we will be eventually, we’re just going to keep getting better and better.”
Next up in conference play, the Wolfpack travels to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the Cavaliers on Feb. 1.