NC State wrestling won a decisive 26-10 victory over West Virginia at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, highlighted by a pin in the first period and two tech falls.
The win is the second in as many days for the Wolfpack (11-2) after defeating Brown in PNC Arena on Saturday, and for the Mountaineers (2-9), it is their third loss in a row.
“It’s good to get back in the winning mentality,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “Guys wrestling their style is most important; we had an opportunity to wrestle new faces so it was good for these guys.”
The Wolfpack started the match with the 197-pound bout. Redshirt senior Malik McDonald gave NC State the early 3-0 advantage with a 12-6 decision over West Virginia’s Noah Adams. In the 285-pound heavyweight bout, freshman Deonte Wilson lost a close decision 3-2 to West Virginia’s Brandon Ngati, which tied up the team score 3-3.
Pack wrestling has struggled all year at the heaviest weight classes as Popolizio struggles to find a starter at 285. Wilson has the size and talent to take the mat, but his coaches want to see him compete with more confidence.
“We gotta get more aggressive and guys gotta put points up,” Popolizio said. “Those guys gotta figure out who wants to be the guy that puts our singlet on and competes for us. As time goes on, hopefully, one of them separates themselves from the competition.”
NC State redshirt freshman Zurich Storm came out of the gates quick in the 125-pound bout with two takedowns in the first period. His performance was consistent for the rest of the match as Storm won a 13-3 major decision over West Virginia’s Joey Thomas, putting the Pack back in the lead 7-3.
Redshirt freshman John Devine lost his 133-pound bout to KJ Fenstermacher in a major decision 10-2 despite his best efforts to close the deficit in the final period. Devine took the mat in place of the injured Tariq Wilson, the eighth best wrestler in the country at 133.
“Johnny Devine is a guy in our room, he works really hard,” Popolizio said. “Every now and then we’re going to call these guys to step in and compete. These guys have to train to do that. He didn’t win today, but he fought hard and saved us some team points by not giving up a fall or anything like that.”
In the 141-pound bout, redshirt senior Jamel Morris followed up his dominant performance against Brown with another 16-0 technical fall against Caleb Rea. Morris exploded out of the gate and did not allow his opponent any chance as he took him down in the second period widening a 12-7 team lead and getting the crowd more into the match.
The Mountaineers showed some life in the 149-pound bout as West Virginia’s Christian Monserrat won a close decision 3-1 over graduate Justin Oliver, closing in the score 12-10. Oliver nearly fought out of many of Monserrat’s holds, but he couldn’t quite get the escapes he needed.
NC State’s biggest victory came from redshirt sophomore Hayden Hidlay in the 157-pound bout after his first-period pin on West Virginia’s Zach Moore. Hidlay took control of the match early on, and was inches away from an even earlier pin.
Redshirt sophomore Thomas Bullard followed up Hidlay’s dominant performance with a win against No. 19 Nick Kiussis, in a 9-5 decision. This is the second top-20 ranked win for Thomas Bullard this weekend as he looks to jump back into the rankings after those performances.
“It feels great. It’s the kind of breakthrough I’ve been wanting,” Bullard said. “I’ve took some losses this year that I’ve been upset about, but beating some ranked opponents has been nice. Coming into this match I just knew if I would go out there and compete 100 percent, win lose or draw, I wouldn’t be ashamed of how I wrestled.”
The final match of the afternoon, the 174-pound bout, saw redshirt sophomore Daniel Bullard cruise to a second-period technical fall by over James Wujek. Daniel Bullard showed his prowess with multiple strong holds and a near pin in the first period ultimately defeating his opponent 18-0.
The Wolfpack has one more nonconference matchup this season, hosting Drexel in Reynolds Coliseum this Saturday at 6 p.m.
