No. 7 NC State will send nine wrestlers to the NCAA championships after a 3-peat of its ACC championship title. The Pack has one wrestler in every bracket but one. Redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay and redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay both earned the No. 2 seed in their respective weight classes, the highest seed that NC State is occupying this year.
Out of the nine Pack wrestlers, seven of them are higher seeds than their first round opponents, potentially meaning that most of them will advance to the second round and beyond.
125: No. 6 redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho (8-2), second in ACC championship
Camacho will take on No. 27 seed American University’s Gage Curry (3-1) in the first round of the tournament. Due to all three of American’s regular season tournaments getting postponed, Curry only competed in the EIWA championship tournament, where he took third place for the second time in his collegiate career. This is Camacho’s first NCAA appearance, but with his success this season, this first round match should be a warmup for the matches ahead.
133: No. 12 redshirt sophomore Jarrett Trombley (8-4), fourth in ACC championship
Air Force’s No. 21 seed Jared Van Vleet (5-5) will take on Trombley in the first round. Van Vleet is coming off a four-match losing streak, with two of those losses from the Big 12 championship. This is both wrestlers’ first NCAA appearance. However, Trombley should be able to work his way into the next round. While Van Vleet and Trombley have wrestled about the same number of matches this season, it’s clear, looking at their records, that Trombley has the potential to be the better wrestler and advance past this round.
141: No. 4 redshirt senior Tariq Wilson (9-0), champion in ACC championship
Wilson will compete against No. 29 seed Chase Zollmann (12-6) from Wyoming. Zollmann qualified for the Big 12 championship and ended in fifth place. This is Zollmann’s first NCAA appearance, but Wilson is no stranger to this tournament after competing twice prior to the 2020 season. Zollmann might give Wilson a bit of a fight, but ultimately, Wilson should be able to advance to the second round, as he has gone undefeated this season.
157: No. 2 redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay (9-0), champion in ACC championship
No. 31 seed Michael Petite (8-6) from Buffalo will be Hidlay’s first opponent in the tournament. Most recently, Petite came fourth in the 157-pound bracket at the MAC championship. This is Petite’s first NCAA appearance, while Hidlay is competing for the fourth time in this tournament. Hidlay also has a fourth shot at earning All-American Honors, which if he does, he will be the first in program history to achieve this. As the No. 2 seed and as the successful wrestler he is, Hidlay shouldn’t face too much struggle in the first few rounds of this tournament.
165: No. 17 redshirt senior Thomas Bullard (5-5), third in ACC championship
Bullard’s first match will be against Appalachian State’s No. 16 seed William Formato (15-2). After being placed in the No. 1 seed at the SoCon championship, Formato ultimately ended in third place. Formato has never been to the NCAA Tournament before. This match will be one of the tougher ones for a Pack wrestler, seeing as Formato has had an extremely successful season that has seen him take the mat 17 times and only losing twice.
174: No. 8 redshirt senior Daniel Bullard (8-1), champion in ACC championship
No. 25 seed Cody Surratt (6-5) from Air Force will take on Bullard in the first round. Surratt competed at the Big 12 championship and came in sixth place. However, that championship put him on a three-match losing streak. While Bullard has competed twice in the NCAA Tournament, this will be Surratt’s first appearance. With Bullard’s momentum coming off the ACC championship, this first round match should not be too difficult to secure a win for him.
184: No. 2 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay (6-1), champion in ACC championship
Hidlay will take on Oregon State’s No. 31 seed Ryan Reyes (6-4) in the first round. Reyes competed in the PAC 12 championship and finished second. This will be both wrestlers’ first NCAA appearance; however, Hidlay did qualify in the 2020 season before the event was canceled. Because Reyes has 10 matches under his belt this season, he could give Hidlay a little bit of trouble. But Hidlay has performed well this season, so barring an upset, he should advance to the next round.
197: No. 28 redshirt senior Nick Reenan (7-3), fourth in ACC championship
Iowa’s No. 5 seed Jacob Warner (8-2) will take on Reenan in round one. Warner is no stranger to the NCAA championship, as he has qualified twice before and was put in the No. 5 seed for the cancelled 2020 tournament. In the Big 10 championship, Warner placed third in the 197-pound bracket. Reenan has qualified twice for the NCAA championship as well. This match will be a tough one for Reenan, as he is going up against one of the best wrestlers in this weight class.
285: No. 10 junior Deonte Wilson (9-0), champion in ACC championship
Wilson will take on Army’s No. 23 seed Robert Heald (5-3) in round one. This is Wilson’s second time qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but first time competing after the canceled 2020 tournament. This is Heald’s first NCAA appearance, and he is coming off two wins at the EIWA championship to earn him second place. Wilson should be able to secure a spot in the second round after taking first in the ACC championship.
The tournament will be held in St. Louis, Missouri starting Thursday, March 18, and going through Saturday, March 20.
