After a very successful season and going 4-1 against ACC opponents, the No. 7 NC State wrestling team looks to the ACC Championship Feb. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack has four No. 1 seeds, three of whom went undefeated in the regular season, and one representative in each weight class in the tournament. 

125: The Pack’s redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho (7-1, 4-1 ACC) is the No. 2 seed and is defending an ACC title after last season’s championship. As the No. 2 seed, Jakob Camacho’s first match will be against the winner of the match between No. 3 seed Colton Camacho (Pitt 5-4, 3-2 ACC) and No. 6 seed Logan Agin (Duke 2-5, 2-5 ACC). Agin’s first loss this season came from a decision against Colton Camacho, so unless Agin has a major upset in this match, it can be expected that the two Camacho’s will meet in the second round. This is a rematch after Jakob Camacho overtook Colton Camacho by major decision halfway through the season. Jakob Camacho ended this season with only one loss against No. 1 seed Sam Latona of Virginia Tech. 

133: Representing NC State in this weight class is No. 5 seed redshirt sophomore Jarrett Trombley (6-2, 0-2 ACC). Trombley will be going up against No. 4 seed Louie Hayes (7-2, 2-2 ACC) of Virginia. Hayes and Trombley haven’t competed against each other since the ACC Championship last season, where Hayes bested Trombley to move forward in the tournament. However, both of them fell to Micky Phillippi (Pitt) and Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) this season, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively. This matchup could go either way, but it could be in Trombley’s favor as he is coming off a two-match win streak to end the regular season. A win for Trombley would put him against Phillippi in the second round.  

141: Redshirt senior Tariq Wilson (7-0, 4-0 ACC) is the No. 1 seed for the 141-pound weight class. Wilson was a finalist for the title last season but ultimately fell to UNC’s Zach Sherman. Seeing as Wilson is one of NC State’s three wrestlers who went undefeated this season, few wrestlers in this bracket will be much of a boundary between him and the title, as he will be looking for revenge on Sherman. That being said, in the second round, Wilson will go against either No. 5 seed Sam Hillegas (5-3, 0-3 ACC) of Virginia Tech or No. 4 seed Cole Matthews (3-4, 1-3 ACC) of Pitt. Hillegas and Matthews have not met before in competition, but whoever advances to the next round will have to fight hard as both lost to Wilson earlier in the season. 

149: No. 3 seed freshman Ed Scott (4-4, 2-3 ACC) will go against No. 6 seed Mick Burnett of Pitt (1-3, 0-1 ACC) in the first round. These two have not met in competition this year, and their only shared opponent was Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian who defeated both Scott and Burnett. Based on the amount of time spent on the mat in competition this season and his ACC record, Scott can be expected to advance to the next round from this matchup. However, his advancement will put Scott against No. 2 seed Andonian, where Scott will have to push an upset to advance any further. 

157: Anyone who has been following NC State wrestling recently is very familiar with redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay. Hidlay (7-0, 4-0 ACC) went undefeated this season and is the defending ACC champion in this weight class for the past three years. As the No. 1 seed, Hidlay will get a bye in the first round, where attention will be turned to the match between No. 4 seed Josh McClure (4-2, 1-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 5 seed Brandon LaRue (1-4, 1-4 ACC) of Duke. McClure and LaRue haven’t met on the mat this season, but both lost to No. 3 seed Connor Brady of Virginia Tech. With a fourth title on the line, whoever advances to the second round and beyond shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Hidlay, given his record. 

165: No. 5 seed redshirt senior Thomas Bullard (3-4, 2-3 ACC) will compete in the first round against No. 4 seed Kennedy Monday (5-2, 2-2 ACC) of UNC. Bullard and Monday faced off earlier this season, where Monday bested Bullard. If Bullard is able to continue with the momentum he had at the end of the season, he might be able to upset Monday to advance to the second round and face off against Pitt’s No. 1 seed, Jake Wentzel. If Bullard advances, the second round will be very interesting, as it will be another rematch after Bullard bested Wentzel mid-season. 

174: NC State has the No. 1 seed in the 174-pound weight class with redshirt senior Daniel Bullard (6-1, 4-0 ACC). Bullard was a runner-up in last year’s tournament and fell to UNC’s Clay Lautt, who is the No. 2 seed this year. No. 4 seed Dakota Howard (2-4, 2-2 ACC) of Virginia Tech and No. 5 seed Jared McGill (4-4, 1-4 ACC) of Pitt will be facing off to advance to the second round and compete against Bullard. This is a rematch from the last match of the season, where Howard was able to beat McGill. However, both Howard and McGill lost to Bullard earlier this year, so whoever advances will have to fight hard if they want to get past him. 

184: The Pack’s redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay (4-1, 4-1 ACC) is No. 2 seed in this weight class. Hidlay was a runner-up in the tournament last season, when he fell to Virginia Tech’s Hunter Bolen, who is the No. 1 seed this year. Hidlay will compete against the winner between No. 3 seed Devin Kane (3-2, 1-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 6 seed Vincent Baker (1-3, 1-3 ACC) of Duke. Kane and Baker did not compete this season, and looking at their records, this match could realistically go either way. However, neither should put Hidlay through too much trouble in the second round, which will most likely put Hidlay up against Bolen in the final for a rematch after last year’s loss. 

197: No. 4 seed redshirt senior Nick Reenan (5-1, 0-1 ACC) will go against No. 5 seed Stan Smeltzer (6-2, 1-1 ACC) of Virginia Tech in the first round. Reenan and Smeltzer did not meet in competition this year, and this will most likely be a highly contested matchup because of how similar these two opponents are. However, Reenan is coming off a two-match winning streak, and Smeltzer is coming off a two-match losing streak, so if Reenan is able to continue that momentum, there is a chance he could pull through to the second round against Pitt’s No. 1 seed, Nino Bonacorrsi. 

285: The Pack’s group of undefeated competitors is completed with No. 1 seed junior Deonte Wilson (7-0, 5-0 ACC). Wilson was among other NC State runner-ups in the tournament last season but fell to Pitt’s Demetrius Thomas. No. 4 seed Andrew Gunning (1-2, 0-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 5 seed Austin Cooley (4-2, 0-0 ACC) of Pitt will compete in the first round. Gunning and Cooley have not competed this year; however, Gunning fell to Wilson halfway through the season. Neither of these potential opponents put much pressure on Wilson as they head into the tournament. If Wilson makes it to the finals against Virginia’s No. 2 seed Quinn Miller, he should be able to secure a title as Miller fell to Wilson earlier this year. 

Despite being ranked below Virginia Tech in the final NWCA coaches poll this season, the Pack will once again put up a strong contention for the ACC Championship title, hoping to secure it for the third year in a row. 

The ACC Championship will be held all day Sunday, Feb. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh and will be broadcast on ACC Network.