No. 3 NC State wrestling pulled away with a 28-10 victory against No. 14 North Carolina on Friday, Jan 29 in Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack’s second consecutive top-15 matchup saw it secure the program’s 22nd consecutive dual victory and set a program record of eight straight wins over UNC.
In what would become a theme for the first half of the match, NC State split its first two bouts. No. 4 redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho took his 12th straight 125-pound bout win with ease, notching a 21-4 technical fall victory to put the Pack up 5-0. Freshman Ryan Jack was less successful in the 133 bout, losing to North Carolina’s No. 11 Jamie Hernandez 3-2, putting the scoreline at 5-3.
Keeping with the hot-and-cold trend, No. 11 redshirt senior Tariq Wilson once again earned a victory in the 141 bout, as he took over the latter two periods to knock off No. 10 Zach Sherman 9-6 after a first period 3-3 deadlock. The momentum soon swung back to the Tar Heels, as NC State freshman Ed Scott fell 11-3 to No. 1 Austin O’Connor in the 149 to diminish the Pack’s lead to one point at 8-7.
No. 2 redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay ensured that the Pack was up heading into intermission with his 20-5 technical fall win, the second such win of the night for the Wolfpack. The dominant win put the score firmly in NC State’s favor at 13-7 halfway through the match.
North Carolina had one final bout victory in the cards for the match, as NC State No. 15 redshirt senior Thomas Bullard incurred a one-point penalty in the final minute of his match against UNC’s No. 8 Kennedy Monday due to a successful challenge by UNC. Monday went on to a late takedown to win the bout 4-2 and put the Tar Heels in striking distance once again at 13-10.
Shedding the hot-and-cold trend for most of the latter half of the match, NC State swept the final four matches. No. 11 redshirt senior Daniel Bullard and No. 4 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay won both their bouts, as Daniel Bullard defeated North Carolina’s No. 9 Devin Kane 7-4 in the 174. Hidlay scored a 5-1 win over No. 15 Clay Lautt of the Tar Heels in the 184 weight class to put the Pack up 19-10 with two bouts to go.
No. 17 freshman Isaac Trumble once again made waves as he pinned his way to victory in the 197 bout, pulling the Wolfpack ahead 25-10 heading into the final bout. No. 18 NC State junior Deonte Wilson sealed the deal in the 285 bout with a 6-1 victory, making the final score 28-10 in favor of the Pack. This dual win marks an NCAA-leading 22 in a row for NC State.
The Pack will finish its trifecta of three consecutive ranked conference opponents when it travels to No. 8 Virginia Tech on Friday, Feb 5. The match will be aired on the ACC Network at 8 p.m.
