Senior Day is the books for the N.C. State wrestling team, as seniors Nijel Jones (165) and KaRonne Jones (197) took the mat for the last time in Reynolds Coliseum and were honored for their many years of hard work and dedication to the Wolfpack wrestling program.
However, for six of the Pack’s eight starters on Sunday, the match against No. 12 Virginia marked the last home meet of their first season as members of State’s team.
Throughout the 2014 season, State was consistently started five freshmen: Micah Perez (125), Chris Wilkes (133), Brian Hamann (149), Pete Renda (174) and Michael Macchiavello (184). Entering the season, Hamann and Renda were ranked 26th and 20th in their respective weight classes, with Renda currently ranked No. 19.
After sweeping Gardner-Webb by a score of 37-0 in the first dual meet of the year, head coach Pat Popolizio said that this year’s roster, while young, is stacked with raw talent.
“We have guys who compete and know how to win,” Popolizio said. “They knew how to win in high school, now we just have to translate that into college.”
“We’re rusty, but that’s just not enough experience. We just need to get in more mat time.”
As the season progressed, the five freshman starters got plenty of experience, earning a combined record of 82-55 on the year, including 17 pins.
For the freshmen themselves, transitioning from high school to the college game has been a real challenge in itself. Most notably, college wrestling features a different scoring system and rule set than in high school. Renda said that the biggest change was wrestling against other competitors that are sometimes upwards of five years older than him.
“It’s a big adjustment,” Renda said. “We’re wrestling [against] grown men now. It’s a lot more of a battle every match. It’s really tough, unlike high school.”
Renda said the high number of freshmen on the State’s wrestling roster has brought the team closer together.
“[Being young] helps our unity as a team,” Renda said. “We’re all really close.”
With only two seniors and one junior – team captain Tommy Gantt (157) – on the roster, the coaching staff has looked to its older wrestlers to provide leadership and guidance for the freshmen on the team.
As captain, Gantt said that he used his title to get close to the incoming freshmen and help them in the preseason workouts.
“I felt I led the team, [along] with KaRonne and the older guys on the team” Gantt said. “All the younger [guys] looked up to me and asked me for advice, and since I’ve been around for a little bit, I felt like I could help them and lead them and get the program to where it needs to be.”
However, halfway through the season, this young State team is still trying to figure out what kind of program that they are going to be.
“We’re developing a character, developing an attitude,” Popolizio said. “We’re trying to find our identity.”
“The good news is, we’re not wrestling our best. There’s still a lot of season left, the important part’s coming up. We’re looking to peak at the right time.”
KaRonne Jones said that the team’s goals for the season remained constant, despite tough losses throughout the year.
“We need to finish strong in the ACC,” KaRonne Jones said. “Then when we get a bid to Nationals, we’ll go from there.”
Renda said that he believes the team can do great things in the coming years.
“Right now, the sky’s the limit,” Renda said. “The improvement from last year was great. The few guys that stuck with it and the new recruits really came a long way. Next year, I think we’ll make another huge improvement.
“In the next few years, we can be top 10 in the country, no doubt.”
