Last week, the NC State wrestling team received four at-large bids to complement its six automatic bids, meaning that for the first time in school history, the team is sending all 10 starters to the NCAA Championships.
The NCAAs will take place in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis beginning Thursday and going through Saturday. The No. 8 Wolfpack was one of two schools to qualify all 10 starters for the Championships, to go along with national powerhouse and No. 2 Oklahoma State.
“This is a very exciting time for our program,” head coach Pat Popolizio told NC State Athletics. “Getting all 10 athletes into the national championship is a reflection of the continued commitment from our administration, staff and especially the athletes themselves.”
The NCAA wrestling committee announced the brackets at the end of last week. Headlining NC State’s group is junior Kevin Jack, who will be heading to St. Louis as the No. 2 overall seed in the 141 bracket. Jack is 29-1 on the year and riding a 27-match winning streak.
A year ago, Jack went into the championships with the No. 3 seed at 141, but was upset by then-No. 14 and former NC State wrestler Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. Meredith surprisingly made it all the way to the final before losing to No. 1 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State in 2016. This year, Jack could very well face Meredith again, provided they both win their first two matches. Heil is once again ranked No. 1 and has lost only one match in the past two years.
Redshirt junior Michael Macchiavello is the only other Pack wrestler ranked in the top 10. Macchiavello holds the No. 10 ranking in the 184 bracket, and will match up with No. 15 Steven Schneider of Binghamton in the first round. Macchiavello enjoyed a breakout third season with the Wolfpack this year, winning 24 matches and earning All-ACC honors while qualifying for his first ever NCAA Championship.
In his third NCAA appearance, redshirt senior Sam Speno earned a No. 12 seed in the 149 bracket. Speno placed fourth at the ACC Championships and compiled a 22-8 record on the year. He previously qualified at 133 and 141 pounds in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Also ranked No. 12 is redshirt sophomore Sean Fausz. Fausz went 25-6 on the year at 125 and has finished runner-up at the ACC Championships each of the past two seasons. Fausz is making his second-straight NCAA appearance after going 1-2 a year ago. His first matchup will be with No.13 Shakur Laney of Ohio.
Rounding out NC State’s top-20 ranked wrestlers is redshirt sophomore Jamal Morris in the 133 bracket. Morris received an automatic bid to the NCAAs after reaching the ACC Championships final. This is Morris’ second-straight NCAA appearance. He received the No. 15 spot in the bracket.
True freshmen Thomas Bullard and Nick Reenan both qualified for the championships after outstanding first seasons. Bullard received an at-large bid to the 157 bracket after going 21-10 on the year. Reenan also received an at-large bid for his weight class, 174, after compiling a 20-11 record.
NC State is one of only two schools to qualify multiple true freshmen to the NCAA Championships, the other being undefeated and No. 1-ranked Penn State.
Redshirt senior Mike Kosoy in the 285 bracket, redshirt junior Brian Hamann in the 165 bracket and redshirt sophomore Malik McDonald in the 197 bracket round out NC State’s wrestlers.
“To sit here and say every guy in your lineup is getting an opportunity to compete at the NCAAs, that is momentum for this program and it helps in a lot of different aspects,” Popolizio told NC State Athletics. “The ultimate goal is to win a national title and multiple guys place at the national tournament. We are one step closer to doing that when you bring all 10 of your guys.”
The championships are broken up into six sessions, with Session I beginning at noon eastern time on Thursday and Session VI beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday. ESPN and ESPNU will live broadcast the event.
