It was obvious to anyone in attendance at the 2017 Wolfpack Duals Saturday afternoon in Reynolds Coliseum that the NC State wrestling team was simply in a different class.
In its first home competition of the season, the No. 7 Wolfpack (6-0) flexed its muscles, winning all three duals and 28 of its 30 bouts.
NC State first dispatched UNC-Pembroke 48-0, winning all 10 matchups, four of which came as pins. Next up, led by redshirt junior Malik McDonald’s top-20 upset in the heavyweight matchup, the Wolfpack defeated Utah Valley 34-6. In the final match of the event, the Pack completely obliterated Reinhardt 54-0, registering four pins and four technical falls.
“It’s good to obviously get, this early in the season, just get good competition and a lot of competition,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “We were able to do that tonight, mixing and matching the lineup, getting three duals.”
Redshirt freshman Daniel Bullard was a headline story for the Wolfpack on Saturday. Bullard competed against all three opponents at the 174-pound weight class, and recorded three pins. Popolizio was pleased with his performance on the day.
“[I saw] confidence,” Popolizio said. “He’s young, he’ll continue to get better every time he competes. Same with Tariq Wilson, we got some young guys that just need this experience and this is valuable for them to get.”
McDonald, who spent last year wrestling at 197, made the move up to the heavyweight 285-pound division this season. McDonald’s big moment came in the match with Utah Valley, where he defeated No. 18 Dustin Dennison 3-1 by recording a takedown in overtime.
“I like that it was a tough match that he had to grind out,” Popolizio said. “Going into overtime and keeping his composure, that shows a lot of maturity that he’s making and it makes our lineup that much better when he can go out there and compete at that level.”
Moreover, McDonald’s move to the heavyweight division has helped smooth out the rest of the Pack’s back lineup with redshirt senior Pete Renda’s return after sitting out last season.
McDonald’s move to 285 opened up a spot at 197 for redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello to take, which opened up Macchiavello’s former spot at 184 for Renda.
“It makes for a very good upper half of our lineup,” Popolizio said.
NC State only lost two bouts on the day, both of which came to Utah Valley, the lone Division I opponent at the duals that the Pack faced. The first came at 125 when No. 18 Taylor LaMont of the Wolverines defeated sophomore Tommy Cox 8-3. The second came at 165 when Utah Valley’s Demetrius Romero upset redshirt senior No. 19 Brian Hamann 6-4 in overtime.
Both Cox and Hamann won their other two matchups.
NC State will take part in the Wolfpack Open on Sunday in Carmichael Gym before returning to Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday to face Old Dominion in another dual matchup.
