In its first ACC matchup of the season, the NC State wrestling team overpowered Duke, 34-6, Wednesday night in Reynolds Coliseum.
The No. 10 Wolfpack (5-1, 1-0 ACC) gave up its first two bouts to fall into an early 6-0 hole against the Blue Devils (2-3, 0-1 ACC), but followed the losses with eight-straight victories en route to a blowout win.
After losses in the opening 285 bout and the following 125 matchup, the Pack shook off whatever rust it had and went to work. Two technical fall results aided NC State as the program moved to five wins on the season.
Head coach Pat Popolizio expressed the significance of winning every duel possible, regardless of whether it comes against an ACC team.
“I think any win you get is important with a young team,” Popolizio said. “Being an ACC [win], it means a little more in conference, but at the end of the day, you want to focus on beating everybody that you’re competing against.”
The night’s first matchup featured Duke’s top wrestler, when No. 8 redshirt junior Jacob Kasper lined up against NC State’s Michael Boykin in the 285 bout. The matchup got off to a slow start, with the first period quickly ending with nearly no action at all.
Suddenly, in the final 10 seconds of the first, Kasper won two points for a takedown. He quickly followed the takedown by gaining a one-point escape in the first moments of the second period. The match finished without another score, and Kasper left the mat the 3-0 victor. The win gave Duke an early 3-0 lead in the team score.
The second matchup of the night saw NC State freshman Tommy Cox face Duke junior Thayer Atkins at 125 pounds. Atkins jumped out to an early lead after a pair of takedowns and held a 10-2 advantage heading into the final period. Cox managed to cut away at Atkins’ lead, but couldn’t overcome the deficit, losing 11-6. After two matchups, the underdog Blue Devils held a 6-0 advantage over the defending ACC-champion Wolfpack.
The next bout saw redshirt sophomore No. 15 Jamal Morris demolish Duke’s redshirt junior Cole Baumgartner in the first period, holding a 10-3 lead heading into the third. The final period featured intense back-and-forth action that nearly resulted in a pin from both entities. In the end, Morris won the bout by decision, 17-10, to give NC State its first team points of the night: 6-3.
Junior No. 2 Kevin Jack continued his impressive season by putting on a show in the 141 weight class. Jack quickly, efficiently and easily took care of redshirt sophomore Zach Finesilver to improve his personal record to 21-1. Jack’s technical fall victory (16-0) gave the Wolfpack five points and the lead for the first time, 8-6.
In the 149 bout, redshirt senior No. 14 Sam Speno used a plentiful mix of riding time and takedowns to vanquish Duke’s Xaviel Ramos, 18-7.
Heading into intermission, Duke’s early 6-0 lead had vanished after the Pack notched three-straight wins, giving the team a sizeable 12-6 advantage.
In a pivotal sixth matchup, freshman Thomas Bullard took on Duke’s redshirt junior Jake Faust in the 157 weight class. With Bullard trailing 5-4 in the third, it appeared as though Duke would make a counter-push. However, Bullard managed to overcome the deficit with a reversal. He also rode Faust for nearly the entire period, impressively pulling out the gritty win, 7-6, and lengthening NC State’s lead to 15-6.
“That was a big win for Bullard,” Popolizio said. “He’s had some tight, close matches with some top-level guys; sometimes you just need that one win at the college level as a freshman to put you over the hump.”
While Bullard got the result, he still found areas in which he could improve heading forward.
“I gave up an easy takedown the first few seconds of the match,” Bullard said. “I just need to be smarter in how I wrestle and not leave myself open like that.”
In the next bout, redshirt junior Brian Hamann promptly took care of the Blue Devils’ senior Joey Abbate by technical fall, 18-1.
Duke’s No. 20 senior Connor Bass forfeited the 174 bout versus NC State’s freshman Nick Reenan, giving the Wolfpack another five points in the team score, and upping the lead to 26-6.
The final two bouts of the night once again ended with Wolfpack wins. Redshirt junior No. 11 Michael Macchiavello faced Duke’s junior Alec Schenk at 184, and quickly built up an early lead after a pair of takedowns. Macchiavello also accumulated over two minutes of riding time, and won the matchup by major decision, 12-4.
NC State’s redshirt sophomore Malik McDonald sealed the deal with a 17-8 major decision over his opponent, junior Luke Farinaro. With McDonald’s win, NC State finished with positive results in its final eight matchups, and took home the victory 34-6 over the ACC-rival Duke Blue Devils.
NC State will return to the mat for the Pittsburgh Duals on Saturday in Pennsylvania when the team faces Harvard, Edinboro and Columbia. The Pack’s next home duel will be on Feb. 3 when it welcomes Pittsburgh to Reynolds Coliseum.
