@PackWrestle NCAA Championships Notebook
3/12/2018 1:44:00 PM | Wrestling
LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 16 - NCAA Championships Preview
Seven Seeded from @PackWrestle Lead Nine Overall into 2018 NCAAs
Led by top-seed R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay at 157 pounds, a total of seven NC State wrestlers earned seeds (top-16 at each weight) for the 2018 NCAA Championships. The seven seeded wrestlers, of the nine NC State competitors overall, is a new school record. Over the past three seasons, NC State has earned a school-record 18 seeds. The previous best in a three-year span was 13 from 1981-83.
The Pack also has five with top-five seeds, also a new school-best. Redshirt-seniors Pete Renda (184) and Michael Macchiavello (197) are the #4 seeds in their weight classes, while R-Jr. Sean Fausz (125) and Sr. Kevin Jack (141) are #5 seeds. In addition, Beau Donahue (149) and Michael Boykin (285) sit at #14 at their weights.
Snapshot of Season Highlights
• Third straight top-10 finish in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll at #6. NC State has been ranked in the top-10 for the last 40 polls dating back three seasons.
• School record nine automatic NCAA Qualifiers. School record seven received seeds. School record five received top-five seeds.
• In all four 2018 Coaches' Panel Rankings, NC State had all 10 starters ranked.
• 2018 ACC regular season champions with perfect 5-0 ACC dual record. First ACC dual title since 2004, first time undefeated in ACC duals since 2000.
• Second place at 2018 ACC Championship. Three individual ACC champions, five ACC finalists overall. All 10 wrestled in either the finals or for third place.
NC State NCAA Championships Tradition
NC State wrestling has a rich tradition of performing well at the NCAA Championships. NC State has finished in the top 10 nationally three times, including a seventh-place finish in 1993, the best-ever showing at nationals. The Wolfpack has finished in the national top 25 in 18 of the last 38 seasons as well, including four straight top-20 finishes.
The Wolfpack's current stretch of four straight top-20 finishes ties as the longest streak in school history (1980-84). NC State finished 19th in 2014, 16th in 2015, 11th in 2016 and 17th last year. Over the last four years, NC State has had seven All-Americans.
Six individuals have claimed national titles. Matt Reiss at 177 pounds in 1980, Tab Thacker at heavyweight in 1984, Scott Turner at 150 pounds in 1988, Sylvester Terkay at heavyweight in 1993, and Darrion Caldwell in 2009 at 149 pounds. Nick Gwiazdowski was the first in school history to not only win two titles, but to do it in back-to-back seasons when he won the heavyweight title in both 2014 and 2015.
NC State has also had three runner-ups (Michael Stokes-126 in 1989, Terkay in 1992, and Gwiazdowski in 2016). In all, 21 NC State wrestlers have earned 34 All-America honors.Â
Balanced Mix of Experience and Youth
NC State qualified nine of its 10 starters for the 2018 NCAA Championships, and the Pack brings a good mix of experience and youth to Cleveland. Five of the nine have previous NCAA Championship experience, while four will be making their first trip.
Kevin Jack and Pete Renda will both be making their fourth trip to the NCAA Championships. Jack previously earned All-American honors twice and is 13-5 at the NCAAs, while Renda was a 2016 All-American and has gone 7-5 in his trips to the NCAAs.
Sean Fausz is making his third trip in three seasons, and seniors Michael Macchiavello and Michael Boykin are each making their second trips, but their first at their current weight class. Those five have a combined 27-18 record at previous NCAAs.
On the other end, R-Sr. Beau Donahue is making his first trip to the NCAAs in his final season and NC State will have three redshirt-freshmen in action: Tariq Wilson, Hayden Hidlay and Daniel Bullard.
Hidlay Nabs Top Seed at 157 Pounds
With a perfect 22-0 record in his rookie campaign, R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay was awarded the #1 seed at 157 pounds. Hidlay is NC State's sixth all-time #1 seed at the NCAA Championships and the third in the last four years (Gwiazdowski - 2015, 16).
Hidlay enters the NCAA Championships as the lone freshman nationally (both true and redshirt) in all weight classes still undefeated. He is also 1 of only 10 D1 wrestlers entering the NCAAs without a loss, and the lone one at 157.
Jack Vying to Become Three-time All-American
Senior Kevin Jack is attempting to become only the fifth wrestler in NC State school history to earn All-American honors three times in his career.
As a true freshman in 2015, Jack entered unseeded before advancing to the semifinals and placing fifth. Last season, Jack was the #2 seed and pinned 2018 #1 seed Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in the third place bout.
Renda Looking to End Career as Two-Time All-American
After redshirting last season, redshirt-senior Pete Renda is looking to capture the magic he had during his 2016 run at the NCAA Championships that saw him capture third place at 184 pounds.
Entering the NCAAs as the No. 13 seed, Renda went 5-1 to finish third. He upset four top-10 seeds, including two in the top-five
Renda is attempting to become the 10th NC State wrestler all-time to be a multiple time All-American. If he accomplishes the feat, he and Jack will be only the second set of teammates to each earn mutiple All-American honors.
Fausz, Macchiavello One Win Away Last Year
A pair of Pack wrestlers that were one win away from All-American honors last year return to try to nab their first career honor.
R-Jr. Sean Fausz is now a three-time NCAA Qualifier and holds a 3-4 record at the NCAAs. Last year as the #12 seed, Fausz defeated the #5 seed in the second round but fell in his next two bouts, including to eventual national champion and 2018 #1 seeded Cruz of Lehigh (5-2) in the quarterfinals.
R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello is making his second straight trip to the NCAAs. Last year he was the #10 seed at 184 pounds and went 3-2 but also fell one win short of All-American honors.
Popolizio Finalist for NWCA National Coach of the Year
Head coach Pat Popolizio has been named one of eight finalists for the 2018 Theraworx Coach of the Year. Previously, Popolizio was named FloWrestling's National Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading the squad to a school-best 23-1 dual record.
@PackWrestle Ranked No. 6 in Final Coaches' Poll
For the third straight season, the NC State Wolfpack wrestling team has finished in the top-10 in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll. After a 15-2 campaign that saw the Wolfpack go 5-0 in ACC action and capture the ACC Dual Championship, the Wolfpack finished the regular season ranked No. 6 nationally. The Pack started No. 8 in the preseason and climbed as high as No. 5 in December.
Over the last three seasons, the Wolfpack has been ranked in the top-10 in 40 straight polls, after having not been ranked in the top-10 at all since 1993. Also over the last three seasons, NC State ranks second nationally in dual winning percentage (.911), having won 51 of its last 56 duals.
@PackWrestle Claims 2018 ACC Dual Title
After going 4-1 in ACC dual action each of the last two years, NC State swept the conference and finished 5-0 this season to claim its first ACC regular season title since 2004. The Pack also finished undefeated in ACC dual action for the first time since 2000.
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| Opp. | Site | Score | Matches Won | Bonus |
| Duke | A | W, 32-6 | 8 | 4 |
| Virginia | H | W, 32-7 | 8 | 4 |
| Pitt | A | W, 23-9 | 7 | 2 |
| North Carolina | H | W, 26-7 | 8 | 2 |
| Virginia Tech | H | W, 19-15 | 5 | 2 |
Over the last three seasons, NC State has outscored its ACC foes 384-155, winning 102 of the 150 matches and going 13-2.
Dominating Duals
Over the last three seasons, NC State boasts the second best dual winning percentage in the NCAA, having won 51 of the last 56 (.911). Only Penn State, at a perfect 44-0, ranks ahead of the Wolfpack.
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| Rk. | School | Record |
| 1. | Penn State | 44-0 (1.000) |
| 2. | NC State | 51-5 (.911) |
| 3. | Virginia Tech | 48-6 (.887) |
| 4. | Oklahoma State | 39-5 (.886) |
| 5. | Missouri | 44-6 (.880) |
@PackWrestle Led by Senior Class
NC State had six senior starters this past season. Three of those seniors (Kevin Jack, Pete Renda, Michael Macchiavello) all received top-five seeds for their final NCAA Championships, while Beau Donahue and Michael Boykin both received the #14 seed in their weight classes. In addition, Brian Hamann (165) was ranked in all four NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, but did not get an at-large NCAA bid.
Those six have combined for 475 career wins at NC State, all with at least 63 in their careers.
@PackWrestle Racks Up ACC Wrestler of Week Honors
For the fourth straight season, the Wolfpack led the ACC for the most ACC Wrestler of the Week selections during the season. A league-best five Wolfpack wrestlers won the award a combined seven times. R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay (157) was named a league-best three times.
Hidlay was named back-to-back times in December, and was also named the national wrestler of the Week by both FloWrestling and TheOpenMat after wins over #7 and #2 in a span of two days. He was also named after starting his ACC dual career with a 10-5 decision over #11 Mitch Finesilver of Duke.Â
NC State closed out the season with three straight awards. R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello won the final award, as he downed #1 Kollin Moore of Ohio State, 7-5, in his final home dual. The week before, R-Sr. Pete Renda was honored after he scored an 8-0 major decision over #18 Ness in the Pack's win over UNC.
Earlier in conference action, R-Fr. Tariq Wilson was named in late January in addition to being named the College Wrestler of the Week by TheOpenMat.com as well. Wilson came in unranked at 133 pounds and defeated returning All-American and #5 Jack Mueller of Virginia 9-4.
Kevin Jack won the honor after the first week of the season.
Jack and Renda Both Move into Top-10 in Career Wins
Last season Kevin Jack became only the ninth NC State wrestler to earn All-American honors twice in a career, and this year he continues to etch his name in the records book.
In the Wolfpack's 29-3 dual win at then-#12 Nebraska in December, Jack became only the fifth NC State wrestler in school history to record 100 career wins. He enters the NCAA Championships second all-time with 110 career wins, tied with Nick Gwiazdowski. The only NC State wrestler who will finish with more career wins is 1993 National Champion Sylvester Terkay (1990-93) with his total of 122.
Fellow senior Pete Renda also moved into the top-10 in career wins this season. His current total of 94 entering the NCAAs is tied for seventh all-time at NC State.
#PackInItaly
The NC State Wrestling team recently made NCAA history, as the Wolfpack competed in the very first NCAA dual held outside of North America. The Pack took part in the Tussle for the Troops dual against #3 Oklahoma State on Jan. 5 at the Naples Naval Base in Naples, Italy. Aside from competition, the Wolfpack got to experience the sights in Naples, Rome and Mount Vesuvius before returning to Raleigh.
Both the Wolfpack and the Cowboys won five individual bouts, but Oklahoma State had three bonus point wins compared to one for NC State and came away with a 19-16 win.
The dual was tied 12-12 with three matches left, as the two teams traded major decisions to make it 16-16 going into the final bout – which turned out to be a Cowboys win at 174 pounds for the overall team win.
@PackWrestle Signs Star-Studded 11-Member Class
Head coach Pat Popolizio announced 11 student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period. The class includes: 6 top-100 recruits, 5 ranked in top-10 in their weight class, 9 state champions, 3 FloNational All-Americans, 5 NHSCA National All-Americans, 6 Super-32 All-Americans
"This class fills every single one of our needs, and provides much needed depth," said Popolizio. "More importantly, each one of these young men know and respect our team culture and mentality. Our staff has done an outstanding job in finding athletes with great character and drive to succeed.
@PackWrestle Starts #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast
NC State Wrestling has started the first and only NC State Athletics podcast, the #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast. Hosted by Director of Athletics Digital Communications Brian Reinhardt, the podcast is the only NCAA D1 podcast that is both hosted and produced by a school, as head coach Pat Popolizio breaks down the Wolfpack program and different guests stop by to talk about NC State Wrestling.
You can subscribe to get the latest episodes wherever you find all your favorite podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Google Play Music, Android, and RSS, as new episodes will be released throughout the season.
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Players Mentioned
