North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Prepares For ACC Title Defense
3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 5, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - For most of the 2002-03 season, the NC State wrestling team seemed to be spending more time battling injuries than opponents on the mat. Injuries, both nagging and lingering, at various times cost the Wolfpack (8-10 overall and 2-3 in the ACC) the services of four starters, three of them either reigning or former Atlantic Coast Conference champions. The availablity of those four wrestlers will go a long way in determining whether or not the Pack repeats as ACC champions in 2003.
"It's amazing, but I don't recall being able to put our regular starting lineup on the mat at any point this season," Wolfpack head coach Bob Guzzo said as the Wolfpack prepared to defend its title on March 8 at MatJam in Boone, N.C. "It seems like someone has been hurt at one time or another all year long."
The injuries started with sophomore 174-pounder Kevin Gabrielson, who suffered a severe high ankle sprain at the beginning of the season. Then junior 157-pounder Scott Garren, the 2000 ACC champion at 157, thumped his head in practice and had to deal with a concussion for several weeks. When he returned, Garren tweaked his left knee in a bout in late January and missed still more time.
Gabrielson, meanwhile, returned to action in late January, only to tear a ligament in his right thumb. That injury will require surgery following the season. He is expected to return for MatJam, however. Late in the season, junior 165-pounder Dustin Kawa had his stellar season interrupted by a nagging back injury that held him out of action for a couple of bouts.
The biggest blow came in mid-February, when two-time defending ACC champion 125-pounder George Cintron suffered a partially torn miniscus in practice and had to have arthroscopic surgery, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season. Like Gabrielson, Cintron is expected back for MatJam.
On top of the injuries, NC State spent the first six weeks of the season without a heavyweight, as both Leroy Harris and Ricky Fowler were with the Wolfpack football team. Also, sophomore 133-pounder Daniel Pacitti, a transfer from UNC Greensboro, was not eligible to compete until the completion of the fall semester.
"We have had to piece together a lineup all season long," Guzzo said. "I'm not trying to make excuses because injuries are part of it. Everyone has injuries, and the kids we've had out there have given it everything they've had. But it was especially tough not having Garren, Gabrielson, Cintron and Kawa at various times. Those four are really outstanding wrestlers, quality kids, and we have to have them on the mat if we're going to be successful."
There was good news for the Wolfpack late in the season, and better news as MatJam approached. First of all, Garren and Kawa have returned to action, and along junior 149-pounder Jake Giamoni, have given NC State a nearly impregnable middle of the lineup.
After a 7-8 start, Giamoni has reeled off a career-best 11-match winning streak and heads into the tournament at 18-8, unbeaten against ACC competition, and poised to repeat as ACC champion at that weight class. In his 11-match winning streak, Giamoni has won three times by technical fall, once by pin, and three times by major decision.
Garren, despite the concussion, one surgically reconstructed knee and another knee that will probably require arthroscopic surgery following the season, has fashioned an undefeated season at 14-0, and enters the ACC Tournament wrestling the best he has all season. In the final week of the regular season, he recorded two victories by major decision and one by pin. A point-scorer with a difficult style for opponents to defend, Garren has won six bouts by major decision, two by technical fall and one by pin. He is 50-13 for his career with eight career falls. Intermat ranks him No. 18 nationally.
Kawa began the year 4-2 at 174 - he is the ACC's defending champion at that weight - before dropping down to 165, where he has flourished. After losing his first bout at that weight, 5-1 to Oklahoma's Wes Roberts on January 2, Kawa reeled off 12 wins in a row and 16 wins in his last 17 matches to coast into the postseason with a 20-4 overall record and a 16-2 mark at 165. He is currently ranked No. 12 nationally by Intermat. He has five major decisions at 165, plus a tech fall and a pin. He closed out the regular season in grand style, manhandling then-11th-ranked Nick Passolano of Iowa State by a 13-5 major decision, and then handing Duke's Mike Mitchell, last season's ACC runner-up at 165, a 10-7 defeat in the season finale.
"I can't really say enough about those three guys and what they have meant to our program this season," Guzzo says. "They're all real quality kids, and they've never let up for us in spite of the adversity we've faced this season. Guys like that provide real leadership for your team, and it motivates everyone when guys battle through injuries like that. The guys who are healthy try to improve, and the guys who are hurt work all that much harder at their rehab in order to get back out there and help their teammates."
Cintron and Gabrielson will be the final two pieces to the puzzle. Cintron, 16-5 this season and 70-28 for his career, won 13 of his last 14 matches, including 11 in a row at one point, before injuring his knee. Three of his five losses were to ranked wrestlers, including a 1-1 sudden-death tiebreaker to North Carolina's Chris Rodrigues, with whom Cintron has had a terrific yet friendly rivalry the last two seasons. Their last three bouts have gone to sudden death, and it will be no surprise if they are in the ACC finals in another close match again this year.
Gabrielson, meanwhile, has really had a tough year because of the injuries. He is 7-6 on the season overall and 3-3 at 174. A two-time prep national champion at DeMatha High School, he was a heralded recruit for the Wolfpack, and the coaching staff expects big things from him once he gets healthy, hopefully this month. He is capable of scoring valuable points at the conference tournament, and is good enough when healthy to compete for the title at 174.
"If we get all of those guys healthy, then I'll feel good about our chances in the ACC Tournament," Guzzo said. "Those five guys all should contend for the championship in their weight class."
The Wolfpack will need contributions from all 10 men in the starting lineup in order to win its third ACC title in a row. Whether the rest of the lineup contends for a championship or not, the wrestle-back bracket is often where team championships are won or lost. NC State will have a pair of veterans - junior 141-pounder Ryan McCallum and junior 184-pounder Jon Godwin - who have extensive experience in this tournament and are capable of scoring major points. While neither is the favorite, McCallum and Godwin are both talented and experienced enough to win his weight class outright.
McCallum, a former Pennsylvania state champion, is 14-14 with a team-high five pins this season. His has been an up-and-down career (38-37 in three seasons), but he finished the '02-03 season strong, winning three of his last four matches, and five of his last seven.
Godwin has lost three of his last four bouts, but has faced a rigorous schedule at 184, including a 3-1 loss to 13th-ranked Austen Palmer of Iowa State on March 23.
"The thing about wrestling is that guys qualify for the NCAA Tournament individually at the conference tournament," Guzzo said. "The regular season is all about getting ready for March, and while it was a long season for us, to say the least, I believe we are coming together at the right time."
