NC State
ACC Championship
Five from @PackWrestle Earn All-ACC Honors, Team Places Second
3/4/2017 9:39:00 PM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. - Five members of the NC State wrestling team advanced to the finals and earned All-ACC honors, as the Wolfpack placed second at the 2017 ACC Championship hosted inside Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday.
Junior Kevin Jack repeated as ACC Champion at 141 pounds with a dominating performance, while redshirt-juniors Brian Hamann (165) and Michael Macchiavello (184) along with redshirt-sophomores Sean Fausz (125) and Jamal Morris (133) all reached the finals in their weight classes.
Jack was named the 2017 ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler, the second year in a row the award went to NC State (Nick Gwiazdowski). Jack outscored his two opponents 27-8 on the day, not giving up a single takedown, including a 10-4 win over No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia in the finals.
"It is always fun to win such a great individual title as this weight class in this conference," said Kevin Jack. "It was extra special to compete in front of this great crowd and to win the title in Reynolds with my dad down here. The first step is over, now it's time to turn my attention to the NCAAs."
In addition to the All-ACC honors, NC State earned six NCAA automatic bids on the day. In addition to Fausz, Morris, Jack, Hamann, and Macchiavello, redshirt-senior Mke Kosoy (285 pounds) also earned a bid to NCAAs with his finish. The Pack will also await at-large bids for its other four starters to be announced next week.
In the team race, Virginia Tech claimed top honors with 93 points. NC State placed second with 64 points. Pitt was third (54), followed by Virginia in fourth (52.5), North Carolina in fifth (44) and Duke in sixth (24.5).
FINALS RECAP
• 125 pounds - Redshirt-sophomore Sean Fausz - ACC runner-up
Starting as the No. 3 seed, Fausz captured All-ACC honors and was the runner-up at 125 pounds for the second straight year. His day started with a 18-5 major decision over UNC's James Szymanski. In the semifinals, Fausz took out the second seeded Jack Mueller of Virginia, who is ranked No. 8 nationally, 12-5.
In the finals, Fausz lost a hard fought battle to the top seed Joey Dance, ranked No. 3 nationally. After a scoreless first, Fausz got an escape in the second and Dance had one in the third, as the two went into extra time tied 1-1. Dance got the decisive takedown 16 seconds in for his third straight ACC title. Fausz earns an NCAA automatic bid, his second straight trip to the NCAAs.
• 133 pounds - Redshirt-sophomore Jamal Morris - ACC runner-up
Also starting as the No. 3 seed, Morris went 2-1 and also earned All-ACC honors with his second place finish. Morris' day started with a 16-0 first-period technical fall over UNC's Nicholas Lirette. In the semifinals, Morris avenged a loss during th dual season to Virginia's Will Mason with a 4-1 win.
In the finals, Morris fell to the top seed Dom Forys, ranked No. 8 nationally. After a scoreless first, Forys scored the bout's only takedown early in the second and went on to win 5-0. Morris also earns an NCAA automatic bid for the second straight season.
• 141 pounds - Junior Kevin Jack - ACC Champion
Jack became the first NC State wrestler in school history to win back-to-back ACC titles at 141 pounds, the 23rd overall to win a championship in the same weight class two years in a row. In his seven ACC wins this year, Jack outscored conference foes 103-25 and did not concede a single takedown. Having won 27 straight matches, Jack will be returning to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year.
After a 17-4 major decision to open the day, Jack defeated the second seed, No. 6 nationally, George DiCamillo in the finals 10-4. Jack scored three first period takedowns, and took a commanding 6-2 lead with 1:30 of ride time after the first.
• 165 pounds - Redshirt-junior Brian Hamann
Hamann earned a first round bye as he was the second seed at 165 pounds. In the semifinals, he took out North Caroliona's Devin Kane with a 9-4 win.
In the finals, Hamann fell to top seed, No. 9 nationally, Te'Shan Campbell of Pitt 7-0. After a scoreless first period, Campbell scored an escape and a takedown in the second period to capture the lead for good. With his first All-ACC finish, Hamann advances to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career.
• 184 pounds - Redshirt-junior Michael Macchiavello
The Pack's second top seed, Macchiavello, started his day with a third period pin to advance to the title match. Just like Hamann, Macchiavello earns All-ACC honors for the first time, and also will be making his first trip to the NCAAs.
In the finals today, Macchiavello fell to the second seed, No. 7 nationally, Zack Zavatsky 3-2. VT struck first with the bout's lone takedown in the first period. After the two wrestlers traded escapes, Macchiavello was down one in the third but could not find a winning takedown.
CONSOLATION FINALS RECAP
Redshirt-senior Sam Speno finished in fourth place at 149 pounds. Speno scored the bout's first takedown to take a 2-0 lead after the first period, but UVA's Sam Krivus scored two third period takedowns to claim the 6-2 win.
Freshman Nick Reenan placed fourth at his first ACC Championship, competing at 174 pounds. Reenan fell in the third place bout 6-2 to Duke's Connor Bass.
Redshirt-sophomore Malik McDonald placed third in his first ACC Championship, as he closed his day with a 4-0 win. After an escape in the second, McDonald scored a takedown in the third and added the ride time point for the win.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS RECAP
Speno came back from a first round upset and took out Robert Lee of Pitt, 6-3. Speno scored a late takedown in the first and another in the second.
Reenan advanced to the third place bout with a 17-10 win. Reenan put together four first period takedowns to jump out to a big lead.
McDonald had the biggest comeback of the day. Down 7-0 early in the second period, McDonald dominated the third period with five takedowns and scored the 14-11 win.
SEMIFINAL RECAP
The Pack placed nine of its 10 wrestlers into the semifinals, and won the first three matchups of the round.
Fausz pulled off the first upset, as he defeated Virginia's Jack Mueller, who was ranked No. 8 nationally, 12-5. With the bout tied 5-5 in the third, Fausz scored a takedown and then scored a four-point near fall and added ride time to secure the win.
Morris followed suit with another upset, as he was the third seed and defeated the second seed, Virginia's Will Mason 4-1. Morris scored a takedown late in the first period, added an escape point and accumulated ride time to advance to the finals.
Jack added a bonus point win in his first bout of the day, as he scored a 17-4 major decision. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, Jack went to work in the second with a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall.
Hamann earned his first NCAA bid with a 9-4 win at 165 pounds. Hamann got an early takedown, then scored three two-point near falls to take an 8-1 lead after the first.
Macchiavello became the fifth NC State wrestler to advance to the finals. Up 6-5 late in the third, Macchiavello got a takedown and quickly turned it into a pin to advance.
With their wins, Fausz, Morris, Jack, Hamann and Macchiavello all earned NCAA bids.
FIRST ROUND RECAP
The Pack won three of its four matches in the first round. NC State started the day out with back-to-back bonus point wins. Fausz scored three first period takedowns and rolled to an 18-5 major decision at 125 pounds. Morris followed suit at 133 pounds, getting an early takedown and had three four-point near falls in the first period and scored a 16-0 technical fall win. Reenan started his first ACC Championship with a takedown just three seconds in, and had five takedowns overall enroute to an 11-5 win.
UP NEXT
NC State will await the NCAA Championships brackets and at-large bids this week for the tournament that runs March 16-18 in St. Louis.
Players Mentioned
