@PackWrestle Breakdown of the ACC Championship

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RALEIGH, N.C. - The postseason for the NC State wrestling team gets underway this Saturday, as the Wolfpack will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the 2018 ACC Championship.

The Pack won the ACC regular season title with a perfect 5-0 mark in duals, and seven (an ACC-best) of the 10 NC State participants at the 2018 ACC Championship enter as either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and receive a bye into the semifinals.

A six-team tournament, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each weight class receive a bye into the semifinals. The tournament is double elimination as well.

Here is a breakdown of each weight class and the top contenders:

125
NCAA bids: 2 | InterMat Top-25: 2
R-Jr. Sean Fausz – No. 2 seed

Fausz has brought home a second place finish in each of his first two ACC Championships, both at 125 pounds. He fell in the finals each time to former Virginia Tech All-American Joey Dance, including last year in extra time 3-1.

Fausz only wrestled in two ACC duals this season, outscoring his foes 31-1 in a major decision over UNC and a tech fall over Virginia Tech, one of which will be his semifinal opponent. The top two seeds, Virginia freshman Louie Hayes and Fausz did not meet this year, but Fausz did defeat Hayes last year in an open tournament, 9-4.

133
NCAA bids: 5 | InterMat Top-25: 4
Defending Champion: Dom Forys, Pitt
R-Fr. Tariq Wilson – No. 3 seed

Wilson will be making his ACC Championship debut after redshirting last season.

Wilson went 3-2 in ACC duals this year. He earned ACC Wrestler of the Week honors after knocking off then-#5 Mueller of Virginia, 9-4, who is the No. 4 seed. Wilson also owns wins over #20 Sherman of UNC (4-1) and Finesilver of Duke, by first-period pin. His two ACC losses were by a combined four points, 7-5 to #9 Forys of Pittsburgh and #18 Gustafson of Virginia Tech (9-7). Wilson faces Finesilver in the quarters, and the winner gets Gustafson for a spot in the finals. The top half of the bracket could feature a top-10 matchup in the semifinals, #8 Mueller vs. #9 Forys.

141
NCAA bids: 3 | InterMat Top-25: 3
Two-time defending Champion: Kevin Jack, NC State
Sr. Kevin Jack – No. 1 seed

Jack will be looking to become only the 11^th NC State wrestler all-time to win three ACC titles, and the fifth non-heavyweight to win three titles at the same weight. Jack finished his career a perfect 16-0 in ACC duals, outscoring his foes 156-33 and recorded a pair of pins, while also not surrender a single takedown over the last two years.

Jack went a perfect 4-0 this year in ACC duals, not seeing action at Pitt. He recorded a pin against Virginia (while leading 15-0), then outscored his other three foes 34-2. Jack will face the winner of #20 Zanetta of Pitt and Reitz of Duke for a spot in the finals. Moore of Virginia Tech secured the No. 2 seed and after his bye faces the winner of #17 Headlee of UNC and Martino of UVA in the bottom half of the bracket.

149
NCAA bids: 4 | InterMat Top-25: 3
R-Sr. Beau Donahue – No. 2 seed

Donahue will be making his second trip to the ACC Championship. In 2016 as a sophomore, Donahue went 1-2 at 149 pounds, including a pin of former Virginia Tech All-American Sal Mastriani.

Donahue was one of three ACC wrestlers to finish 4-1 at 149 pounds this season. Among Donahue's four conference wins were a pair over ranked foes: 6-4 in OT against #16 Blees of Virginia Tech and 11-6 over Krivus of Virginia. His lone loss was to #7 Heilmann of North Carolina 5-1. After his bye, Donahue faces the winner of Blees and Leynaud of Duke.

157
NCAA bids: 3 | InterMat Top-25: 3
Defending Champion: Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech (149)
Defending Champion: Taleb Rahmani, Pitt
R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay – No. 1 seed

Hidlay will be making his ACC Championship debut after redshirting last season.

Hidlay was one of seven ACC wrestlers this season, in all weight classes, to finish a perfect 5-0 in conference duals. He started his ACC career with a 10-5 win over #11 Finesilver at Duke, then went on to outscore his other four foes 64-29 with a pair of major decisions and two decisions. Among his wins are victories over the two defending ACC champions currently in this weight class: Pitt's Rahmani (18-7) and Virginia Tech's two-time All-American Chishko (8-4). In the semifinals, Hidlay will face Rahmani or Virginia's Fred Green, a transfer from Boise State.

165
NCAA bids: 2 | InterMat Top-25: 1
R-Sr. Brian Hamann – No. 3 seed

Hamann will be in the Pack's lineup at 165 pounds for the second straight year at the ACC Championship. Last year, Hamann advanced to the finals at 165 pounds and earned All-ACC honors.

Hamann was 2-2 against ACC foes this year, missing the UNC dual. He scored decisions over Duke and Pitt, and his two loss were both decisions to ranked foes. Hamann will face Finesilver in the quarters, and waiting in the semifinals will be Atkinson of UVA.

174
NCAA bids: 4 | InterMat Top-25: 3
R-Fr. Daniel Bullard – No. 4 seed

Bullard will be making his ACC Championship debut after redshirting last season.

Bullard went 2-3 in his first season of ACC, as all three of his losses were to ranked foes. He scored a ranked win over Virginia and a major decision over Pitt. Bullard draws Schany of UVA first, and the winner advances to face top seed Bolen of Virginia Tech. A potential matchup of #15 Ramos of UNC and #19 Finesilver of Duke for a spot into the finals could happen in the bottom half.

184
NCAA bids: 3 | InterMat Top-25: 3
Two-time defending Champion: Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech
R-Sr. Pete Renda – No. 2 seed

Renda returns to compete in his fourth ACC Championship after taking a redshirt season last year. In his last trip to the ACCs, Renda split a pair of ranked matches and earned All-ACC honors by placing second, he lost to Virginia Tech's Zavatsky in the finals 5-2. Renda was the Pack's starter in both 2014 and 2015 at 174 pounds, going 4-3 combined.

Renda went 4-1 in ACC duals, outscoring his opponents a combined 51-9, with a pair of tech fall wins. His 8-0 major over #18 Ness of North Carolina netted him ACC Wrestler of the Week honors, and his lone loss was 3-2 to Virginia Tech's Zavatsky. Renda gets either Ness or Duke's Russell before a potential rematch against Zavatsky in the finals.

197
NCAA bids: 3 | InterMat Top-25: 3
Defending Champion: Jared Haught, Virginia Tech
R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello – No. 2 seed

Macchiavello will be making his second straight trip to the ACC Championship, but his first at 197 pounds. Last year at 184 pounds, Macchiavello advanced to the finals and earned All-ACC honors. He scored a third-period pin in the semifinals to advance.

Macchiavello went 3-1 in ACC duals, not seeing action at Pitt. He got decisions over Duke and North Carolina, and a 22-7 tech fall win over Virginia. His lone los was to current #1 Haught of Virginia Tech, 2-1. Macchiavello could see Chaid again in the semifinals and Haught in the finals.

285
NCAA bids: 5 | InterMat Top-25: 4
Sr. Michael Boykin – No. 2 seed

Boykin will be making his third trip to the ACC Championship, but his first at heavyweight. He was not in the Pack's lineup last year, but was in both 2015 and 2016 at 197 pounds. In 2016, he went 3-1 and placed third to advance to the NCAA Championships. That day he scored two wins over ranked foes, and his lone loss was 1-0 to #5 Hartmann of Duke in the semifinals. He was 1-2 in 2015.

Boykin was one of three ACC heavyweights to go undefeated (at least 3-0) in conference duals, as he was the Pack's starter in the final three of the season. He started with a 5-3 win over #19 Solomon of Pitt and finished with a 3-1 OT win over #18 Dunn of Virginia Tech which clinched the 2018 ACC Dual Championship for NC State. Boykin will face the sinner of #22 Cory Daniel (also 3-0 in ACC duals) and UVA's Love for a spot into the finals. The top half has three ranked in the top-20: #3 Kasper of Duke with a bye, and #17 Solomon vs. #20 Dunn in the quarterfinals.

Players Mentioned

Michael Boykin

Daniel Bullard

Beau Donahue

Sean Fausz

Brian Hamann

Hayden Hidlay

Kevin Jack

Michael Macchiavello

Pete Renda

Tariq Wilson

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