2019 NCAA Championships: Day 1 Preview for @PackWrestle

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LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast – Ep. 44: NCAA Preview

RALEIGH, N.C. – With nine NCAA Qualifiers for the second straight season, the 2019 ACC Champion NC State wrestling team heads to the 2019 NCAA Championships this weekend in Pittsburgh.

	2019 NCAA Championships
Date	Day 1 - Thursday, March 21
Time	Session 1: 12 p.m. Session 2: 7 p.m.
Location	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Arena	PPG Paints Arena
TV	ESPNU: 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ESPN: 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Streaming	WatchESPN (8 different mat streams)
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Social Media	@PackWrestle

NC State Thursday Matchups – Session 1 and 2

125 (Match #20)
#14 seed Sean Fausz (11-2) vs. #19 seed Alex Mackall (Iowa State – 25-10)

Winner/Loser faces: #3 seed Spencer Lee (Iowa – 18-3) or #30 seed Bryce West (Northern Illinois – 15-14)

About Fausz
Four-time NCAA Qualifier (#12 seed in 2017, #5 in 2018), he has won at least one match in each of his three previous trips … One win away from All-American honors in 2017 … One of only two Kentucky natives in the NCAA field … Ranked #11 in each of the last three NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings … Ranked between 9-12 in every poll … Limited in action over the past two seasons at 125 pounds … Wrestled in four duals last season, but wrestled in eight duals this season, two at 133 pounds … Reached the ACC Finals for the fourth straight season … Returned to 125 pounds for the duals at UNC and VT, outscoring those two foes 18-2 … Picked up another major at the ACCs vs. VT (10-0) … Placed first at the Appalachian State Open, going 3-0 at 125 pounds … Scored back-to-back tech falls (39-4 total score) to advance into the finals … 2-1 vs. ranked foes this season, both wins coming in duals: 8-2 over #11 Moisey of Nebraska and 7-1 vs. #18 Schroder of Purdue … Has gone 6-2 vs. ranked foes over the last two seasons … Traveled to Romania to compete at the U23 World Championships in November … Brought home a silver medal at 61 kg, going 3-0 to reach the finals … Majoring in electrical engineering and was named 2018 and 2017 NWCA Division I All-Academic All-American.

About Mackall
Enters with a 25-10 record, 10-5 vs. Big 12 opponents … Placed third at the Big 12 Championships … Lost 5-3 to redshirting NC State freshman Jakob Camacho at the Southern Scuffle … Transfer from Rutgers, former top-100 recruit.

133 (Match #37)
#11 seed Tariq Wilson (14-3) vs. #22 seed Noah Gosner (Campbell – 20-8)

Winner/Loser faces: #6 seed Ethan Lizak (Minnesota – 28-5) or #27 seed Anthony Cefelo (Rider – 19-6)

About Wilson
Burst onto the scene at the 2018 NCAA Championships … Went from unseeded to a third place NCAA finish in his home state of Ohio … Upset three top-five seeds, and in his 5-1 run he was 24-2 in takedowns … Ranked #9 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings … Ranked between 7-13 in every poll … 2018 ACC Finalist … Defeated #18 Harding of UNC in the semifinals 7-4, before falling to #5 Phillippi of Pitt 4-1 … Wrestled in the season finale dual at Virginia Tech after missing six weeks of action with a foot injury … Picked up a 6-1 win over #14 Myers … All three matches since injury were against ranked foes … Had not wrestled in a dual since injury defaulting out of a match at Ohio State (Jan. 6) … Did pick-up a forfeit win vs. Duke Jan. 25 to open ACC action … With NC State down 17-12 vs. #11 Nebraska, his 18-2 technical fall in the dual's final match gave NC State the team win on criteria … Defeated 2018 All-American, #12 Bridges of Wyoming 6-5 at the South Beach Duals … Placed first in the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open with a 5-0 mark … Outscored foes 62-6 with four bonus point wins … A perfect 8-0 in bonus matches this season, and 22-2 for his career … Majoring in business administration.

About Gosner
Enters at 20-8 overall … SoCon runner-up … Ranked No. 21 in the Coaches' Panel Rankings, and was named to the 10-man All-SoCon team prior to the tournament.

141 (Match #52)
#14 seed Jamel Morris (22-3) vs. #19 seed Sa'Darian Perry (Old Dominion – 23-8)

Winner/Loser faces: #3 seed Nick Lee (Penn State – 27-2) or #30 seed Nate Limmex (Purdue – 18-15)

About Morris
Advanced to his first NCAA Championships in his final season … One of seven Florida natives in NCAA field … Ranked #19 in the final CAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, and #9 in the RPI … Also ranked #20 by InterMat … 2019 ACC Champion, at his first ACC Championship … Defeated #28 Finesilver of Duke in semis 14-11 then #25 Moore of VT in the finals, 6-3 … Went 4-0 in ACC duals æ Inserted into the Pack's lineup at 141 pounds in mid-January : Since then, is a perfect 9-0, four for bonus points, and has outscored his foes 81-91 (including a pin) … Has not conceded a takedown in seven of those matches … Leads NC State with wins this season (22), and was the only wrestler to go undefeated in dual action (10-0) … Wrestling in his third different weight class at NC State … Saw limited action at 125 pounds as a freshman and sophomore … Took a redshirt in 2017, and was the back-up at 133 pounds last year … Opened the season by claiming the title at the Hokie Open with a 5-0 mark, four bonus point wins and defeating UNC's Headlee in the finals, 10-6 … Went 23-5 last season at 133 pounds, and finished fifth nationally with 10 tech fall wins … Also won three tournaments, and placed fifth at the Southern Scuffle … Majoring in science, tech and society.

About Perry
A 2018 All-American while at Eastern Michigan at 141 pounds … Enters with a record of 23-8 … Placed fifth at the MAC Championships … Fell to Jamal Morris in a dual at ODU back in December, 7-2.

149 (Match #61)
#9 seed Justin Oliver (18-5) vs. #24 seed Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh – 14-9)

Winner/Loser faces: #9 seed Jarrett Degen (Iowa State – 25-6) or #25 seed Russell Rohifing (Cal State Bakersfield – 14-9)

About Oliver
A four-time NCAA Qualifier, his first with NC State … Seeded #9 at 149 pounds for the third time in his career (#6 last year) … Holds a career record of 10-6 at the NCAAs … At Central Michigan, was a 2016 All-Amercian with a seventh place finish and reached the Round of 12 each of the last two years … Ranked #8 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings #12 in RPI, and ranked between 8-12 in every poll … NC State's first grad transfer under coach Pat Popolizio … Spent his first three seasons at Central Michigan (all at 149 pounds) before coming to NC State in the Spring of 2018 … Holds over 100 career wins … Placed third at the ACC Championship, going 3-1 (with two bonus point wins) … Finished 3-2 in ACC action with back-to-back major decisions: 13-3 vs. Virginia's Murphy and 15-7 vs. Pitt's Lee … Two losses in conference action both to top-6 wrestlers … Started his Wolfpack career a perfect 10-0, 7-0 in duals, has gone 8-5 over his last 13 matches … Last year at Central Michigan, went 28-7, 3-2 at the NCAA Championships and placed second at Midlands and first at Cliff Keen … Earned his undergrad degree in Organizational Administration from Central Michigan … Pursuing a grad certification from NC State in Applied Science and Data Management.

About Schuyler
Enters with a 14-9 record … Finished fourth at the EIWA Championships … Two-time NCAA Qualifier, went 2-2 last year … Missed the first semester with injury.

157 (Match #79)
#5 seed Hayden Hidlay (20-2) vs. #28 seed Hunter Willits (Oregon State – 19-8)

Winner/Loser faces: #12 seed Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh – 16-6) or #21 seed Justin Thomas (Oklahoma – 21-9)

About Hidlay
2018 NCAA Finalist … Was the Wolfpack's first freshman finalist since 1980 … Earned NC State's sixth all-time #1 seed, and the third in the last four years … Ranked #4 all four NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings this year, and ranked #3 in every major poll … Started the season 5-2 with a pair of top-10 losses … Has since won 15 straight matches, 10 for bonus points, and outscored the last 15 foes 183-51 with a pin … Back-to-back ACC Champion at 157 pounds … Scored a 17-0 tech fall over #24 Keating of UVA and then downed #11 Rahmani of Pitt in the finals, 8-2 … Is 16-0 all-time vs. ACC opponents in all competitions, 10-0 in duals, and 9-0 vs. ranked conference foes … Went a perfect 5-0 in ACC duals for second straight year, outscored foes 57-23 with three bonus point wins … Traveled to Romania in November for the U23 World Championships … Went 1-2 and placed ninth at 70 kg. Won Gold at the 2018 U23 World Team Trials, defeating NCAA #3 seed Deakin of Northwestern in best two-of-three finals … Went 26-1 last season, only falling to Penn State's Nolf in the finals, 6-2 … Was the only freshman (both true and redshirt) in all weight classes to enter NCAAs without a loss … Majoring in business administration, academic All-American in 2018.

About Willits
Enters with a 19-8 record … Runner-up at Pac-12 Championships … Two-time NCAA Qualifier.

165 (Match #92)
#16 seed Thomas Bullard (20-8) vs. #17 seed Jonathan Viruet (Brown – 31-8)

Regular season rematch: In the NC State-Bown dual at PNC Arena back in January, Bullard scored a 17-5 major decision over Viruet.

Winner/Loser faces: #1 seed Alex Marinelli (Iowa – 23-0) or #32 seed Tyler Morland (Northwestern)/#33 seed Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State – 18-6)

About Bullard
Two-time NCAA Qualifier, went 0-2 as a true freshman in 2017 at 157 pounds before redshirting last season … Ranked #14 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, and #18 in the RPI … Also ranked #17 by FloWrestling and #18 by InterMat … ACC Finalist, was the #3 seed and avenged a regular season loss to defeat #19 Coy of UVA 7-1 to reach finals … Finished 3-2 in ACC action, ranked win over #25 Finesilver of Duke, 4-3 … 20-8 on the season, with seven of the eight losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top-16, six in the top-11 … Had a stretch of four straight ranked foes in January, went 3-1 with a major decision over #15 Viruet of Brown (17-5) … Placed first in the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open, won all four matches via pinfall, three in the first period … Redshirted last season at 165 pounds. Saw action in three tournaments, going a combined 12-3 … Was pulled out of redshirt in December 2016 and went 21-12 and 8-4 in duals, with an NCAA bid … Twin brother, Daniel, is the Wolfpack's starter at 174 pounds and also a two-time NCAA Qualifier … Majoring in business administration, he was an academic All-American in 2017.

About Viruet
Enters with a 31-8 mark … Two-time NCAA Qualifier, scored a win over the #8 seed last year … Named first-time All-Ivy … Placed sixth at the EIWA Championships.

174 (Match #120)
#23 seed Daniel Bullard (20-29) vs. #10 seed Mikey Labriola (Nebraska – 26-6)

Regular season rematch: In a dual in Reynolds back in December, Labriola scored a 13-4 major decision over Bullard.

Winner/Loser faces: #7 seed Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State – 27-3) or #26 seed Drew Hughes (Michigan State – 26-13)

About Bullard
Back-to-back NCAA Qualifier at 174 pounds … Went 1-2 at the NCAAs, both losses coming in OT to seeded wrestlers … Did score a tech fall win in the consolation round … Ranked #20 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, and #26 in the RPI … Also ranked #19 by InterMat … Started the season 9-0, currently at 20-9, winning eight of this last 12 bouts after a three-match losing streak … Took third at the ACC Championships … With an NCAA bid on the line, scored a 19-3 tech fall over #32 Kane of UNC … Went 2-3 in ACC action, scoring an 11-0 major decision over #29 Kane of UNC, his first ranked win of the year … Placed first in the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open with a 3-0 mark, outscoring his foes 33-6 … Named to TheOpenMat's All-Freshman second-team last year, ranked #20 in the final FloWrestling rankings at 174 pounds … Redshirted as a freshman in 2017, split time between 165 and 174 pounds and went 15-8 overall … Twin brother, Thomas, is the Wolfpack's starter at 165 pounds and also a two-time NCAA Qualifier … Majoring in business administration, he was an academic All-American last year.

About Labriola
Enters with a record of 26-6, 14-3 in duals … Won 10 of his last 12 matches, six by bonus points … Fourth place at Big 10 Championships … Ranked in top-10 in every major poll … Leads Nebraska with 14 bonus point wins.

184 (Match #135)
#7 seed Nick Reenan (15-4) vs. #26 seed Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State – 25-5)

Winner/Loser faces: #10 seed Samuel Colbray (Iowa State – 26-6) or #23 seed Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State – 23-11)

About Reenan
Two-time NCAA Qualifier, went 0-2 as a true freshman in 2017 at 174 pounds before redshirting last season … Ranked #10 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, and #5 by FloWrestling and #9 by InterMat … Named ACC Wrestler of the Week a league-best four times this season … Placed third at the ACC Championship, scoring a 12-8 decision over retuning All-American Ness of UNC for 3^rd … Missed almost all of January … Went 2-2 in ACC duals upon his return, missing the Duke dual. Defeated Ness 6-4 and pinned McClure of Virginia … After going 0-7 against ranked foes as a true freshman in 2017, is 6-4 versus ranked opponents this season, with a pair of top-six wins: 4-1 over #6 Preisch of Lehigh and 8-6 over #3 Venz of Nebraska … In the win over Venz, had the advantage in takedowns 3-0 … Huge offseason wrestling in freestyle at 86 kg … Qualified for Final X by placing first at the 2018 World Team Trials where we downed Richard Perry 4-0, 6-3 … Also placed third at the 2018 U.S. Open and the Bill Farrell International, his first senior-level event … Redshirted last season at 184 pounds … Saw action in six tournaments and finished 21-4, including a fourth place finish at the Southern Scuffle … All losses were to top-15 foes … Majoring in environmental science.

About Geer
Enters with a 25-5 record, 11-2 vs. Big 12 competition … Two-time NCAA Qualifier, last went as a freshman in 2017 while at Edinboro … Placed third at the Big 12 Championships … Started the season at 184 pounds, then went up to 197 before coming back down to 184 for the Big 12 Championships … Ranked #14 by Intermat.

197 (Match #145)
#13 seed Malik McDonald (18-9) vs. #20 seed Noah Adams (West Virginia – 18-13)

Regular season rematch: In a dual in Reynolds in January, McDonald scored a 12-6 decision over Adams.

Winner/Loser faces: #4 seed Patrick Brucki (Princeton – 29-1) or #29 seed Brandon Whitman (North Carolina – 17-13)

About McDonald
Two-time NCAA Qualifer … He went 0-2 at 197 pounds in 2017 in his first season as a starter … One of four North Carolina natives in the NCAA field … Ranked #12 in the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, and #13 in the RPI … Ranked between 5-17 in every poll … Back at 197 pounds for his final campaign … Was the backup at heavyweight last season after competing at 197 pounds as a redshirt freshman and sophomore … 2019 ACC Champion … Started as the #3 seed and went 3-0 on the day, with a pair of top-11 wins … Avenged regular season losses to #11 Sleigh of Virginia Tech in the semis (3-2) and then #7 Aiello of UVA in the finals (13-6) … 2-3 in ACC duals, with wins over Schenk of Duke (8-5) and Whitman of UNC (3-1) … After a three-match losing streak, has won nine of his last 13 matches … Three losses in that span are to top-10 foes … Notched a top-10 win over #9 Schultz of Nebraska in a dual … Scored the bout's lone takedown in the second period and secured the 3-2 win … Placed first at the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open with a 4-0 mark, outscored his foes 37-15 with a pin … Posted back-to-back 20 win seasons in 2017 and 2018 at two different weights … Majoring in social work, named to the 2017-18 ACC Academic Honor Roll.

About Adams
Enters with an 18-13 record … Placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships … Tied for third on WVU with 18 wins, has eight bonus point wins.

2019 NCAA Championships: Day 1 Preview for @PackWrestle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Daniel Bullard

Thomas Bullard

Jakob Camacho

Sean Fausz

Hayden Hidlay

Malik McDonald

Jamal Morris

Jamel Morris

Justin Oliver

Nick Reenan

Tariq Wilson

2019 NCAA Championships: Day 1 Preview for @PackWrestle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Daniel Bullard

Thomas Bullard

Jakob Camacho

Sean Fausz

Hayden Hidlay

Malik McDonald

Jamal Morris

Jamel Morris

Justin Oliver

Nick Reenan

Tariq Wilson

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