2021 NCAA Championships: Day 1 @PackWrestle Preview

Thursday, March 18

St. Louis, Mo.

All Day

NC State

NCAA Championships

2021 NCAA Championships: Day 1 @PackWrestle Preview

3/17/2021 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling

Wolfpack starts NCAA action Thursday at 11 AM (ET) from St. Louis

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LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast – Ep. 79: NCAA Preview

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State Wrestling qualified nine of its 10 starters for the 2021 NCAA Championships which will be held Thursday-Saturday in St. Louis. The Pack received six top-10 seeds (a new school record) and R-Sr. Hayden Hidlay (157pounds) and R-So. Trent Hidlay (184) are both seeded second in their weight classes.

The Pack will be rolling into St. Louis with a streak of six straight top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships, which is a school record. NC State recorded its best finish in school history in 2018, as the fourth place finish was the Pack's first-ever team trophy and tied as the ACC's best-ever team finish as well.

	2021 NCAA Championships
Date	Day 1 - Thursday, March 18
Time	Session 1A (125-157) - 11 AM (ET) Session 1B (165-285) - 2 PM (ET) Session 2A (125-157) - 6 PM (ET) Session 2B (165-285) - 9 PM (ET)
Location	St. Louis, Mo.
Venue	Enterprise Center
TV (Finals)	ESPNU - Sessions 1A & 1B ESPN2 - Sessions 2A & 2B
Streaming (Prelims)	WatchESPN - 8 different mat streams
Live Scoring	TrackWrestling.com
Social Media	Twitter: @PackWrestle \| IG: wolfpackwrestling

NC State Thursday Matchups – Session 1A, 1B and 2A, 2B

125 (Match #17)
#6 seed Jakob Camacho (8-2) vs. #27 seed Gage Curry (American – 4-1)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Camacho: First trip to the NCAA Championships, he would of been the #10 seed last year … Consensus top-10 wrestler at 125 pounds in his second season … Ranked #5 by InterMat and #3 by FloWrestling … Also #5 in all three Coaches Panel Rankings this year … 8-2 overall this year, with six bonus point wins … Both losses were to #2 NCAA seed Latona of Virginia Tech by a combined four point … In the dual it was a takedown and 2-pt near fall as time expired and in OT in the ACC Finals … Earned All-ACC honors with a second place finish in 2021 … Was ACC Champion and Most Outstanding Wrestler last year in his first ACC Championship.

About Curry: A R-Sr., Curry is now a four-time NCAA Qualifier … Placed a career-high third at the EIWA Championships … 3-1 on the season, all matches came at EIWAs.

Winner/Loser faces: #11 seed Dylan Ragusin (Michigan – 7-3) or #22 seed Daniel Vega (South Dakota St. – 14-6)

133 (Match #27)
#12 seed Jarrett Trombley (7-4) vs. #21 seed Jared Van Vleet (Air Force – 5-5)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Trombley: First trip to the NCAA Championships, he would of been the #27 seed last year … In his second season, ranked #10 by InterMat and #7 by FloWrestling … Also #11 in the last two Coaches Panel Rankings … Split time in the Pack's lineup at 133 pounds this year with Fr. Ryan Jack … Both went 1-2 in all ACC duals, downed Jack in a wrestle-off after last dual, 6-5 … Placed fourth at the ACC Championship to earn an automatic bid … The win that sealed his NCAA trip was 3-1 over #28 Heilmann of UNC … 8-4 overall on the season, all four losses were to top-10 foes.

About Van Vleet: A Jr., Van Vleet earned an at-large bid … Two of his five wins on the season have come vs. top-15 foes, and he was ranked as high as 11^th this year.

Winner/Loser faces: #5 seed Micky Phillippi (Pitt – 8-1) or #28 seed Ty Smith (Utah Valley – 8-5)

141 (Match #45)
#4 seed Tariq Wilson vs. #29 Seed Chase Zollmann (Wyoming – 12-6)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Wilson: Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships, first two years were at 133 … Is 8-3 all-time at NCAAs, with five bonus point wins … Would of been the #15 seed at 141 last year … Went from unseeded to a third place finish as a R-Fr. in 2018, and was one win shy of AA honors in 2019 … Consensus top-8 wrestler at 141 pounds in his fourth season as a starter … Ranked #3 by InterMat and #7 by FloWrestling … Was #4 in the final Coaches Panel Rankings, up from #8 in each of the first two … 2021 ACC Champion … Scored a major dec. over #10 NCAA seed Sherman of UNC in the finals … Defeated #16 NCAA seed Matthews of Pitt in the semifinals … Enters the NCAAs a perfect 9-0, with four of his last five wins all coming over top-20 foes, including a pair of top-10 wins over UNC's Sherman.

About Zollmann: A R-So. making his first NCAAs appearance … Placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships after entering as the eighth seed.

Winner/Loser faces: #13 seed DJ Lloren (Fresno State – 11-1) or #20 seed Brian Courtney (Virginia – 9-4)

157 (Match #85)
#2 seed Hayden Hidlay (9-0) vs. #31 seed Michael Petite (Buffalo – 8-6)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Hidlay: Vying to become NC State's first-ever four-time All-American (Nick Gwiazdowski was an AA at Binghamton as freshman, then transferred to NC State) … Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships … He was the top seed as a R-Fr. in 2018 and fifth seed in 2019 … Would of been the #2 seed at 157 last year … Was an NCAA finalist in 2018 and placed fourth in 2019 … The consensus #2 ranked wrestler nationally in every poll … Also #2 in all three Coaches Panel Rankings this year … Four-time ACC champion, 8-0 all-time at ACCs (all ranked wins), outscored foes 92-23 … Is the 10th wrestler in ACC history to win four championships, fifth from NC State … Holds a current ACC-high of 25 straight wins … A perfect 9-0 this season, seven for bonus points … Perfect 59-0 all-time in bonus point matches.

About Petite: A R-So. making his first NCAAs appearance … Is 8-6 on the season … Placed fourth at the MAC Championships to earn an automatic bid, four of his five wins at the MACs were for bonus points.

Winner/Loser faces #15 seed Chase Saldate (Michigan State – 8-5) or #18 seed Cade DeVos (South Dakota State)

165 (Match #92)
#17 seed Thomas Bullard (4-5) vs. #16 seed William Formato (App State – 17-2)

Series History: Bullard 2-1
Formato took a 4-0 win in the dual this year … Bullard took a pair of matches last season, a 13-3 major decision in the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open and then 6-2 in the dual.

About Bullard: Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships … Is 1-4 all-time at NCAAs, was at 157 as a true freshmen in 2017 and 165 in 2019 … Would of been the #10 seed at 165 last year … In his fourth season in the lineup, ranked #16 by InterMat and #15 by FloWrestling … Also #14 in the final Coaches Panel Rankings, up from #17 in the second one … Both matches at the ACC Championship were vs. #22 NCAA seed Monday of UNC … After falling in the quarters (5-6), scored a 6-4 OT win in the third place bout … Has two top-10 wins this season … Over #3 NCAA seed Wentzel of Pitt in the dual (4-3) and #10 Monday at ACCs … Entering NCAAs with a 4-5 record overall … All five losses to NCAA Qualifiers.

About Formato: A R-So., currently ranked #15 nationally … The SoCon Wrestler of the Year after he led the nation with 15 wins … Perfect 8-0 in conference duals, outscored his foes 138-12 overall and didn't allow a takedown in his 15 season wins.

Winner/Loser faces #1 seed Alex Marinelli (Iowa – 5-0) or #32 seed Ricky Stamm (Hofstra – 7-2) or #33 seed Austin Yant (Northern Iowa)

174 (Match #110)
#8 seed Daniel Bullard (8-1) vs. #25 seed Cody Surratt (Air Force – 6-5)

Series History: Bullard 1-0
Bullard tooka 7-2 decision in last year's Cliff Keen Invite.

About Bullard: Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships … Is 2-4 all-time at NCAAs, all at 174, winning a match in each previous trip … Would of been the #15 seed at 174 last year … In his fourth season in the lineup, ranked #8 by InterMat and #11 by FloWrestling … Also #8 in the final Coaches Panel Rankings … 2021 ACC Champion … Scored an OT win over #16 NCAA seed Lautt of UNC in the finals, 4-2 … Defeated #27 NCAA seed Howard of Virginia Tech in the semifinals … 8-1 on the season overall, having won his last seven matches, 2-1 vs. ranked foes - both over UNC wrestlers.

About Surratt: A Sr. and team captain, Surratt earned an at-large bid … Owns a 6-5 record, and placed sixth at the Big 12 Championships. Eight of his 11 matches this year were vs. ranked foes, and he was ranked as high as 25^th nationally this season.

Winner/Loser faces #9 seed Donnell Washington (Indiana – 9-5) or #24 seed Jake Allar (Minnesota)

184 (Match #138)
#2 seed Trent Hidaly (6-1) vs. #31 seed Ryan Reyes (Oregon State – 6-4)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Hidlay: First trip to the NCAA Championships, he would of been the #5 seed last year … Consensus top-3 wrestler at 184 pounds in his second season … Ranked #2 by InterMat and #1 by FloWrestling … Also #2 in the final Coaches Panel Rankings this year … 2021 ACC Champion … Scored the winning takedown in OT over then-#1 Bolen of VT for a 3-1 win in finals … Defeated #22 NCAA seed Kane of UNC in the semifinals … 6-1 on the season, four of those wins came over ranked foes … With a forfeit win vs. Duke, five of his six matches have been vs. NCAA Qualifiers … Has only conceded one takedown this season … Missed the first two weekends of action, both non-conference, as he underwent an appendectomy in late December.

About Reyes: A So. making his first NCAAs appearance … Placed second at the Pac 12 Championships … 6-4 on the season, three of four losses to ranked foes.

Winner/Loser faces #15 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State – 9-3) or #18 seed Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado – 9-3)

197 (Match #143)
#28 seed Nick Reenan (7-3) vs. #5 seed Jacob Warner (Iowa – 8-2)

Series History: First collegiate matchup.

About Reenan: Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships, all three trips have been at a different weight class … A combined 1-4 at NCAAs, the win was a pin last time out … A two-time NCAA Qualifier … In 2017 as a true freshman at 174 pounds and in 2019 as a RS-sophomore at 184 (earning the #7 overall seed) … Was not in the Pack's ACC Championship lineup last season, so didn't qualify for NCAAs … Ranked #21 by TheOpenMat and #27 by TrackWrestling … Also #29 in the final Coaches Panel Rankings … Placed fourth at the ACC Championship after not seeing action for a month … 7-3 on the season, all three losses to top-20 foes … A perfect 4-0 in bonus point matches.

About Warner: A Jr., currently ranked #5 nationally … Second trip to NCAAs, in 2019 he earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish … Took third at Big 10 Championships, only losing to NCAA #1 seed Amine of Michigan in OT … Seven of eight season wins all vs. ranked foes.

Winner/Loser faces #12 seed Lucas Davidson (Northwestern – 7-3) or #21 seed Marcus Coleman (Iowa State – 8-2)(

285 (Match #168)
#10 seed Deonte Wilson vs. #23 seed Michael McAleavey (The Citadel – 15-1)

Series History: Wilson 2-0
Wilson earned a pair of tournament decisions, 7-3 at the 2020 Southern Scuffle and 5-2 in the 2018-19 season at the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open.

About Wilson: First trip to the NCAA Championships, he would of been the #22 seed last year … Did not qualify for NCAAs as a true freshman in 2019 … In his third season in the lineup, ranked #10 by InterMat and #21 by FloWrestling … Also #13 in the last Coaches Panel Rankings, up from #17 in the first on this year … 2021 ACC Champion … Earned the OT win over #18 NCAA seed Catka of VT with a 30 second ride out in extra time … Defeated #32 NCAA seed Gunning of UNC in the semifinals … Enters the NCAAs a perfect 9-0 overall, 7-0 in duals … Four of the nine wins came vs. NCAA Qualifiers … 1 of only 2 wrestlers in the ACC to go a perfect 5-0 in ACC duals this season (Bolen - VT, 184) … In ACC dual action, held a 6-0 advantage in takedowns this season … Has only conceded one takedown the entire season.

About McAleavey: A Sr., currently ranked #13 nationally and making his first trip to NCAAs … 2021 SoCon champion, first for the school since 2015 … 15-1 on the season, lone loss to #20 Miller of UVA (4-0).

Winner/Loser faces #7 seed Ethan Laird (Rider – 8-1) or #26 seed Sam Schuley (Buffalo – 8-2)