2022 NCAA Championships: Day 1 @PackWrestle Preview

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The 2022 ACC Champion and ACC Dual Champion NC State Wolfpack tied a school record with 10 NCAA qualifiers for the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Wolfpack will have four seeded fifth or better, eight in the top-20, and all 10 21st or better.

For only the second time in school history (2017), the Pack will have all 10 of its starters compete at the NCAA Champions. NC State was one of only three schools nationally (Iowa and Northwestern) with 10 NCAA qualifiers this year.

Session 1 and Session 2 will take place Thursday. Here is a complete preview for the first day of action.

	The 2022 NCAA Championships
Date	Day 1 – Thursday, March 17
Time	Session 1 (1^st Round) – 12 PM Session 2 (2^nd Round & Cons. 1^st Rd.) – 7 PM
Location	Detroit, Mich.
Arena	Little Caesars Arena
TV (Finals)	ESPNU – Session 1 ESPN2 – Session 2
Streaming	WatchESPN – 8 different mat streams
Live Scoring	TrackWrestling
Social Media	Twitter: @PackWrestle \| IG: wolfpackwrestling

NC State Thursday Matchups – Session 1 & 2

125 (Match #20)
#14 seed Jakob Camacho (16-3) vs. #19 seed Joey Prata (Oklahoma – 16-7)

Series History: Camacho leads the all-time series 2-0, both meetings took place while Prata was at Virginia Tech … Camacho downed then-#15 Prata in the ACC dual 5-4 in 2020 … Camacho also scored a 13-4 major dec. win at the Hokie Open during the 2018-19 season, his redshirt season.

About Camacho: Second NCAA Championships … Was the #6 seed last year and fell one win short of All-American status going 2-2 … Was named second-team in 2020 after being seeded #10 … 2022 and 2020 ACC Champion at 125 pounds … Was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2020 after defeating #2 Meuller of UVA in the final … This year, scored the winning takedown with five seconds left to down top-seeded #20 Latona of Virginia Tech, avenging his dual loss … Sits at 16-3 on the season, 5-3 vs. ranked foes … Went 10-3 in duals, 4-1 vs. ACC foes (outscored them 55-23 with a pin) … All three losses this year to top-20 wrestlers … Has won nine of 10 matches since Jan … A perfect 10-0 in bonus point matches this year, and 17-0 over the last two seasons.

About Prata: Placed fourth at the Big 12 Championship … Has won eight of his last nine matches … Transferred to Oklahoma from Virginia Tech … Was an NCAA Qualifier with the Hokies in 2020.

Winner/Loser faces: #3 seed Pat Glory (Princeton – 16-1) or #30 seed Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado – 14-9)

133 (Match #41)
#15 seed Kai Orine (15-5) vs. #18 seed Joe Heilmann (North Carolina – 18-7)

Series History: Orine leads the all-time series 2-1 … The two have split a pair of matches this season … First Heilmann won the dual 4-2 in OT, but Orine followed with a 5-3 win in the third place bout at the ACC Championships … When Orine was in redshirt in 2019-20, he won by major decision (15-6) at the Pembroke Open.

About Orine: First career NCAA Championships appearance … Split time as the Pack's starter at 133 pounds with two-time NCAA Qualifier R-So. Jarrett Trombley, but won the job and started every ACC dual … Placed third at the ACC Championships, going 3-1 with a pair of ranked wins … Downed #23 Courtney of UVA 5-2 in the quarters and finished with a 5-3 win over #19 Heilmann of UNC in the third place bout … 15-5 on the season, 6-4 in duals … All five losses to top-25 wrestlers, four in top-10 … Went 2-3 vs. ACC foes, with the final four bouts vs. top-25 wrestlers.

About Heilmann: Second straight season as the Tar Heel's starter at the ACC Championship … Earned the #2 seed this year … Placed fourth.

Winner/Loser faces: #2 seed Daton Fix (Oklahoma State – 21-0) or #31 seed Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin – 12-15)

141 (Match #57)
#18 seed Ryan Jack (16-7) vs. #15 seed Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina – 17-3)

Series History: Series is tied 1-1 … The two split a pair of matches this season … First, Clarke won in the dual 4-3 and then Jack scored a 4-3 win in the third place bout at the ACC Championship.

About Jack: First career NCAA Championships appearance … Moved up to 141 pounds to claim the starting spot, was the back-up at 133 last season … ACC Finalist in his first ACC Championship … Downed UNC's #8 Clarke in the semifinals with the bout's lone takedown with five seconds left … Fell to #5 Matthews in the final, 3-2 … 16-7 on the season, 7-5 in duals … Five of seven losses have been to top-15 foes, four in top-10 … Went 3-2 vs. ACC foes … Had a forfeit at Duke in the first ACC dual, downed Cedeno of UVA 4-3, and #22 Gerardi of VT 4-3 in the finale … Both ACC losses to top-10 foes … The wins over #8 Clarke and #22 Gerardi were his first career ranked wins … 6-0 in bonus point wins this season, 11-0 all-time.

About Clarke: Only had one regular season loss, did not place at ACC Championship … Transferred to North Carolina from American … Redshirted in 2021 and was an NCAA qualifier in 2020 going 36-7.

Winner/Loser faces: #2 seed Jaydin Eierman (Iowa – 16-1) or #31 seed Wilfredo Gil (Franklin & Marshall – 28-6)

149 (Match #74)
#2 seed Tariq Wilson (15-0) vs. #31 seed Michael Blockhus (Minnesota – 13-13)

Series History: Blockhus leads 1-0 … When Blockhus was at Northern Iowa, the two met at the 2019 Cliff Keen Invite in Last Vegas, a 6-4 decision for Blockhus.

About Wilson: Fourth NCAA Championships appearance, third different weight class … Has placed third on two occasions (in 2018 at 133 and 2021 at 141) … Only losses those two years were in the semifinals … Is 13-4 all-time at NCAAs, with eight bonus point wins … Enters NCAAs undefeated for second straight year, #2 seed is his highest entering … Competing in third different weight class in his career … First two seasons at 133, then next two at 141 before this year at 149 … Back-to-back ACC Champion, last year at 141 this year at 149 … Downed #8 Andonian of VT in the final, 10-4 … Perfect 15-0 on the season, 12 wins coming in duals … Has gone 18-0 in duals over the last two years, 27-1 over the last three … 7-0 vs. ranked foes this season, 11-0 over the last two seasons, and 23-11 for his career … Each of his last four matches all vs. ranked foes, outscored them 29-11 without allowing a single takedown.

About Blockhus: Two-time NCAA qualifier … Placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships … Went 1-2 at the NCAAs last year … Transferred to Minnesota from Northern Iowa … Was the #13 seed for NCAAs in 2020 at UNI.

Winner/Loser faces: #15 seed Legend Lamer (Cal Poly – 14-5) or #18 seed Anthony Artalona (Penn – 14-5)

157 (Match #82)
#4 seed Ed Scott (22-1) vs. #29 seed Joey Michael Petite (Buffalo – 16-7)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Scott: First career NCAA Championships appearance … A consensus top-8 wrestler … Moved up to 157 pounds for the season, was the Pack's starter at 149 pounds last season as a true freshman but didn't make NCAAs … 2022 ACC Champion … Avenged his lone loss with a first-period pin vs. UVA's Keating, then scored the lone takedown and defeated 2021 national champ #4 O'Connor of UNC in the final, 3-2 … 22-1 on the season, 12-1 in duals, 8-1 vs. ranked foes … 16 bonus point wins (six pins), has outscored foes 225-74 … Perfect 3-0 vs. top-10 foes this year, pair of top-5 wins … Downed #4 O'Connor in ACC final, pinned #8 Young of Iowa and downed #5 Monday of Princeton (6-4) … Named ACC Wrestler of the Week after knocking off #15 Jacques of Missouri 3-2 and scoring a first-period pin over #8 Young of Iowa.

About Petite: Two-time NCAA qualifier … Fell to Hayden Hidlay in last year's first round, 14-5 … Missed the start of this season with injury, but earned an at-large bid after a third place finish at the MAC Championships.

Winner/Loser faces: #13 seed Justin Thomas (Oklahoma – 19-7) or #20 seed Elijah Cleary (Pittsburgh – 13-8)

165 (Match #96)
#21 seed Thomas Bullard (17-6) vs. #12 seed Zach Hartman (Bucknell – 27-4)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Bullard: Fourth career NCAA Championships … 3-6 all-time but went 2-2 last year, both losses to top-10 seeds … Was a second-team All-American selection in 2020 after being seeded #10 … 16-6 on the season, 6-4 in duals … All six losses on the season have been to ranked foes (1-6 vs. ranked this year) … Placed third at the ACC Championships … Went 2-1, with all three matches having a 1-0 scoreline … Top-3 placement for the fourth straight year at ACCs … Went 4-1 vs. ACC foes in duals, lone loss was 4-3 in OT to #14 Wentzel of Pitt, outscored ACC foes 26-7 … Since the Southern Scuffle, is 9-2 outscoring foes 67-9 with seven shutouts in the 11 bouts.

About Hartman: Qualified for the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight season … 2021 All-American … Advanced to the semifinals last year, and finished in sixth place … Also a four-time EIWA placewinner.

Winner/Loser faces: #5 seed Shane Griffith (Stanford – 16-4) or #28 seed Cael Carlson (Minnesota – 17-14)

174 (Match #114)
#4 seed Hayden Hidlay (14-2) vs. #29 seed Jay Nivison (Buffalo – 18-8)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Hidlay: Fourth NCAA Championships appearance, first not at 157 pounds … Has reached the podium each previous trip … NCAA finalist as a R-Fr. in 2018, fourth in 2019 and fifth last year … Is 12-5 all-time at NCAA, reaching the semifinals each year … NC State's first-ever 4-time All-American, #2 seed in 2020 … Consensus top-five wrestler at 174 pounds. Moved up from 157 pounds where he was his first four years … 14-2 on the season, outscored foes 126-32 thus far with two pins … Nine wins for bonus … Second in school history in career win/loss percentage (.913 - 105-10), only behind Nick Gwiazdowski (.973) … 71-1 all-time in bonus point matches, eight at NCAAs … Became the sixth NC State wrestler to record 100 career wins, with a 6-3 decision over #15 Finesilver of Duke … Four-time ACC Champion at 157 pounds … Took third this year at 174, losing to #6 Lewis of VT in the semis (3-2) … Split with Lewis on the season, 3-1 in OT in the dual.

About Nivison: First time advancing to NCAA Championships … Placed second at the MAC Championships … Won each of his last two matches with a takedown in the final three seconds to qualify for NCAAs.

Winner/Loser faces: #13 seed Matt Finesilver (Duke – 27-7) or #20 seed Hayden Hastings (Wyoming – 22-7)

184 (Match #131)
#3 seed Trent Hidlay (17-0) vs. #30 seed Max Lyon (Purdue – 12-13)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Hidlay: Second career NCAA Championships … An NCAA finalist last year … Was the #2 seed, and fell to #1 Brooks in the final 3-2 … Started with back-to-back tech falls, and outscored his foes 44-12 in going 4-1 … Was seeded #5 as a R-Fr. in 2020 … Perfect 17-0 on the season, 13-0 in duals … 15 of 17 wins this season have been for bonus (outscoring foes 186-46 with four pins) … Ranked the fourth Most Dominant Wrestler in the NCAA, 4.53 team points per match … 33-1 all-time in bonus point matches … 9-0 vs. ranked foes, seven for bonus points and outscoring foes 128-34 … Each of his last six matches have been vs. ranked ACC foes, all but one a bonus point win … 13-1 over the last two seasons in bonus point matches … Back-to-back ACC Champion at 184 pounds … This year, both ranked wins and outscored his foes 30-5 with two major decisions.

About Lyon: Third straight year as an NCAA qualifier at 184 pounds … Three-time Big Ten Championship placewinner also … Took seventh this year … 15 of his 25 matches this year vs. ranked foes.

Winner/Loser faces: #14 seed Gavin Kane (North Carolina – 15-4) or #19 seed Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota – 14-5)

197 (Match #153)
#15 seed Isaac Trumble (17-4) vs. #18 seed Luke Stout (Princeton – 20-5)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Trumble: First career NCAA Championships appearance … Sits at 17-4 on the season, 10-3 in duals … Since being pinned at Princeton (1/9), is 8-1 outscoring foes 51-16 … ACC Finalist … Was the top seed and downed #31 Shaw of UNC (9-2) before falling to #8 Bonaccorsi of Pitt (5-2) … Perfect 5-0 vs. ACC foes in duals, four were ranked wins, two were top-15 … Outscored conference foes 23-6, and each of the last three wins have been shutouts vs. ranked foes … Named co-ACC Wrestler of the Week after defeating 2021 NCAA Finalist #6 Bonaccorsi, 2-0 … The week prior, downed #13 Aiello of Virginia 7-5 in OT, then after his match was commissioned into the U.S. Army … 6-3 vs. ranked foes, three top-15 wins, two in top-6.

About Stout: A freshman, he is making his first trip to NCAAs … Older brother wrestled for Pitt, also at 197 pounds … Placed second at the EIWA.

Winner/Loser faces: #2 seed Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming – 23-2) or #31 seed JT Brown (Army – 13-10)

285 (Match #160)
#21 seed Tyrie Houghton (20-8) vs. #12 seed Christian Lance (Nebraska – 16-8)

Series History: First collegiate meeting.

About Houghton: First career NCAA Championships appearance … Saw action at both 197 pounds and heavyweight in each of his first two seasons … Has been exclusively at heavyweight the last two season … ACC Finalist at heavyweight … Earned the #2 seed and won in the semifinals in OT before falling to #14 Traxler of Virginia Tech in the final, 9-6 … Has split time at heavyweight with R-Fr. Owen Trephan … Represented the Pack in all four NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings, the last at #22 to go with a #12 RPI … 19-8 on the season, 4-3 in duals … Perfect 8-0 in bonus point matches, 12-0 over the last two years … Is 3-5 in ranked matches, wins #31 Miller of Virginia, #30 McAleavey of The Citadel and #24 Nevills of South Dakota State.

About Lance: Second straight season as an NCAA qualifier … Placed seventh at the Big Ten Championship … Transferred to Nebraska from Fort Hays State.

Winner/Loser faces: #13 seed Tate Orndorff (Ohio State – 16-9) or #20 seed Joe Doyle (Binghamton – 19-7)

2022 NCAA Championships: Day 1 @PackWrestle Preview

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Thomas Bullard

Jakob Camacho

Hayden Hidlay

Trent Hidlay

Tyrie Houghton

Ryan Jack

Kai Orine

Ed Scott

Owen Trephan

Jarrett Trombley

Isaac Trumble

Tariq Wilson

2022 NCAA Championships: Day 1 @PackWrestle Preview

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Thomas Bullard

Jakob Camacho

Hayden Hidlay

Trent Hidlay

Tyrie Houghton

Ryan Jack

Kai Orine

Ed Scott

Owen Trephan

Jarrett Trombley

Isaac Trumble

Tariq Wilson

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