@PackWrestle Claims Fourth Straight ACC Championship

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – Powered by four individual championships, the NC State Wrestling team claimed its fourth straight ACC Championship Sunday night in Charlottesville, Va. NC State had all 10 wrestlers post a podium finish (top-three) and all 10 wrestlers also automatically qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit.

The Pack tied a school record with its fourth straight ACC Championship (1988-91).

NC State captured the team title with 98.5 points. The 98 points scored were the most at the conference tournament since NC State had 103.5 in 2007. Virginia Tech finished second with 76 points. Pitt was third with 51 points, North Carolina fourth (48), Virginia fifth (39.5) and Duke sixth (11).

FINALS
157: #3 Ed Scott vs. #1 Austin O'Connor, UNC
After a scoreless first, Scott started the second with an escape. He then got the bout's lone takedown in the second period to defeat O'Connor, a 2021 National Champion, 3-2 to start the championship round.

184: #1 Trent Hidlay vs. #2 Gavin Kane, UNC
Trent Hidlay went back-to-back ACC titles at 184 pounds, as he won by a convincing 11-0 major decision over UNC's Kane. Hidlay scored three takedowns, a two-point near fall and racked up 5:26 of ride time for the bonus point win that clinched the ACC title for the Pack.

197: #1 Isaac Trumble vs. #2 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pitt
Fr. Isacc Trumble came away with a second place finish in his first trip to the ACC Championship. The top seed fell to 2021 NCAA Finalist Bonaccorsi of Pitt in the final at 197 pounds, 5-2.

285: #2 Tyrie Houghton vs. #1 Nathan Traxler, VT
In his first ACC Championship up at heavyweight, Jr. Tyrie Houghton comes away with a second place finish and qualifies for the NCAA Championships. Houghton fell in the final to top-seed Traxler of VT, 9-6.

125: #2 Jakob Camacho vs. #1 Sam Latona, VT
R-So. Jakob Camacho returned atop the ACC podium at 125 pounds, he won in 2020, with a last-second win over top-seeded Latona of Virginia Tech. With the score tied 1-1 late, Camacho converted the lone takedown of the match with just five seconds left to win 3-1.

141: #3 Ryan Jack vs. #1 Cole Matthews, Pitt
After a top-10 win in the semifinals, Fr. Ryan fell short in his second top-10 matchup of the day and lost to #5 Matthews of Pitt in the final, 3-2. Matthews scored the bout's lone takedown in the first period.

149: #1 Tariq Wilson vs. #2 Bryce Andonian, VT
Gr. Tariq Wilson gets ACC Gold for the second straight year with a 10-4 decision over #8 Andonian of VT in the final. Wilson scored all 4 takedowns in the bout and added in 2:39 of RT.

THIRD PLACE BOUTS
All three Pack wrestlers that saw action in a third place bout, won and came away with a podium finish.

• R-Fr. Kai Orine avenged a loss in the dual, and scored a 5-3 decision over second seed Heillman of UNC at 133 pounds. Orine posted a takedown in the second and had 2:09 of ride time and went 3-1 at his first ACC Championship.

• Gr. Thomas Bullard used an escape in the second period for the bout's lone point, and scored a top-three ACC placement for the fourth straight year with a 1-0 decision over VT's Ulrey at 165 pounds.

• Gr. Hayden Hidlay was down 4-3 in the third vs. Duke's Finesilver but put together a reversal-two-point near fall combo for the 7-6 decision at 174 pounds.

CONSOLATIONS
All three Pack wrestlers that fell in the semifinals won their next bout and advanced to the Third Place matches. Orine scored bonus with a 19-3 tech fall, Bullard's escape was the lone point in his 1-0 win, and Hayden Hidlay secured a second-period pin.

SEMIFINALS
The Pack had all 10 wrestle in the semifinals, and seven came away with victories to reach the finals. All seven winners were automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.

Camacho was the first to advance to the finals with a trio of takedowns and 1:23 of ride time for an 8-3 decision over Pitt's Curry. Jack had one of the top upsets of the tournament, as he scored a takedown with only four seconds left to down #8 Clarke of UNC 4-3. Wilson advanced past UNC's Sherman 4-2. Scott recorded a pin less than a minute into his bout against UVA's Keating to avenge a loss from the dual. Trent Hidlay used a 14-5 major decision to advance. Trumble had three takedowns and 1:37 of ride time in defeating UNC's Shaw. Houghton had the comeback of the day, down 5-1 entering the third he won in OT 6-5 over UNC's Whitman.

QUARTERFINALS
The Pack won all three of its quarterfinal bouts, all by freshmen.

Orine used a takedown in the first and 1:10 of ride time to down UVA's Courtney 5-2. Jack got the first bonus point win of the day for the Pack, as he used a four-point near fall in the third and 2:51 of ride time for a 20-5 tech fall over Duke's Rowland. Scott closed the round with a takedown in the second and 3:07 of ride time to down Virginia Tech's Brady 5-2.

UP NEXT
The 2022 NCAA Championship seeds will be announced on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The tournament will run March 17-19 from Detroit.

@PackWrestle Claims Fourth Straight ACC Championship

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Thomas Bullard

Jakob Camacho

Hayden Hidlay

Trent Hidlay

Tyrie Houghton

Ryan Jack

Kai Orine

Ed Scott

Isaac Trumble

Tariq Wilson