Camp Staff | Wolfpack Wrestling C

Pat Popolizio

The 2024-25 wrestling season marks Pat Popolizio’s 13th at the helm of the NC State wrestling program, as he was named head wrestling coach of the Wolfpack on April 10, 2012. Popolizio was named the 2018 Dan Gable co-NCAA Coach of the Year and the 2016 National Coach of the Year by FloWrestling. He has also been a finalist for the NWCA Division I National Coach of the Year each of the last five years in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. He has been named ACC Coach of the Year three times, in 2018, 2020, and 2021. In 12 seasons under Popolizio, NC State Wrestling has had: 3 National Champions 7 NCAA Finalists 27 All-Americans 35 ACC Champions 5 ACC Wrestlers of the Year 3 ACC Rookies of the Year 5 ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year Popolizio has captured seven ACC Championships, including six straight (2019, 2020, 2021,2022, 2023, and 2024). He has led NC State to a school record nine straight top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Over the last nine NCAA Championships, NC State has finished 19th in 2014, 16th in 2015, 11th in 2016, 17th in 2017, 4th in 2018 (earning its first-ever team trophy), 17th in 2019 (2020 was canceled due to COVID-19), 6th in 2021,10th in 2022, 10th in 2023, and tied for 11th in 2024. The '21, '22', and '23 seasons, the Pack brought home top-10 finishes for the first time since 1992 and 1993. NC State has earned 31 All-America honors in the last 10 years. In 2018, NC State set a school-best with four All-Americans, including an all-time ACC-best two NCAA finalists, and pushed that mark in 2020 with six All-Americans named by the NWCA. Over the last three seasons, NC State has had 10 All-Americans. Popolizio has had 95 NCAA qualifiers, highlighted by a school record 10 in 2017, 2022, and 2024. In the last eight seasons, NC State has qualified 73 of its 80 starters. Popolizio has won seven ACC Championships (2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) and five ACC Regular season titles (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2024). The Wolfpack went back-to-back winning both conference team trophies in 2018-19 and again in 2019-20 for the first time since the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and three straight regular season titles for the first time since 2000-02. NC State also won four straight ACC Championships for the first time since four straight from 1988-91. NC State has also posted eight straight seasons finishing in the top-10 in the NWCA Coaches’ Poll. The Wolfpack has been ranked in the top-10 in 99 straight polls over the last seven seasons (entering the 2023-24 season). The Pack was a school-best No. 2 following a 23-1 campaign in 2015-16, No. 8 in 2016-17 with a 13-2 mark, No. 6 with a 15-2 record in 2017-18, No. 10 in 2018-19 with a 16-3 record, No. 3 for the 2019-20 season (as one of only two undefeated teams nationally - Iowa), No. 7 in 2020-21 with a 6-1 record, and No. 4 in 2021-22 with a 13-1 mark. In 2019-20, NC State posted its first-ever undefeated dual season, going a perfect 15-0. The Pack posted five ranked wins, including three straight weekends of top-10 ACC victories. Over the last five seasons, NC State is a league-best 23-2 in ACC duals. NC State had won 101 of its 111 duals (91.0 percent) the last seven seasons entering 2022-23. That winning percentage sits third-best in the NCAA, and the 101 dual victories leads the nation. On the recruiting trial, NC State’s 2016 12-person signing class was ranked the nation’s best by both FloWrestling.com and InterMatWrestling.com. In that class, the Pack signed two of the top-six ranked wrestlers in the 2016 recruiting class, and five in the top-66 overall. NC State’s 2018 class was ranked No. 3 nationally and featured five wrestlers ranked in the top-100 nationally by InterMat, including four in the top-55, and two in the top-25. The class was also No. 6 by both FloWrestling and TheOpenMat. The signing class in 2019, was ranked No. 16 by InterMat and No. 17 by FloWrestling. Four from the nine-member class were ranked in the top-100 nationally. The three most recent classes were all in the top-5 nationally. The 2020 class was ranked #5 by MatScouts and #8 by FloWrestling, and the 2021 10-person signing class was ranked No. 4 by both InterMat and FloWrestling, and #5 by Matscouts. In the 2021 class, NC State was the only school nationally with four top-50 signees. Both MatScouts and InterMat ranked the Pack's 2022 signing class #3 nationally. NC State was the only school nationally to have a top-5 recruiting class three straight years, and NC State also had five straight top-20 recruiting classes. Following his first campaign, Popolizio and his staff signed a top-rated recruiting class in the spring of 2013. The Pack’s signees were ranked: No. 4 according to D1collegewrestling, No. 10 by both WIN Magazine and InterMat, No. 13 by the Open Mat/AWN and No. 14 by Flo Wrestling. NC State made it two-for-two with another nationally ranked recruiting class in 2014, cited No. 19 by FloWrestling, No. 20 by TheOpenMat.com, and No. 25 by InterMat. In Pat Popolizio's first 10 seasons, the Pack has eight top-20 recruiting classes, six in the top-10 and five in the top-5. In the classroom, NC State had its first-ever ACC Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Years - winning five total under Popolizio. Nick Gwiazdowski won the award in 2016, Michael Macchiavello in 2018, Hayden Hidlay was named in 2020, Trent Hidlay in 2022 and again in 2024. The Pack has also had 46 Academic All-America selections, including a school record eight in 2022, and 47 placed on the All-ACC Academic Team over the last nine years. For the first time in school history, the NC State Wrestling team was named a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top-30 Scholar All-American Team in 2020. The Wolfpack ranked 16th nationally with a 3.25 team GPA. The Wolfpack checked in at No. 20 nationally with a team GPA of 3.40, a new school record, in 2022. For the first time in school history, a wrestler was named a CoSIDa Academic All-American, as Hayden Hidlay earned the honor in 2021 followed by Trent Hidlay in 2022. In May of 2018, Popolizio served as the head coach for the USA at the Cadet Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The U.S. dominated, winning the team title with 9 of the 10 wrestlers winning Gold. The 2023-24 season, brought both the ACC Regular Season title as well as the sixth-straight ACC Tournament Championship. Reynolds Coliseum saw its first-ever sellout for wrestling on January 6th against Oklahoma State. The home of the Wolfpack would go on to see two more sellouts that spring, against North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Seven individuals won ACC Championships in their weight class, leading the to the highest team score at the ACCs since 1994, and created a new program record of 116 points. Nine weight classes were able to secure automatic bids just from their dominant conference tournament performance, the remaining wrestler picked up an at-large bi for the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Mo. Three members of the Pack earned All-American honors (Kai Orine, Ryan Jack, and Trent Hidlay), while Hidlay reached the championships at 197 and finished as the finalist. During the 2022-23 season, Popolizio led the team to a Co-ACC regular season title, going 4-1 in ACC action. The team went 14-1 overall. The Pack captured its fifth straight tournament title, finishing with four individual champions - Jarrett Trombley, Kai Orine, Trent Hidlay and Owen Trephan. Nine of the 10 starters advanced to the NCAA Championships, with three of those starters - Ed Scott, Orine, Hidlay - earning All-American honors. NC State won its fourth straight ACC title in 2021-22, and brought home its second straight top-10 NCAA finish (10th). The Pack also won the ACC Dual Championship with a perfect 5-0 mark, and was fourth in the final Coaches Poll with a 13-1 record. The Pack qualified all 10 starters for the NCAAs for only the second time in school history, and had three earn All-American honors. In 2020-21, the Pack posted its second-best finish at the NCAA Championships, finished sixth with three All-Americans. Competing at his first NCAAs, Trent Hidlay was an NCAA Finalist at 184 pounds, and older brother Hayden Hidlay became the Pack's first-ever four-time All-American. NC State also captured its third straight ACC Championship with five ACC Champions, and went 6-1 in dual action. The 2019-20 season was cut short due to COVID-19, but the season will still go down as one of the best in school history as the Pack finished #3 in the final NWCA Coaches' Poll as one of only two undefeated schools nationally. The Pack repeated as both ACC Champions and ACC Dual Championships, while posting the first-ever undefeated season in school history (15-0). With the NCAAs canceled, NC State had six named All-Americans. The Pack claimed the ACC Wrestler of the Year (Hayden Hidlay), Rookie of the Year (Trent Hidlay), Coach of the Year (Popolizio) and Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Hayden Hidlay). In 2018-19, the Wolfpack posted its school record sixth straight top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, placing 17th overall. Hayden Hidlay became only the third wrestler in school history to earn All-American honors as both a freshman and sophomore after he placed fourth. NC State also won the ACC Championship with three individual titles and won a share of the ACC regular season title for the second straight year. In 2017-18, NC State brought home its first-ever team trophy, as the Wolfpack finished a school and ACC-best fourth at the 2018 NCAA Championships. R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello won a national title at 197 pounds, and R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay placed second at 157 pounds. NC State became the first ACC school with two NCAA Finalists. The Wolfpack also had a school record four All-Americans with R-Fr. Tariq Wilson placing third and Sr. Kevin Jack taking sixth. The Pack went 15-2 in duals, and finished sixth in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. For the second straight season, NC State took second at the ACC Championships, with three individual champions and five in the finals. NC State went a perfect 5-0 in ACC duals, marking the Pack’s first ACC regular season title since 2004 and the first undefeated conference season since 2000. NC State led the ACC and ranked 12th nationally in attendance with over 1,800 fans per dual, including over 3,900 fans versus Ohio State – both marks are school records. Following the season, Popolizio was named ACC Coach of the Year and Macchiavello was named ACC Wrestler of the Year. In 2016-17, NC State finished eighth in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll after a 13-2 mark in duals, placed second at the ACC Championship with five reaching the finals, and took 17th at the NCAA Championships behind two-time All-American Kevin Jack and 10 NCAA Qualifiers. The Pack defeated #16 Michigan, 23-15, in the NWCA National Duals, becoming one of only three schools to win their matchups each of the first two years in the event. The 2015-16 season will go down as one of the best in school history. NC State won the 2016 ACC Championship, the first at NC State since 2007. Four individuals were crowned conference champions, and six made it to the finals overall. Following the conference title, the Pack had eight NCAA Qualifiers, including six seeded grapplers and for the first time ever; four were seeded fifth or better. As a team, NC State finished in 11th place at the NCAA Championships, the best finish since a school-best seventh in 1993. The Pack tied the school record with three All-Americans in 2016: Tommy Gantt (5th - 157), Pete Renda (3rd - 184) and Nick Gwiazdowski (2nd - 285). NC State finished the regular season ranked #2 in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, the highest ranking in school history. The Pack went 23-1 in dual matches, setting a new single season school record for most wins. NC State also set a new school record with 21 consecutive wins to start the 2016 season, as the previous best was nine. Included in the dual wins were road victories at national powers Oklahoma State and Iowa - making NC State the first school ever to win at both in the same season. Following his fourth season at NC State, Popolizio was named the 2016 National Coach of the Year by FloWrestling. Redshirt-senior Nick Gwiazdowski was named the 2016 ACC Wrestler of the Year, the third consecutive season he has won the conference’s top award. He is only the second wrestler in ACC history to be named Wrestler of the Year three straight times. During his three-year career at NC State, Gwiazdowski won two NCAA titles (2014, 2015) and finished runner-up in 2016, in addition to winning three straight ACC heavyweight titles and finishing his NC State career a perfect 55-0 in duals. In 2015, the Pack placed 16th at the NCAA Championships. NC State had a pair of All-Americans for the first season since 1993, as Gwiazdowski repeated as NCAA Champion at 285 pounds and became the first wrestler in school history to win multiple NCAA titles, and only the third ACC wrestler all-time to do so, and the first since 1995. He finished the season undefeated, going a perfect 35-0. Freshman Kevin Jack went from unseeded to a fifth place finish at 141 pounds. Gwiazdowski repeated as ACC Wrestler of the Year, while Jack was named the ACC Freshman of the Year. NC State finished 2015 with a dual record of 16-6, with all but one of the losses coming to top-10 teams at the time of the dual. The 16 wins are the fourth-most in a single season at NC State. The Pack finished the regular season ranked 17th nationally in the final USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. NC State was also ranked #14 by InterMat.com and #18 by FloWreslting.com in their final regular season polls. In just his second season in 2014, Popolizio added to the Pack’s storied tradition with NC State’s sixth individual national champion. Gwiazdowski became NC State’s third heavyweight to win the NCAA title. Gwiazdowski, who finished the year with a 42-2 record, won the ACC heavyweight title and then plowed through the NCAA field, winning five straight matches and defeating the No. 1 seed in the tournament, two-time NCAA champion Minnesota’s Tony Nelson, to win the title. He became the first ACC wrestler to win a national championship since the Wolfpack’s Darrion Caldwell in 2009. He was named the ACC Wrestler of the Year. In all, five NC State wrestlers qualified for the 2014 NCAA Championships, combining for a 10-8 record. Three wrestlers, Gwiazdowski, Gantt and Sam Speno, each won at least two matches. As a team, the Pack finished 19th overall, the second highest finish among all ACC schools. In his initial season as head coach for the Pack, NC State had three wrestlers qualify for the 2013 NCAA Championships, placing 63rd overall. Prior to coming to NC State, in six seasons at Binghamton University (2007-12), Popolizio transformed the Bearcats into a national contender after inheriting the program that went 0-12 following its reinstatement in 2005-06. Among his highlights with the Bearcats: • 14th at the 2012 NCAA Championships • 21st at the 2010 NCAA Championships • 2010 CAA Champions • Two-time CAA coach of the year (2012 and 2010) • Candidate for national coach of the year in 2010 • Four All-Americans and 21 NCAA qualifiers over six seasons • CAA Wrestler of the Year and CAA Rookie of the Year in both 2012 and 2010 • 15-4 dual meet mark in 2011-12 was a school record .789 winning percentage • School record 16 wins in 2010-11 Binghamton’s meteoric rise on the mat has been mirrored in the classroom. Popolizio substantially improved the program’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) from 727 to 957 between 2006 and 2011. In his final season, the Bearcats earned individual 2012 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic honors and boasted 10 CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award honorees. In 2009, Popolizio’s team ranked 17th in the country academically. BU wrestlers also placed a high priority on community service, recently helping residents at emergency shelters and in their neighborhoods after historic flooding hit the area. Prior to his stint at Binghamton, Popolizio was the lead assistant and recruiter at American University for two seasons, helping that program finish 17th in the country. At American, he coached seven NCAA qualifiers and the school’s first All-American. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Army (2003-04) and Sacred Heart (2002-03). His team at Sacred Heart achieved the highest grade-point average of any wrestling program in the country. Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Popolizio was a decorated wrestler during his student-athlete career for Oklahoma State coach John Smith, a six-time world champion. Among his highlights during his collegiate career: • Three-time NCAA qualifier • Won greater than 90 matches • Ranked No. 1 in the country at 184 pounds during senior year • Helped lead Oklahoma State to Top 5 national finishes (second, third, third and fifth) at NCAA Championships in each of his four seasons in Stillwater • Big 12 runner-up in 1998 and 2002 • Fifth at the World Team Trials in 2003 • 2002 Oklahoma State Hustle Award Popolizio graduated in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He was a two-time Big 12 All Academic selection and five-time recipient of the Oklahoma State Student-Athlete Award. At the prep level, Popolizio was a New York state scholastic champion for Niskayuna High. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 1996 state prep meet, where he captured the 177-pound title, and went on to become the national high school runner-up. _________________

Zack Esposito

Zack Esposito joined the NC State wrestling staff in April of 2024, and jumped right in the position by helping coach Trent Hidlay and Isaac Trumble at the U.S. Olympic Trials. "Zack is a big impact hire", said Popolizio. "He comes from an elite background of wrestling, has produced at all levels and is a proven winner. His values mirror everything that our program stands for and I am confident that we will continue to build on the momentum that has continued to grow in the past several seasons. He shares the same goals as the rest of us, to win a national title." After previously holding the associate head coach position at Oklahoma State for seven years, he was most recently the National Freestyle Development and Resident Coach for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States. In his position, Esposito coordinated the U.S. Pan American and World Teams at the U15, U17 and U20 levels. He also managed USA Wrestling's Elite U20 Resident Program, which trains at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. He worked directly with National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick and Manager of Freestyle Programs Joe Russell on many other projects as part of USA Wrestling's professional national freestyle coaching staff. Esposito is a familiar face to Popolizio, as they both wrestled for John Smith, the two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion as a freestyle athlete, and the long-time decorated Cowboy wrestling program. Esposito spent 21 years with the program between his time as a student-athlete and on the coaching staff. His coaching career began in 2010 with the Cowboy Wrestling Club and was continued when he was added to the Oklahoma State staff as an assistant coach in 2012 and later promoted to associate head coach in 2017. During his tenure in Stillwater, the Pokes boasted 67 All-Americans, 10 NCAA champions, 11 Big 12 Tournament titles, and 69 individual conference champions. He posted an impressive collegiate career, with a 120-12 record as a four-year starter from 2002-2006. He helped the Pokes secure four team NCAA championships and four team Big 12 championships in addition to an individual national title of his own his junior year at 149 pounds. "I am thrilled to join Pat Popolizio and the NC State wrestling staff", said Esposito. "His reputation as a coach and the culture he has cultivated at NC State are truly remarkable. I want to express my gratitude to USA Wrestling, Bill Zadick, and Joe Russell for their unwavering support. The season spent with them was an invaluable learning experience. I look forward to developing student-athletes and working alongside the rest of the dedicated staff members of the Wolfpack wrestling program." The Three Bridges, N.J., native is married to the former Brandy Baker. The couple has two daughters, Evelyn and Goldie, and a son, Rocco. _________________

Kevin Jack

NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio added former Wolfpack three-time All-American Kevin Jack as a volunteer assistant coach in the summer of 2021. Jack first captured All-American honors as a true freshman at the 2015 NCAA Championships, and has been part of the Wolfpack support staff since he graduated in 2018. “From being a student-athlete, to being involved with our coaching staff since his senior season, Kevin has been through the process here at NC State both academically and as an athlete here at NC State,” said Popolizio. “Watching him over the last few seasons, I know he is a great mentor to our guys in the room, and he is one of the top up and coming coaches. I look forward to seeing him progress in this new role on our staff, as he will continue to add to our team culture both on and off the mat.” While wrestling at NC State, Jack was a four-year starter at 141 pounds. Jack finished his NC State career as only the fifth individual to earn All-American honors three times in a career, and he also finished second in school history in career wins (113). Jack burst onto the college wrestling scene, coming out of redshirt and placing fifth at 141 pounds as a true freshman in 2015. He then went on to place third in 2017 and capped his career with a sixth place finish in 2018. He earned his undergrad degree in sport management (2018) and then a master’s degree in parks, rec and tourism (2020) from NC State. After his 2018 graduation, he served as the Pack’s Recruiting Coordinator. Originally from Danbury, Conn., Jack posted a high school record of 122-11 and was a two-time New England Champion. Jack is married to his wife Brittni and they have one child. ________

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Tommy Gantt

Former NC State All-American Tommy Gantt joined the Wolfpack staff as a full-time assistant in July of 2023. Gantt, a native of Belleville, Illinois, wrestled for NC State from 2012-16. He was an ACC champion in 2016 (157 pounds) as well as an All-American. During his time in Raleigh Gantt was a two-time ACC finalist. In 2016 he was crowned the Midlands Champion. Gantt was named All-ACC in 2014 and 2016. Internationally, Gantt was a US Open Finalist in 2019. That same year he won the bronze medal at the USA World Cup. Gantt was also the Henri Deglane Grand Prix Champion and the 2018 Bill Ferrell International Champion. Gantt graduated from NC State in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in social work. He also has his masters in social work. #PackMentality | @PackWrestle _________

Trent Hidlay

All-Time Accolades 4x NCAA All-American (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024) 3x ACC Champion (2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024) 4x All-ACC Team (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024) ACC Rookie of the Year (2020) 5x NWCA Scholar Athlete All-American (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024) 2x ACC Wrestling Scholar Athlete of the Year (2022 & 2024) 1x CoSIDA Academic All-American (2022); All District (2022) 6x ACC Academic Honor Roll (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, & 2023-24) 5x All-ACC Academic Team (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, & 2023-24) Chi Alpha Sigma Scholar Athlete of the Year (2022-23) 2023-24 • NCAA Runner-Up & ACC Champion ... Closed the season with a 28-1 record, 14-0 in dual action, with 23 bonus point wins and nine ranked wins during the regular season. • Third highest career-win loss percentage in program history behind national champion, Nick Gwiazdowski, in first and his brother, Hayden, in second. • Named as one of the five team captains for the season. • 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational champion at 197 pounds, making it back-to-back titles for him at this tournament. • Secured a spot in the U.S Olympic Trials after winning the 2023 Bill Farrell International at 86 kg. Just days after the team dual at Army West Point, Hidlay traveled to NYC where he was given the #3 seed in the tournament. His five wins included victories over a former NCAA champion (Lujan) in the quarterfinals, a 2018 world silver medalist (Kentchadze) in the semifinals, and a three-time NCAA champion (Dieringer) in the finals. • Finished 3rd at the Olympic Trials, placing him on the USA National Team. He collected notable wins over Carter Starocci, Mark Hall, and Alex Dieringer during the tournament. • Named a NWCA Scholar Athlete All-American, part of the All-ACC Academic Team and on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Also the ACC Wrestling Scholar Athlete of the Year and Chi Alpha Sigma Scholar Athlete of the Year 2022-23 • Earned a spot on the U.S. World Team for the U23 World Championships after claiming first at the U23 U.S. World Team Trials. Entered as the top seed at 86 kg, went a perfect 7-0 on the weekend, outscoring his foes 76-11. Reached the best two-of-three final series again Munoz of Oregon State, and won two straight matches (a 12-1 tech and then 10-1). • Placed third at 86 kg at the 2022 World Team Trials. Started with a 7-0 win over Minnesota’s Webster before falling to eventual champion Valencia 9-4 in the semifinals. In the consolation round, scored a 10-0 tech over Iowa State’s Coleman and took out former national champion Foster in the third place bout 6-2. • Named to the All-ACC Academic Team and ACC Academic Honor Roll • Added his third consecutive ACC Champion title. • Finished 4th at NCAAs, his third top-five finish of his career. • Went 24-3 on the season (of those 24 wins, 11 were ranked), undefeated in ACC action 2021-22 • Placed fifth at the NCAA Championships, going 4-2. Both losses came in OT. Started as the #3 seed with a perfect 17-0 record and won first three bouts. Fell to eventual national champion Brooks of Penn State in the semifinals, 6-4 (SV1). Claimed fifth place with a 3-2 win over Ohio State’s Romero. • Repeated as ACC Champion at 184 pounds. Was the top seed and won both matches, vs. ranked foes, by a combined 30-5, including an 11-0 major decision in the final. • Went 21-2 on the season overall, perfect 13-0 in duals and 4-0 in ACC action. Was also 9-0 vs. ranked foes and 16-0 in bonus point matches. • Ranked as the 15th most Dominant Wrestler in D1, with an average of 3.65 team points a match. 15 of his 17 wins heading into the NCAAs were for bonus points. • Went 7-0 vs. ACC foes, six for bonus point wins. Outscored those foes 83-21 with a pin. • Wrestled up at 92 kg at the 2021 U.S. World Team Trials and came away with a third place finish. Started with a 10-0 tech over Virginia Tech’s Smith before falling 5-4 to Kollin Moore in the quarterfinals. Went a perfect 4-0 in the consolation bracket, with a pair of wins over former NCAA champions, 9-5 over Myles Martin then 8-1 over Drew Foster in the third place bout. • Finished second at the 2021 U.S. Senior Nationals at 86 kg. • Named the 2022 ACC Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the ACC All-Academic Team, and the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Also a 2022 NWCA D1 Scholar All-American. Named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American to the At-Large team. 2020-21 • NCAA Finalist at his first NCAA Championships. Was seeded #2 at 184 pounds and advanced to the finals, falling to #1 seed Brooks of Penn State (3-2). Opened with a pair of tech falls (17-2, 20-5) before a 3-1 win over #7 seed Wilson of Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals and then 2-1 (TB1) over #6 seed Poznanski of Rutgers in the semifinals. • 2021 ACC Champion at 184 pounds, downed two ranked foes on the day. In the finals, scored a takedown in OT to down #1 ranked Bolen of Virginia Tech (3-1). • Among his ACC wins, two straight over ranked foes: #16 Harvey of Pitt (11-4) and #15 Lautt of North Carolina (5-1). • Went 10-2 on the season overall, 4-1 in duals and 4-1 vs. ranked foes. • Missed the first two weeks of the season as he underwent an appendectomy in late December. • Named a 2021 NWCA Scholar All-American and to the 2020-21 All-ACC Academic Team and 2020-21 ACC Academic Honor Roll. Also inducted into NC State’s inaugural Chi Alpha Sigma (National Honor Society) class. • In his first senior-level freestyle event, placed third at the 2020 U.S. Senior Nationals at 86 kg. Entered as the #3 seed, and advanced to the semifinals before his first loss. Went 4-1 at the event overall, and defeated former national champion Drew Foster in the third place bout, 7-4. 2019-20 • Earned 2020 All-America 1st-Team honors by the NWCA. • Seeded #5 for the 2020 NCAA Championships. • Earned All-ACC honors by making the finals. Started as the #2 seed, and scored a top-10 win in the semifinals. • Went 23-4 overall, 14-1 in duals and 4-1 in ACC action (outscored foes 41-15 and only conceded one takedown). • Had four top-10 wins on the season, including three top-five victories. • Defeated #5 Darmstadt of Cornell (7-5) and #4 DePrez of Binghamton (2-1) on the same day in a pair of road duals. • Also scored an 8-4 decision over #3 Lujan of Northern Iowa (who was the #1 seed for NCAAs) in the semifinals at the Cliff Keen Invite. • Also had a pair of top-10 wins over Pitt’s Bonaccorsi (6-3 in dual, 3-2 at ACC Championship). • ACC Wrestler of the Week twice. • Finished second at both the Cliff Keen Invite and the Southern Scuffle. • 13-1 in bonus point matches. • Finished the season ranked #3 at 184 pounds by FloWrestling and #4 by InterMat. • Named to Amateur Wrestling News’ 2019-20 All-Rookie Team. • Named a 2020 NWCA Scholar All-American with a perfect 4.0 GPA and to the 2020 All-ACC Academic Team. Named to the 2019-20 ACC Academic Honor Roll. • Won a bronze medal at the 2019 Junior World Championships in Estonia in August of 2019. Advanced to the semifinals with three straight wins, outscoring his foes 26-1. Fell in the semifinals to Russia, 4-3, but came back in the bronze medal bout with a 9-0 win over Latvia. • Earned a spot on U.S. squad for the Junior World Championships by taking top honors at the World Team Trials in Reynolds Coliseum. Received a bye to the best two-of-three finals, then downed UVA’s Victor Marcelli in back-to-back bouts, 12-7 and 11-4. • Placed first at UWW Junior Nationals at 86 kg to qualify for the WTT. Entering as the third seed, went 5-0 and outscored his foes 42-6. 2018-19 • Redshirted the season. • Went 24-2 in six open tournaments - 17-2 in the first four tournaments at 174 pounds, 7-0 in the final two at 184. • Took fourth at the Southern Scuffle at 174 pounds. His only two losses on the season were to a pair of returning All-Americans by a combined three points. • Won the Hokie Open, Bearcat Open, Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open, Appalachian State Open and National Collegiate Open. • Defeated three ranked opponents on the season by a combined 15-5. • Named to the 2018-19 ACC Academic Honor Roll. Prep • A 2017-18 ASICS All-America second-team selection at 170 pounds. • State champion as both a senior and junior. Finished his career 154-14, and won the final 81 high school matches of his career. Did not surrender a takedown during the winning streak. • Claimed top honors at 3A 170 pounds as a senior, outscoring his opponents in the state tournament 64-19. Went a perfect 43-0 as a senior. • Also went undefeated as a junior, 38-0, and won the state title at 160 pounds. • State finalist as a sophomore, he was the first wrestler in Mifflin County history to reach the finals three times. Also the second two-time state champion in county history, first from his high school. • Second-most career wins in county history and recorded 73 career pins. • 2017 FloNationals Champion, two-time Powerade Champion, 2016 and 2017 and three-time Super 32 placer. • Placed third at the 2018 UWW Junior World Team Trials at 79 kg and 2017 Junior National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Runner-Up. Rankings • #18 overall recruit and #3 at 170 pounds by FloWrestling. • #22 overall recruit and #2 at 170 pounds by InterMat. • #4 at 170 pounds by TheOpenMat. Personal • Held a 4.0 GPA in high school. Named a 2018 Wrestling USA Scholastic All-American. • Older brother Hayden was a five-time All-American and four-time ACC Champion for the Wolfpack. • Earned his undergrad degree in Business Administration in May 2022. __________