Inside NC State wrestler Vince Robinson’s path to the 125-pound National Championship

Vince Robinson was told not to look up. Whatever he did, he wasn’t to stand on the mat and stare up at the 18,099 in attendance at the NCAA Championships inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The assumption was that the thousands of sets of eyeballs might be intimidating, but Robinson had to look. 

He had watched the event on television from a young age, setting a goal for himself to wrestle on the collegiate level’s biggest stage. What he ended up seeing was “mind blowing,” but it didn’t seem to rattle him going into the biggest bout of his wrestling career. 

Instead, Robinson thrived in his first-ever showing at the NCAA Championships. The result? Five straight wins in three days, capped by a 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley to claim the 125-pound national championship. 

Once Robinson won the crown in sudden victory, he immediately stood up and pointed to the first person he saw: his father, Vasil. He was the person that pushed Robinson in high school, despite a pair of second-place finishes and a third-place showing in the Illinois state wrestling tournament. 

His father was the one that instilled his “dog mindset.” That mentality, one of always striving to be better than he was in the current moment is what guided Robinson to his first major title. The redshirt freshman didn’t have a smooth campaign in his debut season at NC State, but somehow, he was able to cap an adversity-filled season with the program’s eighth individual championship. 

“I’ve got a lot of will to win,” Robinson said shortly after winning the title. “Like, before I step on the mat, know nobody wants this more than me. Nobody wants it more than me. It’s like somebody’s trying to take everything I want.”

There’s a reason for that. Robinson knows how fast a season can be derailed — and what it takes to keep his laser-focused mission of winning a championship on the tracks. 

Adversity strikes … thrice

After Robinson used his freshman year to develop within NC State’s program as a redshirt, he was eager to put his growth on display in the Wolfpack’s preseason wrestle-off to set the lineup for the upcoming season. 

But Robinson fell to three-time ACC champion Jakob Camacho, leaving the budding star on the Wolfpack’s bench in duals to begin the year. 

It left Robinson “hurting” because he believed he was good enough to win that bout to open the year. NC State coach Pat Popolizio called the redshirt freshman a few hours later, looking to instill confidence in his promising wrestler. The main message? Use this as motivation and keep improving in the wrestling room, and it would pay off on the mat. 

Soon enough, he was right. 

Robinson ran with it, winning eight straight matches — including three against top-40 wrestlers — between the Battle at The Citadel, the Journeymen Classic and NC State’s dual with Appalachian State. That was more than enough to earn a spot in the Wolfpack’s starting lineup on its challenging schedule. 

“That defines the competitor in him,” Popolizio said. “The easy thing to do would be to lay down and just surrender. Or you can come out swinging. It’s a long season, it’s a grueling season. There’s always opportunities that lie in front. 

“The guys that can see long term are usually the guys that can break through and get what they want at the end of the year. He never gave up on hope and belief. When his opportunity came, he shined.”

Robinson’s standout performances continued with three straight dual wins in the Pack lineup, including his first top-10 victory over Rutgers’ Dean Peterson via injury. 

But just as everything seemed to be going well with an 11-0 official record to begin his 2024-25 season, Robinson faced another setback. This time an injury. He tore his right meniscus at the Cliff Keen Invitational in December, which resulted in surgery to clean up the area. Not only did it sideline him for a month, but it cost Robinson the opportunity of going against then-No. 1 Matt Ramos of Purdue.

It frustrated Robinson. He felt as though he could have made a statement win over the top-ranked wrestler at his weight. Instead, he was on the mend, looking to get back on the mat as soon as possible. 

NC State assistant Zack Esposito stayed on Robinson, reminding him the goal is to be 100 percent for the NCAA Championships. He made sure he stayed composed at practice, utilizing the training bike to keep his conditioning up until he was ready to go again. 

Just over a month later, he was.

And Robinson’s first opponent in his return to the lineup in mid-January? Spratley, then ranked No. 4 in the country, inside a hostile Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. Robinson came out firing, earning the national recognition he wanted against Ramos with a 7-3 decision in the first top-five win of his career.

Not a bad return from injury. 

“A lot of guys come off those injuries and don’t believe in themselves and question their ability,” Popilizio said. “There’s no more confidence you need than getting that win.”

Robinson won his next five bouts, including the dual-clinching win over North Carolina’s Spencer Moore on Jan. 31. But in a practice following the emotional victory, Robinson sprained his left knee. Another stint on the shelf followed. 

“That was kind of like another, ‘Here we go again,’” Robinson recalled. 

And again, Esposito was the one to guide Robinson through the ups and downs of another injury. He continued to remind the 125-pound wrestler that the Wolfpack needed him to be back at full strength for the ACC and NCAA Championships. 

This time, it was just a two-week long injury as Ronbinson returned to the mat shortly after. His biggest question was if he’d be able to wrestle the same as before. Robinson’s looming performance at the NCAA Championships cleared that up in a hurry. 

A desire to repeat 

Robinson dropped his ACC Championship bout to Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ventresca, who also beat him in the regular-season finale, settling for second yet again in his career. 

Although the conference tournament didn’t go according to plan, Robinson refocused for the NCAA Championships. He earned the No. 4 seed and mostly made quick work of his opening round opponents — though a last-second takedown was needed to win his second-round bout – to cruise into the final. 

Robinson faced off with Spratley, who he had previously beaten in his return from injury. This time, feeling even better than he did before, Robinson was confident. He used that to his advantage to edge the Oklahoma State star in a tactical match that lacked many fireworks as both wrestlers looked to avoid making a mistake. 

Eventually, however, Robinson walked away with the Wolfpack’s first individual national championship since Michael Machiavello won at 197 pounds in 2018. For Robinson, who hadn’t won a state title in his high school career, winning the title came with emotion that he’d never experienced before. 

“It felt amazing,” Robinson said. “I’ve never felt a feeling like that because I always come up short. … Having that feeling of winning, it felt good.”

There’s a reason why Robinson was able to come out on top this time. It wasn’t a skill issue, he’s a more than talented enough wrestler, but it came down to self-belief. Popolizio has seen that same trait in the two other national champions he has coached at NC State, and Robinson displayed that same confidence in his adversity-filled season.

“All those guys that can win have the talent, but sometimes the separation from some guys is the blind confidence that they have in themselves,” Popolizio said. “He’s shown that he believes in himself. I don’t think you ever see him not giving it his all on the competition side of things. He’s a gamer. And he backs up everything he believes in.”

Now, Robinson believes he can defend his championship moving into next season. It’s the ultimate goal to finish on top of the podium in a collegiate wrestler’s career. But now he wants that same feeling again. 

Esposito, who witnessed Robinson’s unique drive to return from injury even better than before each day in practice, is “optimistic he can do it again.”

“There are a lot of one-time national champs throughout the country, there’s very few that have done it twice, let alone done it twice at NC State,” said Esposito, who coached 10 NCAA champions while on Oklahoma State’s coaching staff and won one himself while competing for the Cowboys. “I think he looks at it more as an opportunity to have a chance to not only be cemented in the history of NC State, but to make himself one of the best to ever come through here and one of the best ever in NCAA history.”

Robinson will find himself in a new role next season. He’s no longer the under-the-radar wrestler chasing after the champion. Instead, he’s the one with the target on his back. And he’s already embracing it.

“Being the top guy, it’s motivating me more because now they want to come and cut the snake’s head off,” Robinson said. “And I can’t let them do that.”