Live Blog: NC State wrestling in third place at NCAAs after day one

NC State wrestling’s quest for the program’s second (and the ACC’s third) team trophy begins at 12 p.m. ET in Detroit, site of this year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships over the next three days.

Former NC State wrestler Ryan Tice is tracking all of the action from Little Caesars Arena. We’ll be providing thorough, live updates on The Wolves’ Den message board and quick thoughts on every match in this live blog as soon as they go final (the most recent updates will appear at the top).

How high can NC State wrestling finish at NCAAs?

How Pat Popolizio built NC State into a powerhouse, Part I l Part II

Day one recap

We’ll start with the question everybody asks — what place is NC State in as a team? They end day one in third place with 21.5 team points, just 0.5 points behind No. 2 Arizona State, but also just 0.5 points ahead of No. 4 Michigan and 1.0 point ahead of No. 5 Iowa. Those are the only teams with more than 15 points so far.

Perhaps most importantly, all 10 Wolfpack wrestlers advance to day two — they are one of just two schools to do so, along with Iowa — including four in tomorrow morning’s quarterfinals. NC State is actually the team that has the highest maximum potential team points remaining (266.5, four points ahead of Iowa).

Some more NC State numbers from day one:

Round one: NC State went 6-4 with 3 bonus-point victories (two pins and a major decision). They went 2-3 in “one-move” matches (decided by 2 points or less, or in overtime).

Round two: 4-2 with one bonus-point win (major decision) … 2-0 in “one-move” matches

Consolation round one: 4-0 with 2 bonus-point triumphs (one pin, one technical fall).

Day one totals: 14-6 overall with six bonus-point wins (three pins, one tech fall and two majors) … 4-3 in “one-move” matches.

174-pounder Hayden Hidlay is wrestling the best of anybody from NC State. He is tied for second among all wrestlers in the event with 5 team points scored (he won via pin and major decision). Only five wrestlers in the tournament have notched 5 (or more) points for their team so far.

Hidlay has a monster matchup tomorrow morning against last year’s second-place finisher at 174 pounds, Michael Kemerer (Iowa). This may be one of the best quarterfinals of the entire tournament, but the fact that it’s NC State-Iowa makes it even juicier.

A full recap of NC State’s individual matches today is below, with the most recent results at the top and who each wrestler has next round:

Session two updates

Like always, the NC State wrestler will be listed first below:

CONSOLATION ROUND ONE: 285 — No. 21 Tyrie Houghton vs. No. 28 Michael McAleavey (Citadel): Houghton gave up the first takedown but then battled back with three takedowns and finished with more than two minutes of riding time en route to a 9-4 victory. That ends today’s wrestling for NC State, and all 10 competitors are still alive with four still alive in the quarterfinals.

Tomorrow morning, Houghton will wrestle No. 11 Gary Traub (Oregon State).

CONSOLATION ROUND ONE: 197 — No. 15 Isaac Trumble vs. No. 31 JT Brown (Army): Trumble had just broken up a scoreless match in the third period with an escape, but then he came out of nowhere and recorded a pin from neutral. That will provide some crucial bonus points after early on it looked like Trumble may have to squeak out a victory.

However, he has a pretty tough match tomorrow morning — No. 17 Jay Aiello (Virginia). The ACC rivals have actually only met once before, a 7-5 overtime win for Trumble in the dual.

CONSOLATION ROUND ONE: 165 — No. 21 Thomas Bullard vs. No. 28 Cael Carlson (Minnesota): Bullard does exactly what NC State needed him to do and picked up a 15-0 technical fall victory for bonus points.

Bullard takes on No. 11 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) tomorrow morning.

CONSOLATION ROUND 1: 141 — No. 18 Ryan Jack vs. No. 31 Wilfredo Gil (Franklin & Marshall): Four takedowns and three-plus minutes of riding time keep Jack alive with a 10-5 victory. He will face No. 16 Quinn Kinner (Rider), who was once committed to NC State wrestling, tomorrow morning.

ROUND TWO: 184 — No. 3 Trent Hidlay vs. No. 19 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota): A very controlled match from Hidlay, who rode two first-period takedowns to a 5-3 victory.

He’ll wrestle No. 6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) tomorrow morning. They have never met in college.

ROUND TWO: 174 — No. 4 Hayden Hidlay vs. No. 13 Matt Finesilver (Duke): Hidlay was on from the beginning and led 8-3 going into the third period. He turned it on to add another pair of takedowns in the final frame and record bonus points with a 13-8 major decision. He had five takedowns and a reversal, while allowing only escape points. Impressive performance for the super senior.

Hidlay will face No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) in tomorrow morning’s quarterfinals. Kemerer was the national runner-up at this weight last year and has a trio of top-four NCAA placements (for comparison, Hidlay has three top-five placements).

ROUND TWO: 157 — No. 4 Ed Scott vs. No. 13 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma): Two takedowns and a reversal for Scott help him hang on for a 9-6 victory to move on to tomorrow morning’s quarterfinals, where he’ll face No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton). Scott beat Monday earlier this year, 6-4.

ROUND TWO: 149 — No. 2 Tariq Wilson vs. No. 18 Anthony Artalona (Penn): A fairly uneventful match for Wilson after giving up the opening takedown. He escaped then answered with a takedown of his own before the frame expired, which was the difference in a 4-3 victory.

He’ll advance to tomorrow morning’s quarterfinals, where he’ll take on No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), who just upset No. 7 Joshua Heil (Campbell).

ROUND TWO — 133: No. 15 Kai Orine vs. No. 2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State): Orine wrestled tough, but fell to the two-time NCAA runner-up Fix by a final of 7-4. He got a third-period takedown after slipping a headlock that could be a confidence booster.

Tomorrow morning, Orine will face the winner of No. 32 Dominic LaJoie (Cornell) and No. 17 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley). Those two wrestle later tonight.

ROUND TWO — 125: No. 14 Jakob Camacho vs. No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton): Camacho was dominated in a 10-2 major decision loss and will drop to the consolation bracket, where he will compete tomorrow morning.

We won’t know who he will face until later tonight, but the likely bet would be No. 13 Drake Ayala (Iowa), who was upset in round one by No. 20 Fabian Gutierrez (Chatanooga). For what it’s worth Camacho has beaten Gutierrez twice in his college career.

NC State round two preview

All 10 NC State wrestlers will be in action tonight with one more match. Six wrestlers remain on the championship side of the bracket, while four are still alive in the consolations — for the latter group, a loss will end their tournament run.

The match we’re looking forward to the most this round comes at 174 pounds, where No. 4 Hayden Hidlay takes on an ACC rival in No. 13 Matt Finesilver of Duke. Hidlay beat Finesilver twice this year, but Finesilver made it a one-point match at the ACC Championships.

Wrestling starts at 7 p.m. ET.

NC State round one recap

NC State went 6-4 in the first round, winning a trio of matches by bonus points. The good news is they got a pair of pins among those victories, thanks to 157 Ed Scott and 174 Hayden Hidlay; 184 Trent Hidlay added a major decision. Thanks to Scott and Hayden Hidlay, the Wolfpack was one of just four teams nationally (along with Iowa, Penn State and Northern Iowa) to have multiple wrestlers reach the maximum of three team points round one.

The bad news is the Pack went 2-3 in “one-move” matches, those that were decided by two points or less, or in overtime.

Still, NC State had a lot of bullets in the chamber, which allowed them to finish the session tied for fifth in the team score (11 points with Northern Iowa, 0.5 points behind No. 4 Arizona State). Keep in mind, the team scores after round one are like the score of a baseball game after the first inning.

There are a lot of new matchups coming in every Wolfpack wrestler’s next match tonight, which begins at 7 p.m. Only two of the bouts have happened before in college (read below for each matchup).

Our quickie recap of each match can be found below, the NC State wrestler will always appear first:

ROUND ONE — 285: No. 21 Tyrie Houghton (20-8) vs. No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska, 16-8): A second-period takedown wins it for Lance, 3-2.

Houghton will take on No. 28 Michael McAleavey (25-11, Citadel) in the second round; Houghton beat him 9-5 in the Battle at the Citadel earlier this year.

ROUND ONE — 197: No. 15 Isaac Trumble (17-4) vs. No. 18 Luke Stout (20-5, Princeton): A back-and-forth affair results in an overtime loss for Trumble, 6-4.

He’ll face No. 31 JT Brown (13-11, Army) tonight, though bonus points would help make up for Trumble losing round one.

ROUND ONE — 184: No. 3 Trent Hidlay (17-0) vs. No. 30 Max Lyon (12-13, Purdue): Hidlay racked up five takedowns, including one with seven seconds left, to secure a 12-3 major decision victory. More bonus points for the Pack.

Hidlay will take on No. 19 Isaiah Salazar (15-5, Minnesota) next. Salazar upset No. 14 Gavin Kane of North Carolina in round one.

ROUND ONE — 174: No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (14-2) vs. No. 29 Jay Nivison (18-8, Buffalo): Hidlay gets a quick takedown then pins his opponent … add two more bonus points to the NC State team score.

Hidlay will face a familiar ACC foe in round two, No. 13 Matt Finesilver (28-7, Duke). He beat Finesilver twice this year, including by one point at ACCs, and holds a 3-0 series lead in college.

ROUND ONE: 165 — No. 21 Thomas Bullard (17-6) vs. No. 12 Zach Hartman (27-4, Bucknell): Bullard gives up two takedowns and is dominated while allowing three-plus minutes of riding time in a 5-1 defeat.

He falls to tonight’s consolation bracket, where he will face No. 28 Cael Carlson (17-15, Minnesota).

ROUND ONE: 157 — No. 4 Ed Scott (22-1) vs. No. 29 Michael Petite (16-7, Buffalo): Scott dominates the first period with a pair of takedowns, but gave up a second-period reversal to Petite to make it 4-4. Then Scott picks up some huge bonus points with a pin with 15 seconds left in the frame.

Scott will face No. 13 Justin Thomas (20-7, Oklahoma) next.

Tied 4-4 late in the 2nd, @ed_scott_ scored the PIN to advance! #PackMentality pic.twitter.com/IOObxTH5oM

— NC State Wrestling 🤼‍♂️ (@PackWrestle) March 17, 2022

ROUND ONE: 149 — No. 2 Tariq Wilson (15-0) vs. No. 31 Michael Blockhus (13-13, Minnesota): Wilson uses two takedowns and an escape for a 5-3 victory. He just missed the riding time point by a handful of seconds.

Wilson will face No. 18 Anthony Artalona (15-5, Penn) in round two.

ROUND ONE: 141 — No. 18 Ryan Jack (16-7) vs. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (17-3, UNC): Jack struck first with a takedown in the opening period, but couldn’t get off bottom after Clarke answered with a first-period takedown of his own. That’s the difference in a 4-3 loss, and Clarke takes the rubber match between the ACC rivals.

Jack will take on No. 31 Wilfredo Gil (28-7, Franklin & Marshall) in his first consolation match.

ROUND ONE: 133 — No. 15 Kai Orine (15-5) vs. No. 18 Joseph Heilmann (18-7, UNC): Orine uses a second-period takedown, escape and the riding time point (1:06), and fends off two deep shots from his ACC rival at the end, to hang on for a 4-3 victory.

Orine will take on No. 2 Daton Fix (22-0, Oklahoma State) next.

ROUND ONE: 125 — No. 14 Jakob Camacho (16-4) vs. No. 19 Joey Prata (16-7, Oklahoma): Three takedowns, an escape and the riding time point (1:26) lock up a dominant 8-3 victory for Camacho. The only points he allowed were a trio of escapes.

Camacho will wrestle No. 3 Pat Glory (17-1, Princeton) next.

NC State session 1 preview

Day one will include the first and second rounds of the championship bracket, as well as the first round of the consolation bracket. Here are the NC State matches we are looking forward to the most in round one (NC State wrestlers are listed first below):

ROUND ONE: 125 — No. 14 Jakob Camacho (16-4) vs. No. 19 Joey Prata (Oklahoma, 15-7)

These former ACC rivals met twice previously, when Prata was at Virginia Tech, and Camacho holds a 2-0 series advantage. The winner will likely face No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton, 16-1).

ROUND ONE: 133 — No. 15 Kai Orine (15-5) vs. No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC, 18-7)

These two are current ACC rivals and they split their two matchups this season. They have wrestled twice already in the last month. Heilmann won in overtime of the dual, but Orine came back and won at the ACC Championships. Orine holds the series lead, 2-1, with a major decision victory in 2019-20.

ROUND ONE: 141 — No. 18  Ryan Jack (16-7) vs. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC, 17-3)

If we could pick only one first-round match to highlight for the Wolfpack, it’d be this one. Clarke was a top-10 wrestler until Jack knocked him to the consolation bracket at the ACC Championships with a one-point victory. These two have wrestled a pair of 4-3 matches this season, with each winning once.

ROUND ONE: 165 — No. 21 Thomas Bullard (17-6) vs. No. 12 Zach Hartman (Bucknell, 27-4)

Bullard is the decided underdog on this one based on the seeds and way each wrestler’s season have gone. On top of all that, Hartman was an All-American last year, placing sixth nationally. However, Bullard’s unique style never makes him an easy out and he has experience winning matches on the sport’s biggest stage.  

The Wolfpacker also went on the record with predictions about where NC State will finish in the team race.

How team scoring works at the NCAA Championships

Advancement points: Every win in the bracket (until placement matches) earns the winner an advancement point — 1.0 in the championship bracket and 0.5 team points in consolations.

Placement points: The top eight placers earn placement points for their team. It’s important to note as you are tracking the team race that these are awarded as soon as they are earned. For example, winners of the semifinals are both awarded second-place points (12) as soon as they clinch a spot in the championship bout. Therefore the winner is awarded only an additional four points.

Placements points are as follows:

1st — 16

2nd — 12

3rd — 10

4th — 9

5th — 7

6th — 6

7th — 4

8th — 3

Bonus points: Just like a college wrestling dual, domination is rewarded. Ending a match early via a pin earns the winner two additional team points, while a technical fall (winning by 15 points) earns 1.5 team points and a major decision (winning by 8-14 points) earns 1.0 bonus point.