Mike Macchiavello wins U.S. Open, off to Pan-Am Championships

Fresh off of a gold medal performance at the 2023 U.S. Open last weekend, former NC State wrestling national champion Michael Macchiavello will now travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, this weekend to compete at the 2023 Pan American Senior Men’s Freestyle Championships.

The Wolfpack Wrestling Club finished with 10 top-8 finishes overall at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas.

The 92 kilogram bracket will compete on Friday with the qualification rounds and repechage starting at 9 a.m. (ET), and the medal rounds taking place at 5 p.m.

Macchiavello, the No. 3 seed, took home top honors in the 92 kg bracket.

He opened with back-to-back shutouts, 11-0 and 4-0, to advance to the semifinals against the No. 2 seed Nate Jackson. In a tight bout, Jackson held a 2-0 lead at the break, but Macchiavello scored all four points of the second period to claim a 4-2 win and advance to the finals.

For the title, he matched up against long-time rival and top seeded Kollin Moore (the two first met during Macchiavello’s NCAA title season in 2018 when Moore was the top ranked wrestler at 197 pounds for Ohio State).

After the conclusion of the first of two three-minute periods, Macchiavello was down 2-0. In the second period, he scored a takedown to tie the score and then added another takedwon, followed by four leg laces (two-point moves) to end the bout 12-2 on technical superiority (a 10-point advantage) with 45 seconds remaining.

With his U.S. Open win, Macchiavello has now qualified for Final X, which determines the U.S. representatives at the 2023 World Championships. Final X is a best 2-out-of-3 bout matchup, set to take place June 10 in Newark, New Jersey. His opponent will be determined at the upcoming U.S. World Team Trials.

“Macchiavello looked great down at 92 kilograms,” said NC State head wrestling coach Pat Popolizio. “His hard work over the last few months paid off in the final. We have some things to fine tune, but he will be ready for Final X and aiming for a spot on the World Team.”

Overall at the 2023 U.S. Open, the Wolfpack Wrestling Club finished with 10 podium finishes, seven in senior men’s freestyle and three in the U20 men’s freestyle division.

“It was good to get some of our guys that mat time at the U.S. Open. A lot of guys had a lot of matches,” said Popolizio.

“The summer is always about freestyle, and we saw many positive results throughout the weekend. We will build off these results moving forward into the upcoming collegiate season.”

Full Results From Wolfpack Wrestling Club At 2023 U.S. OPEN

Senior Division

57 kg – Jakob Camacho (3rd place)

Camacho returned to action for the first time since last summer, as he missed the NC State season with a torn ACL. Starting as the No. 5 seed, Camacho brought home third place honors. With his showing, he will wrestle a true third place match for a spot on the U.S. National Team vs. former NCAA champion Nick Suriano at Final X.

Camacho opened with back-to-back 10-0 tech falls before a matchup with 2023 NCAA champion Pat Glory of Princeton in the quarterfinals. The Pack wrestler scored a takedown and got four laces to end the bout in the first minute, 10-0. In the semifinals he lost to eventual champion and top-seed Zane Richards. Camacho fell behind at the break 6-0 but battled in the second to make it an 8-4 final decision.

In the consolation bracket, he took out Virginia Tech’s Cooper Flynn 4-2 before winning the third place bout by tech fall, 13-2 over Austin Assad.

Overall, Camacho went 5-1 and outscored his foes 50-12.

“I couldn’t be happier to see Camacho back out there, wrestling his style of match,” said Popolizio. “I look forward to his progress this summer and working his way back into our lineup after he missed all of our college season.”

70 kg – Hayden Hidlay (5th place)

Competing in only his second tournament since his NC State wrestling days, Hidlay placed fifth at 70 kg. Starting as the No. 3 seed, Hidlay used an 11-0 tech and then a first-period pin to advance to the quarterfinals.

He met up with former Iowa All-American Jaydin Eirman and cruised into the semifinals with a 10-0 tech. In one of the higher-scoring bouts, Hidlay fell to eventual champion Tyler Berger in the semifinals, 11-10. Hidlay went up 2-0 at the break, but then the pair exchanged moves through the second period with Berger scoring the winning takedown with 33 seconds left.

In the consolation bracket, Hidlay fell to top seed Alec Pantaleo before scoring an 11-0 tech over UVA wrestler Jarod Verkleeren in the fifth-place bout.

74 kg – Tommy Gantt (7th place)

Former NC State All-American Gantt placed seventh at 74 kg. He reached the quarterfinals with back-to-back shutouts, 10-0 and 3-0, before falling to 2023 national champion Keegan O’Toole of Missouri.

86 kg – Trent Hidlay (4th place)

Starting as the No. 4 seed, Hidlay breezed into the semifinals winning his first three bouts by a combined 41-8. He then fell to top seeded Zahid Valencia, 8-3. With the bout even 1-1 at the break, Valencia scored seven straight points to open the second period before a late Hidlay takedown for the final margin.

In the consolation bracket, Hidlay took down redshirt-freshman teammate Dylan Fishback 8-1 then fell to former national champion Mark Hall in the third-place bout.

86 kg – Dylan Fishback (6th place)

After redshirting this past season, Fishback was back in action for the Pack and came away with a sixth place showing competing in his first senior-level event.

He opened with a 21-second 10-tech fall, before dropping a match to three-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks. He then went on a tear through the consolation bracket, winning six straight by a combined score of 56-3.

The winning streak was snapped by teammate Trent Hidlay, 8-1.

97 kg – Isaac Trumble (2nd place)

Trumble bumped up to 97 kg, (213.85 pounds) and came in unseeded but made it all the way to the finals.

After opening with an 11-0 tech, Trumble downed 2023 Big Ten champion Silas Allred of Nebraska with a 10-0 tech to reach the semifinals. He then took out his second straight wrestler with Nebraska ties, former all-American Timothy Dudley with a late second-period pin. Trumble fell behind 4-0 in that match, but stormed back to make it 12-4 at the time of the fall.

In the final, he met former World champion J’den Cox and fell 12-3. Trumble scored the first takedown of the match midway through the first period, but Cox ran off eight straight points afterwards.

“Trumble was another one that brought home good results with a second-place finish.,” said Pololizio “.He took a shot up at 97 kilos, and his style at any weight can be hard to match up with.”

A trio from the NC State wrestling team also brought home top-8 finishes while competing in the U20 brackets. Sophomore Jackson Arrington (70 kg) and redshirt-freshman Chase Horne (125 kg) both were seventh, while redshirt-freshman Troy Holman (57 kg) was eighth.