NC State’s Trent Hidlay maintains same goal after moving up weight class

NC State’s Trent Hidlay has run into Penn State’s Aaron Brooks the past three times at the NCAA tournament. All three meetings have ended in the same result for the Wolfpack star: loss by decision. 

This year, Hidlay is moving up from 184 to 197. But so is Brooks, and the two are likely to face off again in the postseason this year.

But Hidlay is not afraid of the three-time NCAA champion. Instead, he embraces the opportunity to see Brooks again.

“He’s been the guy that’s beaten me the last three years at NCAAs — he’s kind of been standing in my way,” Hidlay recently said of Brooks. “He has proven that he’s one of the elite guys, not just in the country, but in the world. And those are the guys that I need to beat if I want to accomplish my goals.”

For Hidlay, who has aspirations for not only an NCAA title, but Olympic and World team appearances, wrestling against Brooks will help that. 

“It keeps me in a spot where if I don’t keep getting better, I’m not going to get to where I want to be,” Hidlay said. “Yeah, I could stay down at 184 and maybe be a favorite there, but the competition is going to get me better.”

Hidlay moved up weight classes not just to chase after Brooks, but he said he wanted to enjoy his final season of collegiate wrestling. This will allow him not to have to cut as much weight as usual, which will also give Hidlay more time to focus on his development. 

Luckily for Hidlay, his older brother Hayden did the same thing at NC State, which gave him an example of how to approach this season. Hayden wrestled at 157 for his first four seasons before moving up to 174 during his senior year — he ended up as NC State’s first five-time All-American. 

“Hayden kind of gave me the blueprint of what to do for this last year,” Hidlay said. “Been kind of following what he’s been doing for my whole life. I think he got a lot more enjoyment out of his last year, not having to cut as much weight, and can just focus on enjoying the competitions, enjoying what comes with being a college athlete one more time.”

While Hidlay is a three-time All-American and two-time ACC champion, his biggest impact on NC State’s program might have come through his leadership. 

“He’s been a rockstar for this program,” Wolfpack coach Pat Popolizio said of Hidlay. “His wrestling ability is one thing, but the leadership that he instills with this team, and kind of bleeds into the other guys on this team, you can’t put a price tag to that.”

Hidlay is a vocal leader. He is one to tell it like it is, but Hidlay has the team’s principals and values in mind. Popolozio added that Hidlay’s leadership has become “contagious” among the rest of the team. 

As he put it, “They’re kind of like a coach on staff behind the scenes for us. They’re words are just as impactful as ours as coaches.”

The Lewistown, Pa., native said he’s taken a hands-off approach when it comes to the team’s organization of events, opting to let the younger wrestlers take a leadership role. He noted that he does not want the leadership within the team to crumble after he leaves, so he’s started to delegate some of the responsibilities. 

“You don’t have to wait to be good,” Hidlay said his message is to the rest of the team. “You don’t have to wait to be a leader here. As soon as you step on this campus, your clock starts. Don’t be afraid, even as a young guy, to take a leadership role and be responsible for what our team’s doing.”

While that’s the case, Hidlay is still vocal within NC State’s wrestling room. 

With his final season at NC State approaching, Hidlay is focused on a goal that he set when he arrived in Raleigh: win a national title. Brooks might be in his way for the fourth straight year, but he’s focused on changing that this season. 

“I haven’t wrestled my best at the NCAA tournament the past three years,” Hidlay said. “I’m lucky to come away with All-American status, but my goal is to be a national champion.