NC State wrestling notebook: Pitt dual preview

What a way to cap off the home dual season inside Reynolds Coliseum this Friday night, with No. 6 NC State wrestling (12-1, 2-1 ACC) hosting ACC-leading No. 17 Pitt (9-3, 3-0). The dual is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

Pitt is in the driver’s seat to claim the 2022-23 ACC Dual Championship as the lone undefeated ACC team. The only outcome Panthers fans are awaiting is will it be an outright title or shared.

With a 3-0 start to ACC action, if Pitt comes to Raleigh and defeats the Pack, the Panthers will all but leave with the dual trophy all to themselves (they end the season against Duke, and they are not losing to a team that has been outscored 128-9 in its three conference duals). 

A loss creates a bit of a mess with NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina all sitting with one loss and two ACC duals remaining. In the event of a tie, the ACC crowns co-champions no matter the head-to-head result.

Pitt joined the ACC for the 2013-14 season, and proceeded to go a perfect 6-0 and claim the regular season title in that first campaign. Since then, the Panthers have only finished above fourth place once before this season (third in 2019-20).

This is clearly the best Pitt squad the Pack has faced in years, with four wrestlers in the top-10 for Pitt vs. all 10 starters ranked for NC State.

Here is a weight-by-weight breakdown of all 10 potential matches:

NC State Wrestling Vs. Pittsburgh Projected Lineups

125: No. 27 Jarrett Trombley (10-6) vs. No. 32 Colton Camacho (14-7)

This has all the makings of a one-takedown bout, and both wrestlers are very comfortable trying to rack up riding time in the later periods. Camacho will push the pace in the first looking to score but slows down a bit in the final two periods. Trombley has had great first periods the last two times out, and a takedown early would go a long way to a win. 

Trombley is a perfect 3-0 in ACC duals, the last two going for bonus points for NC State. Camacho is one of the most improved wrestlers in the ACC. He started Pitt’s win at Virginia Tech with a pin and is 2-1 in ACC action.

And no, Pack fans, NC State’s Jakob Camacho will not be a surprise late weigh-in in this dual. No Camacho vs. Camacho (no relation) this year.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Trombley by 7-4 decision

133: No. 20 Kai Orine (10-5) vs. No. 6 Micky Phillippi (11-1)

Pitt’s Phillippi is one of the toughest wrestlers to score a takedown on, and his main strength is the ability to ride. A takedown for Orine, and avoiding the ride time point, would be huge in this battle. Since falling to No. 5 Sam Latona of Virginia Tech, Orine has gone back-to-back bonus point wins in ACC action. Phillippi’s best win of the season was against Latona, 3-2, thanks to the riding time in extra time.

This will be the third all-time meeting, with Phillippi winning each of the first two — 4-1 in the dual last year and a 10-1 major when Orine was redshirting in 2020 at the Southern Scuffle.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Phillippi by 6-3 decision

141: No. 4 Ryan Jack (18-1) vs. No. 3 Cole Matthews (15-1)

The premier matchup of this dual is a battle of top-4 wrestlers that are a combined 33-2, and this does have all the makings of a one-takedown bout as well. Jack has been more offensive this year looking for takedowns getting to the legs, while Matthews loves to work out of the front headlock for his takedowns.

Both are very good accumulating riding time. Along with top NCAA seeding implications, the winner of this match should end up as the top seed at the ACC Championship. 

The two met twice last year, both one-takedown bouts. Matthews won 3-1 in the dual with a last-second takedown and then captured the ACC title over Jack 3-2 a month later. Jack was unable to score a takedown in either bout.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Matthews by 6-5 decision

149: No. 17 Jackson Arrington (17-6) vs. No. 28 Tyler Badgett (15-8)

This is a battle of first-year starters who have both made their way into the national rankings. Arrington was disappointed in his first ACC Dual, a 6-1 loss to No. 9 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech, but has bounced back with back-to-back major decisions.

Badgett is one of those funky Pitt wrestlers that loves to scramble. Arrington must finish his shots early to score. Arrington will shoot a lot. There is the potential for bonus points here for the Pack if Arrington comes out aggressively.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Arrington by 10-2 major decision

157: No. 7 Ed Scott (14-5) vs. Dazjon Casto (5-6)

This is a matchup where the Pack would love to get bonus points. Four of Scott’s five losses are to wrestlers currently ranked in the top 5, but each of his last six wins have been for bonus points. Casto made waves last season, winning a conference title at The Citadel and then downing returning national champion Austin O’Connor of UNC in the first round at the NCAAs before advancing to the Round of 12. He transferred to Pitt but has had an injury-plagued season.

The starter for Pitt might not be known until Friday. Casto missed action last weekend after suffering an injury two weeks ago at Virginia Tech. True freshman Jared Keslar, who is redshirting this year, stepped into the spot and dropped a pair of matches to ranked foes.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Scott by 12-3 major decision

165: No. 26 Matty Singleton (8-4) vs. No. 24 Holden Heller (10-5)

As predicted in last week’s NC State wrestling notebook, the Pack went with redshirt freshman Derek Fields at UVA (he lost to No. 17 Justin McCoy by major decision).

That leaves the true freshman Singleton with two dates available and still have the ability to redshirt, and it just so happens the Pack has two duals remaining. Expect Singleton to take the mat in only his second ACC matchup. His first was a 5-3 OT win over No. 20 Connor Brady at Virginia Tech.

Heller is the older of the two brothers that transferred to Pitt from Hofstra. He was a three-year starter with the Pride and the 2021 EIWA champion. He is a funky wrestler that is tough to score on, so if Singleton gets in on the legs he must finish early and not let Heller roll through. Heller matched Singleton’s results against Brady, 2-0, and is a perfect 3-0 in ACC action.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Heller by 6-5 decision

174: No. 29 Alex Faison (13-6) vs. Luca Augustine (10-7)

A battle between a pair of first-year starters. Faison began the season for NC State wrestling at 165 pounds, but has been the Pack’s starter at 174 since mid-December. He has won six of his last eight bouts, and his only losses in that span were against higher ranked foes.

Augustine is the reigning ACC Wrestler of the Week after he knocked off returning All-American No. 8 Clay Lautt of North Carolina, 2-1 in extra time. The 2022 U20 Pan-American freestyle champion at 79 kg, he has also won five of his last six bouts, his lone loss to No. 3 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Augustine by 6-5 decision

184: No. 3 Trent Hidlay (16-1) vs. No. 17 Reece Heller (16-5)

In the matchup at 184 pounds Hidlay will face his 10th ranked foe in his last 11 matches. The younger of the Heller brothers, Reece put the ACC on notice when he scored a defensive pin over No. 7 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech just two weeks ago.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Hidlay by 11-4 decision

197: No. 8 Isaac Trumble (16-2) vs. No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (12-0)

A lot of fans will have this match circled, in addition to 141. The new No. 1 ranked wrestler nationally, Bonaccorsi and NC State’s Trumble have had some battles over the last few seasons. Trumble, who leads the all-time series 2-1, shocked all wrestling fans in his first ACC match with a 6-1 win in the 2021 dual and followed up with a 2-0 dual win last year. Bonaccorsi won the last battle scoring his first takedowns against Trumble and went on for the 5-2 win in the ACC Championship final.

Both have posted impressive wins this season. Trumble has seven ranked wins for NC State, three over wrestlers currently in the top-10. Bonaccorsi is the lone undefeated wrestler at 197 nationally and has a pair of top-five wins this season, including a late takedown for a 6-4 decision over No. 5 Yonger Bastida of Iowa State last weekend.

Trumble is attempting to become the first Pack wrestler since Trent Hidlay at the 2021 ACC Championship to defeat the No. 1 ranked wrestler in his weight class (Hunter Bolen of VT, 3-1 in OT). Bonaccorsi will shoot more than any other upper weight in the nation, and Trumble will have to turn his defense into offense.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Trumble by 6-4 decision

285: No. 12 Owen Trephan (17-3) vs. No. 10 Dayton Pitzer (7-2)

This will be a battle of two of the most athletic, but maybe undersized, heavyweights in the country. Both are undefeated in ACC action. Trephan has won each of his last six bouts for NC State wrestling and has not dropped a match since the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas in early December. He has picked up a trio of ranked wins during that time and has three bonus point wins in his last five bouts.

Pitzer is still technically in redshirt, but if the Panthers want to be a contender for an ACC title and a trophy at the NCAA Championships, Pitzer must be in their lineup. After winning the title at Midlands, knocking off returning NCAA finalist Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State 4-0, Pitzer debuted at No. 5 in the national rankings. He has been in and out of the lineup since, and is 8-1 on the season with his lone loss coming last weekend to No. 9 Sam Schuyler of Iowa State.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Pitzer by 4-2 decision

A Bit Of History

Over the last seven seasons, since Reynolds Coliseum reopened its doors after a $35 million renovation, NC State has won 15 of the 16 ACC duals held in its home gym. The lone loss was to Pitt in 2019.

That loss to Pitt was also the Pack’s last home defeat in both ACC and non-conference matchups. NC State has won each of its last 21 home duals entering its final home dual of the season this Friday night.

Back in that 2019 dual that Pitt won 18-16 with a major decision at heavyweight in the final match, Pitt’s Phillippi and Bonaccorsi both picked up decisions as freshmen in the matchup.