NC State wants to be ‘patient’ as home schedule approaches
NC State wrestling has navigated most of the country through the first two months of the season, but its season-opening road trek will come to a close after The Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Nashville next weekend.
The Wolfpack, the No. 2 team in the country by FloWrestling, is currently 7-0 through its first set of duals, and it had a fourth-place showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas last weekend.
As the red and white has ventured around the nation to wrestle, coach Pat Popolizio has started to gather an understanding of the group he has this season.
“I’ve learned that we’re really skilled, really competitive,” Popolizio said. “We’ve got a really committed group of guys, and I think the biggest thing for us this year is to be patient.”
Popolizio stressed patience with the long season of college wrestling. The Pack has national championship aspirations, but the NCAA tournament is not until March.
With about four months left before then, the Wolfpack has to find ways to manage its seven wrestlers ranked inside the top 10, according to FloWrestling. The Pack’s top-10 ranked wrestlers include: Jakob Camacho (No. 2, 125), Kai Orine (No. 5, 133), Ryan Jack (No. 4, 141), Jackson Arrington (No. 6, 149), Ed Scott (No. 5, 157), Trent Hidlay (No. 2, 197).
Popolizio said it comes down to making sure his wrestlers recover well after workouts, while also feeling ready to go on the day of a match to avoid any long-term injuries. The 12th-year coach said it is a day-by-day approach with the squad as the team works towards the national championship at the end of season.
“We know we’re good and can compete with anyone on any given day, but we want to make sure we’re really ready come March,” Popolizio said. “And not be overzealous and try to peak too early.”
But as the Pack looks to manage the roster, Popolizio noted that it could be a challenge, just because of the type of competitors that he recruits.
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“I think a lot of guys get anxious and feel like they’ve got to be doing more,” Popolizio said. “When you get a working group of guys, that’s what you’re going to see out of them. … It’s not a sprint, it’s more of a marathon. We’ll be ready to sprint the last couple weeks of the season.”
Before the Wolfpack focus on the “sprint” in the final weeks of the season, NC State will open its home slate against No. 9 Oklahoma State on Jan. 5 at Reynolds Coliseum. That kicks off a talented home schedule, which also includes a date with No. 23 North Carolina on Feb. 2 and an elite dual against No. 3 Cornell on Feb. 16.
Popolizio said it is hard to get multiple top-10 non-conference opponents to travel to Raleigh, and then with it being the Tar Heels’ turn to travel makes the slate even better.
“It’ll be exciting because I think it’s going to be a really good atmosphere,” Popolizio said. “We get the chance to wrestle Oklahoma State at home. We put a lot of miles in early across the northeast and went out west. … We’ve done a lot of travel in a short period of time, so I think it’s good to get that out of the way and our travel becomes a lot easier second semester.”
The Pack have much to look forward to, but NC State is confident in its ability to compete with anyone in the country. Its first seven duals have been proof of that with landslide victories, and the 17 ranked wins the team picked up in Las Vegas last weekend.
“I think the way that we’ve competed thus far has shown that we’re competing, not just for ourselves, but for the team, the coaches, our support system,” Camacho said. “When we step on that mat — compete with love and gratitude like that — it’s very hard to bring us down.”
