NC State wrestling will host Virginia Tech in rescheduled, non-conference dual

The wrestling world missed out on a marquee, top-10 matchup when No. 8 Virginia Tech forfeited its Jan. 21 dual at No. 5 NC State.

The two programs not only own the only two team NCAA trophies in conference history for top-four finishes at the national championships, but they have also combined to win each of the last seven ACC dual championships.

It wasn’t hyperbole to say that this year’s edition — thanks to some outstanding individual matchups — was one of the most highly anticipated matches in league history, and had the potential to match, or even exceed, the drama-filled dual that happened last year between the two squads and had the nation’s attention in the sport.

This year’s matchup didn’t happen, and wrestling fans were robbed of intriguing matches, featuring both old rivalries (like the Pack’s Trent Hidlay versus the Hokies’ Hunter Bolen for the fifth time at 184 pounds) and new (like former NCAA champ Mekhi Lewis, the Hokies star who just moved up from 165 pounds, against former NCAA finalist Hayden Hidlay, who made the jump up two weights from 157).

Luckily, the teams agreed to meet up in a non-conference dual Feb. 20. The match will be held at 6 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie emailed NC State’s Pat Popolizio with the idea to schedule it as a non-conference dual, and the Wolfpack leader was immediately in and called him to hammer out the details.

“We both agreed that this is something both programs need, our fan bases both want this and it’s great for the whole conference, in general,” Popolizio noted this morning on ACC Network’s Packer and Durham. “A lot of positives came out of a negative situation, and we’re both on the same page this dual meet has to happen every year.”

“It was really a no-brainer,” Robie said. “I think everybody was really disappointed last week when we couldn’t make it down there, due to circumstances outside of our control with our COVID situation.

“I think after giving it a little bit of time and letting the emotion of the whole thing take off, it would’ve been a shame not to have it. I think for our athletes, for our fans, for college wrestling, it’s important — this is one of the best rivalries in the sport of wrestling, there’s no question about it.

“It was a highly anticipated match, all kinds of great matchups up and down the lineups. If you look at the history of the dual meets between the two teams, they’ve been fantastic. We’re grateful for NC State to help us make this happen, and we’re excited for the challenge for sure.”

No matter how the coaches were feeling after last Friday’s cancellation, they worked together to make a match happen that will have the entire wrestling world’s attention.

“There’s no real negatives to making this happen; it’s a competition thing, it’s about getting our guys prepared for the ACC Championships and NCAA Championships,” Robie explained. “The only way you can really do that is by facing great competition.

“I think it’s going to be good for both teams, for all the athletes involved. When you make a decision to come to Virginia Tech or NC State, this is part of the experience, and to deny our athletes this part of the experience would’ve been a shame.”

“I agree,” Popolizio said. “When you look at the success of the conference, it’s due to the competition within, and with Virginia Tech being one of the top teams in the country it only makes us better to see high-level competition.

“When you go up and down both lineups, it’s going to motivate both guys to continue to improve and get better, and ultinately prepare us for the national championships. When you look at ACC schools competing at NCAAs, we’re closing the gap for one of the teams in the conference to bring home a team title. This dual meet obviously brings us that much closer, so we’re all excited for this.”

The Wolfpack will host rival North Carolina the Friday night preceding the Sunday night matchup against the Hokies, who will travel to their in-state rival, Virginia, on the same day before heading down to Raleigh.

Virginia Tech at NC State will feature eight ranked matchups

Eight of the 10 bouts in the dual between NC State and Virginia Tech will feature a pair of wrestling who appear in the national rankings from InterMat. The Pack wrestler is listed first below, and a star indicates they are the two highest-ranked grapplers in the league:

125 – #15 Jakob Camacho vs. #21 Sam Latona*

133 – #17 Kai Orine vs. #5 Korbin Myers

149 – #3 Tariq Wilson vs. #5 Bryce Andonian*

157 – #10 Ed Scott vs. #23 Connor Brady

174 – #4 Hayden Hidlay vs. #3 Mekhi Lewis*

184 – #3 Trent Hidlay vs. #12 Hunter Bolen*

197 – #20 Isaac Trumble vs. #33 Dakota Howard

285 – #14 Nathan Traxler vs. #25 Owen Trephan (or Tyrie Houghton)*

Big news out of the #PackerAndDurham basement 👀

No. 10 @HokiesWrestling at No. 5 @PackWrestle on Feb. 20 at 6 PM ET

Mark your calendars 🍿 pic.twitter.com/yfUZh68l5N

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 28, 2022