NC State wrestling notebook: Virginia Tech preview

What a way to kick off the ACC Dual season, as No. 5 NC State wrestling travels up to No. 8 Virginia Tech on Friday night. This will be the fourth straight season the two squads meet as top-10 foes.

The Pack (10-0) and the Hokies (6-2) have combined to win each of the last eight ACC regular season titles, both programs with four and NC State with four of the last five (2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018).

NC State has won four of the last five in the series, but last time these teams met in Blacksburg was a dramatic 17-16 criteria win for the Hokies coming in the last seconds of the final bout.

The dual will be at 7 p.m. and televised on the ACC Network with Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison on the call. The winner will be in the driver’s seat to win yet another ACC Dual Championship. The loser would need the victor to drop two ACC duals this season, and that doesn’t look likely. 

Pitt will be a very competitive dual for both squads as this is the best Panthers team in years with four top-10 wrestlers, but North Carolina and Virginia do not look to have the firepower to down NC State or the Hokies this year.

Seems weird that after the first weekend of ACC action, the regular season title might already be decided, but that is what happens when the ACC goes into a rotation of its conference dual, a change implemented a few years ago.

And that just makes the NC State-Virginia Tech dual a must-watch this season, especially with both programs each having 10 wrestlers ranked in the top-33 nationally this week according to InterMat. 

Here is a look at all 10 probable match-ups:

125: R-Jr. No. 29 Jarrett Trombley (7-6) vs. R-Fr. No. 20 Eddie Ventresca (11-5)

There will not be a lot of scoring in this match, as one takedown could be the difference. Both are very good defensively, and take a limited amount of shots. This could very well go into OT tied 1-1. Both of these wrestlers are very good on top so riding time could play a huge factor, especially if it goes into tiebreakers. Trombley gave way to NC State wrestling freshman Troy Hohman last week against Army, but did weigh-in and should be available Friday.

Ventresca has been in a battle with fellow redshirt freshman Cooper Flynn for the starting job, but has received all of the recent dual starts.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Trombley by dec., 5-4

133: R-So. No. 25 Kai Orine (8-4) vs. R-Jr. No. 5 Sam Latona (18-4)

A first-time match-up between the pair, Latona holds a size advantage, with Orine being the better athlete to counterattack. Orine already holds a top-10 win for NC State this season. He used a cement mixer in the final seconds to down No. 6 Kyle Biscoglia of Northern Iowa, 8-5.

Up a weight class from his first two seasons, Latona has won seven in a row and holds one of the biggest wins in the NCAA this season when he avenged an earlier 6-1 loss and defeated No. 3 Vito Arujau in a dual a couple of weeks ago (3-2).

Orine will have to stay off bottom, and can he turn one of Latona’s shots into his own offense?

WrestleStat.com prediction: Latona by dec., 7-4

141: So. No. 6 Ryan Jack (15-1) vs. Fr. No. 12 Tom Crook (13-4)

A rematch from a battle these two had out in Las Vegas, which saw NC State’s Jack claim an 8-2 decision.

Jack has had an incredible start for NC State wrestling. His lone loss was to current No. 5 Brock Hardy of Nebraska (5-4), who Jack also beat earlier in the season (9-7). Jack has three top-15 wins this season, one being the previous match-up with Crook.

Crook found his way into the lineup as a true freshman, getting the better of fifth-year senior Collin Gerardi in the preseason. He started the season 8-0 and all of his losses this season are to wrestlers currently ranked in the top-13 nationally, three in the top-8.

If Jack can get a take down or two, look for him to be able to ride and control the match on top. He might be the most improved NC State wrestler in that position.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Jack by dec., 8-3

149: Fr. No. 15 Jackson Arrington (15-5) vs. Fr. No. 9 Caleb Henson (14-3)

A battle of stud true freshmen, as Henson was the No. 16 recruit nationally and NC State’s Arrington No. 28 in the Class of 2022 according to MatScouts.com.

All of Arrington’s losses are to wrestlers currently ranked in the top-12, and Henson will be an opportunity for his highest win of the season (currently No. 11 Dom Demas of Cal Poly).

Henson’s hit list is impressive this season, already racking up three ACC Wrestler of the Week awards and wins over returning All-Americans Sammy Sasso of Ohio State (5-3), Jaden Abas of Stanford (11-1), and this past Friday night Jonathan Milner of App State (6-4), who has a pair of 6-0 wins over Arrington this season.

Both wrestlers are very aggressive and fire off attack after attack. Expect a lot of points in this one.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Henson by dec., 7-4

157: So. No. 7 Ed Scott (12-4) vs. Sr. No. 6 Bryce Andonian (3-0) -OR- So. Clayton Ulrey (12-8)

The biggest question mark of the dual, will 2022 All-American Andonian take the mat for Virginia Tech? Andonian is technically still in redshirt this season, as his only action this season was last weekend at an open tournament (he defaulted out of the finals after going 3-0). 

Andonian moved up a weight class this season after placing third at last year’s NCAAs. He did defeat Scott a pair of times back in 2021 when both were at 149 pounds, 9-5 in the dual and 11-6 at the ACC Championship.

Scott is a lot different of a wrestler for NC State than his freshmen season and has constantly been in the top-10 each of the last two years thanks to his many bonus wins, but Andonian is a highlight machine often hitting big moves out of nowhere. If it is not Andonian, Ulrey gets the nod a year removed from being the Hokies starter at 165 pounds last year.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Scott dec. Andonian; 9-8

WrestleStat.com prediction: Scott major dec. Ulrey, 15-2

165: R-Fr. Derek Fields (4-5) -OR- Fr. No. 32 Matty Singleton (7-4) vs. R-So. No. 20 Connor Brady (10-5) OR- R-Fr. Ty Finn (10-8)

Both teams have questions at this weight entering the dual, it could be any of the four above taking the mat.

There is a competition in the NC State wrestling practice room between Fields and Singleton, and complicating the issue is Singleton is still eligible for redshirt having only used two of his dates. Wolfpack coach Pat Popolizio has said he will put his 10 best out on the mat no matter what, so who looked better in practice this week?

Brady sat out the App State dual for Virginia Tech as a precaution and should be back for this ACC contest (thanks to InterMat’s Robbie Wendell for the scoop). Assuming the Hokies go with their starter Brady, he is very comfortable keeping it a single-takedown bout as he is very hard to score a takedown on. Singleton would have an edge for the Pack with his ability to go upper body and also to ride.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Brady dec. Fields, 5-4

WrestleStat.com prediction: Brady dec. Singleton, 5-4

WrestleStat.com prediction: Fields dec. Finn, 9-3

WrestleStat.com prediction: Singleton major dec. Finn, 10-2

174: R-Jr. No. 32 Alex Faison (11-5) vs. R-Sr. No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (11-1)

One weight class with the two wrestlers having very different resumes.

Faison is a North Carolina native who has been scrapping in the NC State room for three seasons before breaking into the Pack’s lineup this year. He started at 165, but moved up to 174 for Las Vegas and has been the Pack’s starter since.

Lewis was the first national champion for the Hokies, an NCAA finalist last year, and a Junior World Champion (2018 at 74 kg). His lone loss this season was a 3-1 OT contest to current No. 2 Mikey Labriola of Nebraska.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Lewis by dec., 10-4

184: R-Jr. No. 3 Trent Hidlay (14-1) vs. R-Sr. No. 7 Hunter Bolen (15-2)

This match-up is often the marquee bout when these two teams do battle. The two will face off for the sixth over the last three seasons, with Bolen leading the series 3-2, but Hidlay winning the last two.

No previous match has featured more than one takedown, as the combined score of the first five matches is only 9-7, in favor of Bolen. Hidlay is 10-0 in duals this year for NC State, with nine bonus point wins. Both of Bolen’s losses this season are to current No. 5 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State, but he also has a win over Romero this season. Hidlay himself downed Romero in Las Vegas, 4-1.

Could the first wrestler to ever score a pair of takedowns in their head-to-head match-up go on to win the bout?

WrestleStat.com prediction: Bolen by dec., 5-4

197: So. No. 6 Isaac Trumble (14-1) vs. Jr. No. 26 Andy Smith (10-5)

A battle of two of the longer 197 pounders in the country. Trumble has six ranked wins for NC State thus far, and each of his last three bouts have all been for bonus points. Trumble is extremely hard to score on, and counters many shots into his own takedown.

Smith has won his last three duals, with a pair of major decisions. The pair do not have any previous match-ups in college, but Trumble did earn a tech fall win over Smith this past spring in freestyle.

Not saying it will happen, but it would be something unexpected from the Hokies to pull out of their hat if they feel it would be a better match-up. With freshmen that are in redshirt allowed to compete up to five times, could there be somebody unexpectedly making an appearance? The Hokies have the No. 8 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 currently in redshirt at 197 pounds, Thomas Stewart, Jr. He has not competed in any duals, but recently earned a podium finish at the Southern Scuffle.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Trumble by dec., 8-6

285: R-So. No. 12 Owen Trephan (15-3) vs. R-Fr. No. 23 Hunter Catka (13-3)

A tale of two different styles of heavyweights. They split a pair of matches last year when Catka was in redshirt, both matches were 5-3.

NC State’s Trephan is the lighter, more active of the two. Catka is a true heavyweight that is tough to score on and good on top. Each of Trephan’s three losses this year have been to top-5 foes, a pair by a takedown, and he holds two ranked wins in his last three bouts. Despite Catka being a R-Fr., he made the ACC Championship final back in 2021, falling to NC State’s Deonte Wilson.

Catka has won six straight, with five being bonus point wins. Trephan will have to get off bottom if he gets taken down or chooses to start a period in that position, and once he gets in on Catka’s legs he will have to finish.

WrestleStat.com prediction: Trephan by dec., 7-4

If Andonian and/or Brady both weigh-in but are still questionable for this dual, you would probably see the Hokies elect not to start the dual at 125 pounds. Then it would be a coin toss to determine the starting weight. If VT wins you could see them going up to 174 pounds to save those two weights to see where the team score sits. If the Pack were to win, look for a 133 pound start, Latona has a tough weight cut, or 157 pounds to force the Hokies’ hand early with Andonian and his possible redshirt.

Looking at the match-ups on paper, the dual could very easily be a 5-5 split, where one bonus point win could be the difference. 

The two squads have a history of going to criteria to determine the winner as well: in 2019 it was NC State wrestling winning 17-16 but the Hokies returned the favor in 2021 by the same score. Both of those years were an even 5-5 split with each team getting one bonus point win. The final score was tallied on my individual points scored.

Could the 2023 version of this classic battle between the two ACC heavyweights come down to the final match once again? Tune in Friday night.