NC State wrestling claims fourth straight ACC championship with dominant effort
NC State wrestling tied a school record and clinched its fourth straight conference title with an impressive performance at the ACC Championships in Charlottesville Sunday.
Although the league is better than ever, the Wolfpack dominated its ACC foes in the regular season and that continued at the tournament. NC State finished with 98.5 team points, nearly breaking into triple digits, something that has been done at ACCs only four times since 1974. It was the highest point total at ACCs since NC State notched 103.5 in 2007.
It also marked the ACC’s first four-peat since North Carolina did so from 1997-2000.
• How Pat Popolizio built NC State into a powerhouse, Part I l Part II
• NC State wrestling regular-season awards
The story of the day for NC State was some key upsets, including 157-pound freshman Ed Scott topping 2021 NCAA champion Austin O’Connor of North Carolina for the title after entering as the No. 3 seed. 141-pound classmate Ryan Jack also posted a big victory over a UNC grappler, Kizhan Clarke, who was ranked eighth nationally at the end of the regular season, in the semifinals to punch his ticket to the finals, where he lost by one.
Those were not only two of the biggest upsets of the ACC Championships, but all conference tournaments across the country.
Scott was joined atop the ACC podium by teammates Trent Hidlay (184), Tariq Wilson (149) and Jakob Camacho (125). Camacho’s gold medal also required a breakthrough, with him taking the title by finally overcoming Virginia Tech rival Sam Latona, who had beaten him the previous four times they met, to take the title.
However, it was a true team effort that fueled the Pack’s fourth straight conference championship. All 10 wrestlers placed among the top three at their weight class and clinched automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, held March 17-19 in Detroit.
Freshman Isaac Trumble (197) and junior Tyrie Houghton (285) took second like Jack.
“From start to finish, we competed close to our best,” head coach Pat Popolizio said. “I think we’ve still got some room for improvement.
“When you look at this tournament, if you can place guys at every weight that says there are no holes in the lineup, but obviously your horses still have to come through and win.”
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Hidlay and Wilson were their usual dominant selves throughout the day and helped NC State make up for semifinal losses from four-time All-American Hayden Hidlay (174) and fellow super senior Thomas Bullard (165). Both took third, as did redshirt freshman Kai Orine (141).
The fact that Hayden Hidlay — NC State’s first-ever four-time All-American — placed third, and the Wolfpack still outpaced the field by so much makes it even more impressive.
It’s an ideal start for the postseason, but Popolizio knows his team will ultimately be judged on what happens in less than two weeks on the sport’s biggest stage in Detroit.
“We’ll enjoy tonight, take tomorrow off and then it’s back to work,” he said. “We’ll celebrate after NCAAs if we accomplish our goals.
“Guys come here to produce and win. It’s not just coaches — it’s the guys, it’s the administrators, it’s the fans, it’s the media covering it. We need the total package. If we’re going to win a national title here, we need to continue to grow in every direction.
“This starts it — kids want to come wrestle for NC State because of it. … We’ve got a young group and a lot of them came here because they believe we can win a national title.”
