NC State wrestling clinches ACC regular-season title with 25-12 win over UNC

A full recap of tonight’s 25-12 win for the No. 7 NC State wrestling over No. 22 North Carolina is below:

In case you missed it, we also ran a two-part series today on the incredible rebuilding job head coach Pat Popolizio has led in Raleigh.

The NC State wrestlers will always be listed last below, with the last match appearing at the top (start at the bottom for chronological order):

285: Sr. Brandon Whitman (11-11) vs. R-Fr. Owen Trephan (16-4)

​​​​Two takedowns, including one at the buzzer, plus an escape and riding time give Trephan, who had been NC State’s backup most of the year but won a recent wrestle-off, a 6-2 victory.

NC State wins 25-12.

197: #27 R-So. Max Shaw (9-5) vs. #15 Fr. Isaac Trumble (14-3)

Trumble scored a takedown in the first period off a sweet low single that is a great sign moving forward if he can develop that some more with all of the upper-body stuff he does. An escape and takedown in the third period, combined with almost three-and-a-half minutes of riding time, gives Trumble a 6-0 victory.

The Pack has clinched the victory as a team with that, going up 22-12, and winning another ACC regular-season title, the fourth in Popolizio’s 10 years at the helm.

184: #9 R-Fr. Gavin Kane (15-2) vs. #3 R-So. Trent Hidlay (13-0)

Four takedowns and three-and-a-half minutes of riding time powers Hidlay to a dominant 13-3 decision over a top-10 foe. He looks to be peaking at the right time with another match against Virginia Tech’s Hunter Bolen ahead Sunday.

Pack leads the team score, 19-12.

174: #9 Gr. Clay Lautt (13-4) vs. #4 Gr. Hayden Hidlay (11-0)

The air was just sucked out of Reynolds. Hidlay was up 3-0 in the second period, when he got thrown to his back and pinned. That closes the team score gap to 15-12, and makes this next match hugely important.

That was Hidlay’s first loss to an ACC foe ever and his first defeat in a dual since Dec. 2018. It’s also the first time Hidlay has ever lost by bonus points in college.

165: Fr. Isaias Estrada (11-4) vs. #21 Gr. Thomas Bullard (12-5)

Bullard struck first with a takedown 30 seconds in to the bout, and Estrada tied it up with a reversal. Bullard escapes and secured a takedown to make it 5-2 heading into the second period and dominated from there with his scrambles and top game. 2:30 of riding time made it a 10-2 major decision. Pack leads 15-6.

157: Mason Phillips (8-2)  vs. #11 Fr. Ed Scott (17-1)

Scott puts on a second-period takedown clinic against Phillips. It was only 2-0 entering the second period, but Scott broke it open with six (!!!) takedowns and four-point turn in the frame. He finished the technical fall early in the third period to fire up the home crowd and put the Wolfpack up 11-6 in the team score. Scott notched eight takedowns in the bout.

149: #17 R-Sr. Zach Sherman (5-7) vs. #3 Gr. Tariq Wilson (11-0)

You could feel the momentum in Reynolds start to turn after Sherman shot early and got in deep, and Wilson made it look easy countering for the opening takedown. Another takedown (off a sweet double), an escape and the riding time point gave Wilson the final 6-2 edge. That ties the team score back up at 6-6.

141: #7 Gr. Kizhan Clarke (16-1) vs. #24 Ryan Jack (13-5)

Clarke scores a double leg early to go up 2-0. Both tally escapes, but Heilmann rode long enough to pick up the riding time point by 2 seconds. Jack falls 4-2, and the Tar Heels go up 6-3 in the team score.

133: #21 R-Jr. Joe Heilmann (16-5) vs. #14 R-Fr. Kai Orine (12-2)

Orine strikes with a takedown midway through the first period, but Heilmann scores an escape before the period ends. Heilmann escaped after going down in the second for the only points of the period, and then rode Orine out the entire third frame to send the match to sudden victory at 2-2.

Orine was the one that shot in overtime, but Heilmann countered the offense and scored a go behind to take the bout and tie it up at 3-3 on the team score.

125: No. 14 Jakob Camacho vs. Spencer Moore

After a scoreless first two minutes, Camacho finally got to his offense and secured his first takedown with about seven seconds left. Camacho escaped in the second, then pulled away in the third with two takedowns for a 7-2 decision. 3-0 Wolfpack.

PREMATCH THOUGHTS: All 10 NC State starters are ranked among the top 26 nationally at their weight class by InterMat, and we were expected to have seven ranked-on-ranked matchups. However, UNC defending national champion Austin O’Connor did not weigh in, taking away one of the most-anticipated bouts between him and the Pack’s No. 11 Ed Scott, who is 17-1 on the year. It is expected Scott will instead wrestle backup Mason Phillips.

The Tobacco Road rivals should still give the fans a pair of top-10 matchups — at 174 pounds between No. 4 Hayden Hidlay and No. 9 Clay Lautt, and at 184 pounds, where No. 3 Trent Hidlay squares off with No. 9 Gavin Kane.

There are other intriguing matchups as well. At 149, undefeated and No. 3 Tariq Wilson faces No. 17 Zach Sherman for the eighth time in college at the third different weight class. Wilson holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series.

At 197 pounds last year in the dual, Max Shaw of Carolina pinned the Pack’s then-upstart freshman Isaac Trumble. Trumble is eyeing the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament and is listed No. 15 nationally, while Shaw is 9-5 on the year and ranked 27th in the land.

A sneaky good matchup could happen at 141 pounds, where No. 14 Kai Orine of NC State meets No. 21 Joe Heilmann. Heilmann beat Pitts’ top-10 Micky Phillippi earlier this month, while Orine lost to Phillippi. Orine and Heilmann did wrestle two seasons ago, when Orine won 15-6.

Finally, at 141 pounds, Pack freshman Ryan Jack, ranked 24th in the land, draws Kizhan Clarke, who is 16-1 on the year and ranked seventh nationally.