Trent Hidlay to wrestle for national championship
Trent Hidlay and Penn State’s Aaron Brooks have been on a collision course all season, and they will finally meet on the mat for the national championship at 197 pounds Saturday night.
Both wrestlers moved up from 184 pound for this season, and have been head and shoulders above the rest of the 197-pound field this year. The argument can be made that they are both in the top-5 for the Hodge Award, college wrestling’s Heisman Trophy.
Hidlay will don the NC State singlet for one last time, looking for his first national championship, and the Pack’s first since 2018 (Michael Macchiavello).
Brooks is a three-time national champion. Hidlay has placed second, fifth and fourth at his previous three trips to the NCAAs – all three years he took a loss to Brooks.
This will be the fourth straight year they are meeting at the NCAAs, the second time in the finals (2021).
In the semifinals, Hidlay scored the lone takedown of the match and downed 2023 NCAA finalist Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State 4-1.
“I’ve put myself in the position to accomplish my goals,” said Hidlay. “It’s not going to be easy, but I’m up for the challenge.”
In addition to Hidlay already earning All-American honors with his win earlier in the day in the quarterfinals, NC State had five in the Blood Round still alive for All-American honors, and achieved that feat in the first two matches of the night.
NC State has now had at least one All-American each of the last 11 years. Pat Popolizo’s first season (2013) was his lone season without an All-American while at NC State. NC State has brought home at least three All-Americans for the fourth straight year at NCAAs.
For the second straight year, Kai Orine earned All-American honors. He did so with an 11-4 win over No. 10 seed Aaron Nagao of Penn State, thanks in large part to a four-point near fall in the second.
Ryan Jack earned All-American honors for the first time in his career, and he did it with a bonus point win. Jack downed No. 25 seed Cleveland Belton of Oregon State 8-0, with over four minutes of ride time.
Both Orine and Jack will wrestle in the seventh place bout in the first session tomorrow.
Jackson Arrington (149), Ed Scott (157), and Dylan Fishback (184) all fell in the Blood Round, one win shy of All-American honors.
