Live blog: NC State wrestling at the NCAA Championships, day two
Day two of the NCAA Championships begins today with NC State wrestling in third place as a team, just 0.5 points behind No. 2 Arizona State and 1.0 point ahead of No. 5 Iowa. Competition begins at 11 a.m. with the second round of consolations and quarterfinals on the championship side being wrestled simultaneously.
Former NC State wrestler Ryan Tice is tracking all the action from Detroit below. The most recent updates will appear at the top, with the Wolfpack grappler always listed first. Get caught up on all of the day one action here.
How high can NC State wrestling finish at NCAAs?
How Pat Popolizio built NC State into a powerhouse, Part I l Part II
NC State session four recap
A rough day for NC State sees the Wolfpack drop to 12th place in the team standings with 40.5 points, but only 8.5 points behind No. 6 Northwestern. There aren’t many teams behind the Wolfpack that can catch them, but NC State will have its work cut out for them to finish among the top 10.
NC State has clinched three All-Americans. 149 Tariq Wilson will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow, and 174 Hayden Hidlay and 184 Trent Hidlay are in tomorrow morning’s consolation semifinals, which means they can still place as high as third individually.
Seven of NC State’s 10 wrestlers were knocked to the consolation bracket by an eventual NCAA finalist. Four of those seven losses were decided by three points or less, showing just how razor thin the margin of error is at the NCAA Championships.
Our individual match recaps of every bout of the day are below:
SEMIFINALS — 184: No. 3 Trent Hidlay vs. No. 2 Aaron Brooks (PSU): In an NCAA finals rematch from last year, Hidlay falls in overtime, 6-4 in a back-and-forth affair.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS — 149: No. 2 Tariq Wilson vs. No. 3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin): Wilson falls 6-2, but it was closer than the final score indicates (Wilson tried a desperation move at the end that cost him two points). He’ll wrestle for seventh place tomorrow morning.
SEMIFINALS: 174 — No. 4 Hayden Hidlay vs. No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU): Hidlay falls 10-3 and drops to tomorrow morning’s consolation semifinals. To add insult to injury, Virginia Tech not only picked up a semifinals win, but it came via fall for two bonus points.
BLOOD ROUND: 157 — No. 4 Ed Scott vs. No. 10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska): Scott fell behind 4-1 and had a very fast pin called against him. That eliminates him one round shy of All-America honors.
BLOOD ROUND — 149: No. 2 Tariq Wilson vs. No. 19 Yayha Thomas (Northwestern): Wilson tallies two takedowns, a reversal, two penalty points and the riding time for a 9-6 victory. That clinches his fourth All-America honor; he is just the second in school history to do so, joining classmate and five-time All-American Hayden Hidlay.
Wilson will wrestle later tonight in the consolation quarterfinals against No. 3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin), who was knocked to the consolation bracket by Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian.
NC State session four preview
NC State has the Hidlay brothers — Hayden (174) and Trent (184) — in the semifinals tonight. A win there would be seven team points (plus bonus). Two more are still alive — Tariq Wilson (149) and Ed Scott (157) — in the blood round, where a win clinches All-America honors and 3.5 team points (plus bonus).
Wrestling starts at 8 p.m.
NC State session three recap
There’s no way to sugarcoat it — this was a tough session for the Wolfpack.
Here are the team scores at the end of session 3:
- Penn State – 73 (6 still alive)
- Michigan – 62.5 (8)
- Arizona State – 53 (5)
- Iowa – 37.5 (6)
- NC State – 37 (4)
- Cornell – 34.5 (5)
- Virginia Tech – 31 (6)
NC State session three live updates
CONSOLATION ROUND THREE: 141 — No. 18 Ryan Jack vs. No. 7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State): Jack is eliminated after a 3-1 loss in overtime.
CONSOLATION ROUND 3: 133 — No. 15 Kai Orine vs. No. 26 Matt Ramos (Purdue): Orine gives up two takedowns and is eliminated following a 4-1 loss.
CONSOLATION ROUND 3: 125 — No. 14 Jakob Camacho vs. No. 6 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin): Camacho loses 5-1 and is eliminated.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: No. 21 Tyrie Houghton vs. No. 11 Gary Traub (Oregon State): Houghton and Traub were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, and Traub was the one able to secure the sudden-victory takedown and win 3-1. Houghton is eliminated.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: 197 — No. 15 Isaac Trumble vs. No. 17 Jay Aiello (UVA): Trumble posted the first takedown, but gave up a reversal and two back points to fall behind. He went ahead in the second after a reversal of his own, but then gave up another reversal in the third and could not escape to tie things up. Trumble finished with 59 seconds of riding time, 1 second short of sending it to overtime. Instead, Trumble is eliminated after a 6-5 loss.
QUARTERFINALS: 184 — No. 3 Trent Hidlay vs. No. 6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State): Two takedowns, an escape and the riding time point make Hidlay a repeat All-American and NCAA semifinalist once again. He’ll face defending champ Aaron Brooks (who he faced in the finals last year) in tonight’s semifinals.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: 165 — No. 21 Thomas Bullard vs. Izaak Olejnik (NIU): Bullard is the first Wolfpacker eliminated after he falls 4-2.
QUARTERFINALS: 174 — No. 4 Hayden Hidlay vs. No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa): Hidlay is officially a five-time All-American. He wrestled great and beat Kemerer 5-3, thanks to a pair of takedowns. He’ll wrestle No. 1 and defending national champion Carter Starocci (Penn State) in tonight’s semifinals.
QUARTERFINALS: 157 — No. 4 Ed Scott vs. No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton): Scott gave up the first takedown and trailed the whole way en route to a 5-3 loss. He’ll be back in action in tonight’s blood round, opponent to be determined.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: 141 — No. 18 Ryan Jack vs. No. 18 Quinn Kinner (Rider): Jack used a takedown and reversal, and iced it with a takedown with 10 seconds left to advance via a 6-4 win. Tough draw later in the session, he’ll take on No. 7 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) for a spot in the blood round.
QUARTERFINALS: 149 — No. 2 Tariq Wilson vs. No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska): Wilson struck first with a takedown, but got cradled to his back in the second period, got out of trouble, but then got cradled again and pinned. He will fall to tonight’s blood round (winner earns All-America honors, loser is eliminated). That is a big loss for NC State’s trophy hopes.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: 133 — No. 15 Kai Orine vs. No. 17 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley): A second-period takedown for Orine is the difference in a 3-2 match. Drury threw a headlock at the very end, but after an official review it was deemed no takedown. Orine stays alive to wrestle later this session, where he will face No. 26 Matt Ramos (Purdue), who just took out No. 8 RayVon Foley.
CONSOLATION ROUND TWO: 125 — No. 14 Jakob Camacho vs. No. 13 Drake Ayala (Iowa): Three Camacho takedowns, including one at the final buzzer, pave the way to a 8-5 victory. He’ll face No. 6 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) later in the session. Barnett was upset by the 11 seed in round two of the championship bracket.
How team scoring works at the NCAA Championships
Advancement points: Every win in the bracket (until placement matches) earns the winner an advancement point — 1.0 in the championship bracket and 0.5 team points in consolations.
Placement points: The top eight placers earn placement points for their team. It’s important to note as you are tracking the team race that these are awarded as soon as they are earned. For example, winners of the semifinals are both awarded second-place points (12) as soon as they clinch a spot in the championship bout. Therefore the winner is awarded only an additional four points.
Placements points are as follows:
1st — 16
2nd — 12
3rd — 10
4th — 9
5th — 7
6th — 6
7th — 4
8th — 3
Bonus points: Just like a college wrestling dual, domination is rewarded. Ending a match early via a pin earns the winner two additional team points, while a technical fall (winning by 15 points) earns 1.5 team points and a major decision (winning by 8-14 points) earns 1.0 bonus point.
