NC State wrestling advances five into NCAA Championships quarterfinals
After the first day of action at the 2024 NCAA Championships, NC State Wrestling advanced five into the quarterfinals, and 9 of the 10 Wolfpack participants are still alive overall.
After the first two rounds, NC State sits tied with Michigan in fourth place with 22 points. The top three teams get a trophy, something NC State is trying to accomplish for only the second time in school history (2018). Penn State leads the field with 34.5 points, followed by Iowa State and Iowa both with 24.5 points.
The third seed at 133, Kai Orine was the first to punch his ticket into the quarterfinals. After opening with a major decision in the first round, Orine used a second period ride out for a 2-0 win over No. 14 seed Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska.
Orine will face the sixth seed, 2023 NCAA champion and reigning freestyle world champion at 61 kg, Vito Arujau of Cornell in the quarterfinals.
At 141 pounds, fourth seed Ryan Jack used an impressive first period to score his third win of the year over conference rival No. 20 seed Tom Crook of Virginia Tech. Jack scored four first-period takedowns during his 13-4 major decision.
Jack will face the fifth seed Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State.
After splitting their first two matchups of the year, third seed Jackson Arrington won the rubber match over No. 14 seed Dylan D’Emilio of Ohio State. Arrington struck with takedowns in the first and second periods for the 8-1 decision.
Arrington will face the 2022 All-American, sixth seed Austin Gomez of Michigan.
Ed Scott made it four straight weights for NC State into the quarterfinals. The fourth seed opened with a tech fall earlier in the day, and a takedown and four-point near fall in the final seconds helped Scott to a 19-8 major decision over 2023 All-American Michael Blockhus of Minnesota.
Scott gets long-time ACC rival Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech, the No. 12 seed, in the quarterfinals. The two have already met seven times in two different weight classes. Andonian won the first four, but Scott has won the last three, including major decisions of 18-7 and 14-5 this year.
After giving up the first takedown, second seed Trent Hidlay got offensive for a 26-10 tech fall win over No. 18 seed Nikolas Stemmet of Stanford, Hidlay’s second tech of the day. Hidlay tallied eight takedowns, and the 26 points were the most in a match in his NC State career.
Hidlay gets No. 10 seed Silas Allred of Nebraska.
The quarterfinals will take place tomorrow starting at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU. The semifinals and blood round will be at 8 p.m. tomorrow night.
In addition to the five in the quarterfinals, NC State still has nine of its 10 wrestlers alive in the tournament overall. Jacob Camacho (125), Alex Faison (174), Dylan Fishback (184), and Owen Trephan (285) will all be in action in the consolation round tomorrow.
Quarterfinals – Friday at 12 PM on ESPNU
133 – No. 3 Orine vs. No. 6 Arujau (Cornell)
141 – No. 4 Jack vs. No. 5 Echemendia (Iowa State)
149 – No. 3 Arrington vs. No. 6 Gomez (Michigan)
157 – No. 4 Scott vs. No. 12 Andonian (Virginia Tech)
197 – No. 2 Hidlay vs. No. 10 Allred (Nebraska)
Consolations
125 – No. 7 Camacho vs. No. 24 Terukina (Iowa State)
174 – No. 29 Faison vs. No. 19 Cramer (Central Michigan)
184 – No. 10 Fishback vs. No. 24 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin)
285 – No. 8 Trephan vs. No. 7 Ghadiali (Campbell)
