NC State wrestling notebook: Gumbo, Beignets and Dual Action in New Orleans
Coming off a very successful outing at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas a couple of weeks back, the NC State wrestling team returns to dual action at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans. The Pack will see action in three duals spread across two days, all against top-25 foes.
Action begins on Monday, with NC State facing No. 25 Cal Poly at 7 p.m., and then a quick turnaround with a match against No. 19 Lehigh at 9 p.m. If the Pack were to win both, the championship dual would be Tuesday at 6 p.m., likely against No. 3 Ohio State.
All of the matches will be streamed on Rokfin. If you do not have an account and plan to watch, sign-up through the Wolfpack Wrestling Club’s channel, as proceeds from that channel go directly to NC State wrestling.
Weight to Watch
NC State sophomore Isaac Trumble’s trip to New Orleans will absolutely be loaded. Coming off what he called a disappointing trip to his first NCAA Championships last year, Trumble is off to a 10-0 start and ranked No. 9 in the latest InterMat rankings. On the season, he has outscored his foes 57-14 and has recorded three pins. Five of those 10 wins have been against ranked opponents.
Trumble is coming off the 197-pound title at the Cliff Keen Invite — one of two for NC State as Trent Hidlay claimed top honors at 184 pounds. His last three wins were all against ranked foes, including downing No. 11 Tanner Harvey of Oregon State in the final, 6-4.
The competition in New Orleans only gets better. Trumble is guaranteed to face two top-10 foes, and could meet a returning All-American in his third bout.
Trumble opens with No. 7 Bernie Truax of Cal Poly. Truax is 6-0 this season, and placed fourth last year at 184 pounds at the NCAAs. Later that night, Trumble faces No. 4 Michael Beard of Lehigh. A former All-American at Penn State, Beard recently downed his former teammate, then-No. 1 and defending national champion Max Dean, in a dual that Lehigh kept close (24-12).
If the Pack and Ohio State both win their two duals to meet in the championship, the Buckeyes face Lock Haven and No. 22 Northern Iowa, Trumble meets returning All-American No. 22 Gavin Hoffman.
If you remember last year at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals, Trumble scored a late takedown and downed Rocky Elam of Missouri, the current top ranked wrestler at 197 pounds.
Other Top Battles for Each Weight Class
125: Jarrett Trombley vs. No. 14 Antonio Lorenzo of Cal Poly
133: No. 25 Kai Orine vs. No. 15 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State
141: No. 12 Ryan Jack vs. No. 18 Dylan D’Emilo of Ohio State
149: No. 19 Jackson Arrington vs. No. 11 Dom Demas of Cal Poly & No. 3 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State
157: No. 9 Ed Scott vs. Np. 7 Josh Humphreys of Lehigh & No. 18 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State
165 & 174: We touch on those weight classes next
184: No. 2 Trent Hidlay vs. No. 5 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State
285: No. 13 Owen Trephan vs. No. 9 Tate Orndorff of Ohio State
NC State Wrestling Lineup Update
Competition at one weight class might be seeing more clarity as to who the starter will be, but could there be some competition opening up at another weight class for NC State?
In his first time at 174 pounds this season, redshirt junior Alex Faison earned a podium finish at the Cliff Keen Invite by taking eighth. Four of his opponents were ranked, with his best win coming over No. 32 Hayden Hastings of Wyoming, 3-1.
This year, 174 has been wide open for NC State, with Faison the fourth different wrestler to see action. Look for him to get the nod in New Orleans and try to solidify the starting spot heading in ACC action.
Neither Cal Poly or Lehigh has a ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, but No. 7 Ethan Smith of Ohio State awaits in the presumed final.
One weight class that has seen some competition since the Pack returned from Las Vegas, 165 pounds.
Sophomore Donald Cates has held down the starting job thus far, going 7-5 with a ranked win out in Las Vegas. But word out of the Pack’s practice room this past week is a new face is trying to get down to weight to throw his hat in the competition – freshman Matty Singleton.
Singleton has used only one of his five dates thus far — which means he can still maintain his redshirt season — with all those matches up at 174 pounds. He came to the Pack as a top-15 recruit nationally, and was at 182 pounds as a senior in high school last year.
Cal Poly has the No. 32 ranked wrestler (Legend Lamer) and Lehigh’s 165 starter is not ranked. Ohio State offers the best competitor, returning All-American No. 9 Carson Kharchia. If Singleton can make the cut to 165, look for him to see action in New Orleans in at least one match.
