Trent vs. The World: Former NC State wrestling star Trent Hidlay ready for World Championships

This weekend former NC State great Trent Hidlay will be on the World stage representing both U.S.A. Wrestling and the Wolfpack RTC.

Hidlay will travel to Croatia for the 2025 World Championships, as he is the U.S. representative at 92 kg.

Action at 92 kg will kick off on Sunday, September 14 at 4:30 a.m. (Eastern) with the qualification rounds, followed by the semifinals later that morning at 10:30 a.m. (ET). The medal matches will be held on Monday, September 15 at 12 p.m. (ET).

All matches will be streamed on FloWrestling.

“I think it has taken me some time to figure out what my style looks like, how do I win big matches, how do I win when I’m not scoring that much, and just really honing in on the mental side of this sport,” Hidlay recently said in an interview with FloWrestling.

“I know it is a constant, evolving process and I still have a lot I can learn and get better at. But this is the most complete I’ve felt as a wrestler, as a competitor. I’ve been on a long journey and through a long process.”

This is Hidlay’s first attempt at a Senior World Championship, but he has been on the World stage before at two different age levels.

After he redshirted his first year at NC State, Hidlay earned the U.S. spot at 86 kg at the 2019 Junior World Championships (also referred to as the U20’s). In Estonia, he went 4-1 and came home with a bronze medal.

He did even better in his next attempt at Worlds, as he brought home Silver at 86 kg from the 2022 U23 World Championships in Spain.

Following his illustrious Wolfpack career, he has remained in Raleigh and trained at the Wolfpack RTC. Hidlay has been in the room with RTC coach Jamill Kelly, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist at 66 kg, current associate head coach at NC State Zach Esposito, a former coach with U.S.A. wrestling, and his former collegiate coach Pat Popoilizio.

But with making the national team, Hidlay is also fortunate to also receive coaching from the U.S.A. staff throughout the year. He has traveled to Colorado for multiple camps to train. U.S.A. Wrestling also held an acclimation came in Germany this week prior to competing at Worlds.

“All of my coaches, both here at NC State and with the U.S.A. staff, have continued to challenge me to open up and win in different ways,” said Hidlay. “I feel like I have been wrestling with a lot of poise, and that is something the coaches have mentioned to me as well.

“I continue to build confidence with the coaching staff. Obviously, the NC State coaches I have a great relationship with and they know how to coach me. And now being able to get in the room with the U.S.A. coaches and having them ask me ‘How can we help?’”

Just as he moved from 184 pounds up to 197 pounds for his final season in an NC State singlet, Hidlay has made the recent move from 86 kg to 92 kg in freestyle. He did confirm he will be going back down to 86 kg (and not up to 97 kg) for the 2028 Olympic Trials, as 92 kg is not an Olympic weight. 

“I think I’ve used a little bit of the experience I had when I wrestled 197 (pounds) in college,” said Hidlay. “I just felt really good. My training is great and not having to focus on losing the weight to make 86 (kg), just gives me a lot more freedom in my training to train the way I want to.”

According to FloWrestling, since February at 92 kg, Hidlay has gone a perfect 14-0 in all competitions, outscoring his foes by a combined 103-16.

“At this point in my career, (it) just felt like a good opportunity for me to stay healthy, train hard, and I felt like there was an opening for the World Team (at) that weight,” Hidlay said of moving from 86 kg to 92 kg. “I was ready to win and (to) give myself an opportunity to wrestle at the World Championships.”

Hidlay is only the second former NC State wrestler to represent the U.S. at the Senior World Championships. Former Wolfpack national champion at heavyweight, Nick Gwiazdowski, went a total of four times during his freestyle career. He brought home a pair of medals, placing third in both 2017 and 2018.

Hidlay has been fortunate to have the experience of Gwiazdowski back in the practice room the last year. After a stint as a volunteer assistant coach at Cornell, Gwiazdowski moved back to Raleigh and has been involved in coaching at the Wolfpack RTC.

He has sparred with Hidlay many times over the last year in helping to prepare for the World Championships and even traveled with Hidlay to Hungary back in July to help Hidlay capture gold at the Budapest Ranking Series Tournament.

In that tune-up event for Hidlay, he beat the 2021 World bronze medalist from Azerbaijan in his first bout, in the semifinals he scored the opening takedown 45 seconds in against the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist at 86 kg from Greece (formerly of Russia) before he was forced to injury default, and then in the final he dominated a 7-2 win over a two-time World medalist from Georgia.

“Trent has been evolving his game to become world class in all positions,” said Gwiazdowski. “He is a true student of the game. He doesn’t like to lose and has been preparing for this his entire life.

“His willingness to learn has added dimensions to his game. He’s absolutely capable of winning a World Championship.”

And Gwiazdowski has not been the only former Wolfpack national champion helping to get Hidlay ready for Worlds. Darrion Caldwell (2009 national champion) was back in Raleigh recently before his match at the first-ever Real American Freestyle (RAF) event and trained with Hidlay in the Pack’s practice room.

“Trent is on another level,” Caldwell said. “He’s locked in, and you can feel that competitive edge. He’s built himself into one of the best in the world, and that consistency is why he is ready to compete at the highest level our sport has to offer.”

As any Wolfpack fan who attended a home dual over recent years can tell you, Hidlay will have a large, and very vocal, support unit sitting in the stands to cheer him on at the World Championships. His father Mark, his mother Nicki, and both older brothers Heath and Hayden (along with his wife Emily) will all be making the trip to watch him in Croatia.

“Trent competing at the World Championships is the next step up in his storied athletic career,” said Hayden Hidlay, another former multi-time Wolfpack All-American. “Every step of the way he has raised his level of competitiveness and intensity, and I expect this tournament to be no different.

“Making the U.S. World Team in wrestling is one of the toughest feats in this sport and in doing so prepares you to face the world’s best. His training and current form has never been better, and I’m excited to see him take his talents to the test in Zagreb.”

As far as expectations? At 92 kg, there is a top tier which includes three of the participants, including Hidlay.

Based on head-to-head matchups at 92 kg, FloWrestling currently has Hidlay ranked #3 in the world. United World Wrestling seeds off Rankings Points accumulated over the past year at various tournaments, thus Hidlay will enter as the eighth seed, and the two ranked above him by Flo are the fifth and sixth seeds.

“My intensity, my passion, I think always comes out in competition,” said Hidlay. “I feel like I compete better too when I’m not afraid to show that. I just have so much excitement when I compete. Being able to be that ultimate competitor when I step onto the mat is something that I’ve been able to hone in on pretty well.

“I love to compete; I love to feel the energy of it. I can continue to rep NC State, and it is a dream come true. I feel like everyday I get to wake up and live out my dream, I feel like I have so much support.”