NC State found itself in a rather unfamiliar position as the Wolfpack walked off the mat at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Nashville Tuesday night. The Pack was on the wrong end of the scoreboard in the final dual of the event.

Starting with wins over Lock Haven (34-6) and #28 Northern Iowa (25-16), the marquee match-up of the day was the top-10 showdown with #9 Ohio State.

The Pack, and all fans watching from home, were shell-shocked with the start of that dual. The Buckeyes stormed out to an 18-0 lead after only the first three bouts, all resulting in Ohio State pins.

Barely 15 minutes into the dual, the Pack found itself in a deep hole.

“You rarely see a dual start like that,” NC State head coach Pat Popolizio said from the Nashville airport Wednesday morning.

NC State battled back, chipping away at the lead, beginning with Jackson Arrington’s 5-3 win against All-American Dylan D’Emilio at 149. Three straight wins for the Pack brought the team score to 18-9 going into 174 pounds. 

The Buckeyes got a key win from Rocco Welsh at 174 with a takedown in the final seconds to jump ahead 21-9 with three bouts left.

Again, the Pack had hope and knew bonus points were needed down the stretch. Another decision at 184 pounds was followed by a tech fall from Trent Hidlay at 197, drawing the score to 21-17 with only heavyweight left.

In a top-20 battle, NC State came away with another decision from Owen Trephan over Nick Feldman, but it was not enough as Ohio State claimed a 21-20 victory.

With that result, NC State dropped only its fourth dual over the last five seasons – compared to 57 wins dating back to the 2019-20 campaign.

“I was extremely impressed with the way we competed and fought to battle back,” Popolizio said. “We have all been in dual meets before, but getting down 18-0 after only three matches might be like football going into halftime down 50-0. 

“We responded, put ourselves in position to almost win, and that speaks volumes to the culture of our program. I did like the response from our guys.”

The response by NC State was winning six of the final seven matches against the Buckeyes.

“Always grateful to compete with the best,” Popolizio posted on X (formerly Twitter after the event). “Did not get all the wins this time, but guys showed a lot of grit and composure fighting back. Love what this team stands for!”

Now, the Wolfpack will take some time off for the holidays.

“We are going to get back, and give the guys a few days,” Popolizio said. “We need some rest right now. We have traveled a ton of miles on the road to start this season. Everybody is at the point of needing some downtime. 

“Once we all get back to Raleigh after this break, we are going to get ready for our first home dual of the season (vs. Oklahoma State) and a trip up to Hofstra. Then we have about a three-week break before we start ACC action against Pitt. That is when we will hit a very hard training cycle to push us through the end of the season.” 

Trephan Gets Back To Winning Ways

Coming off an ACC title at heavyweight last season, higher expectations were set upon Owen Trephan heading into the season. He started out ranked #7 in the preseason rankings, but after not placing at the Cliff Keen Invite, fell to #16 heading into the Collegiate Wrestling Duals.

The coaches were eager for a response, and a pair of ranked wins in Nashville on Tuesday will certainly give Trephan the confidence heading into the second semester.

He started with a 4-1 decision over #12 Tyrell Gordon of Northern Iowa and followed up with an 8-6 decision over #18 Nick Feldman of Ohio State. The pair of ranked wins were his highest of the season thus far.

“Owen had a slow start to the season, and that is something we sat down and talked about after we got back from Las Vegas,” Popolizio said. “We were able to address some of the concerns he had, and he showed in Nashville that he handled that talk very well and bounced back with two very good wins. 

“He can always put himself in good positions to score, he is one of the best athletes in the country in that weight class.” 

Up Next

The Pack will have a bit of a break before its next dual. NC State will return to action on January 5, hosting #8 Oklahoma State, with the dual being televised on ESPNU. The match-up against the Cowboys marks the first home dual of the season as well.

“I think we are close to being a sell-out for that dual,” Popolizio said. “I would imagine this will be a high-demand dual, our fans are most certainly looking forward to it. I know we can’t wait to roll the mat out once again inside Reynolds Coliseum.”