NC State is set to host Cornell on Friday, February 16th at 7:00 pm (ET) in what will be one of the best duals of the weekend. You can watch this dual live on ESPN+ but before it goes, check out the probable lineups, a full preview, and predictions for this incredible dual in the below article.

Cornell vs NC State Probable Lineups:

125: #16 Brett Ungar, Cornell vs #20 Jakob Camacho/Jarrett Trombley, NC State

133: #2 Vito Arujau, Cornell vs #5 Kai Orine, NC State

141: #10 Vince Cornella, Cornell vs #4 Ryan Jack, NC State

149: #28 Ethan Fernandez, Cornell vs #4 Jackson Arrington, NC State

157: #7 Meyer Shapiro, Cornell vs #16 Ed Scott, NC State

165: #4 Julian Ramirez, Cornell vs #16 Derek Fields, NC State

174: Benny Baker, Cornell vs #33 Alex Faison, NC State

184: #10 Chris Foca, Cornell vs #13 Dylan Fishback, NC State

197: #7 Jacob Cardenas, Cornell vs #2 Trent Hidlay, NC State

285: #17 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell vs #12 Owen Trephan, NC State

125: #16 Brett Ungar, Cornell vs #20 Jakob Camacho/Jarrett Trombley, NC State

In a weight filled with Chaos, Cornell’s Brett Ungar has been fairly consistent this year at 125 pounds. He has quality wins over #17 Brendan McCrone, #10 Michael DeAugustino, and #11 Brandon Kaylor while only losing to ranked wrestlers. 

On the other side of things, NC State has a roster battle between Trombley and Camacho and we’re not yet sure who we’ll see on Friday night. At one point, Camacho was ranked #1 in the country at 125 pounds but 4 straight losses dropped him big and allowed for Trombley to work his way back into contention to earn the starting spot. 

Regardless of who takes the mat on Friday, this is a toss-up match and could go either way for Cornell or NC State. I’m giving Ungar a slight edge just because he’s been more consistent this year but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Camacho or Trombley come away with the win.

Ungar’s win over Trombley at the 2022 CKLV:

Prediction: Ungar by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 3, NC State 0

133: #2 Vito Arujau, Cornell vs #5 Kai Orine, NC State

Returning national champion Vito Arujau will be the favorite in the matchup against Orine but it should be highly competitive and entertaining. Despite the loss to Crookham earlier this year, Vito Arujau still has some of the best offense in the country and looks to be rounding back into form after taking some time off early in the year. Orine is the underdog, but he's also a gamer and I expect him to throw everything he has at Arujau. 

Prediction: Arujau by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 6, NC State 0

141: #10 Vince Cornella, Cornell vs #4 Ryan Jack, NC State

Ryan Jack has worked his way up to #4 in the rankings for wins on the season over #6 Lachlan McNeil, #8 Cael Happel, and #9 Tagen Jamison. With the way Jack is wrestling, he looks poised to bring home his first All-American honors of this year. Cornella is having a solid year in his own right with wins over #19 Cole Matthews, #12 Tom Crook, and #15 Malyke Hines but he’s struggled against some of the top guys in the weight suffering losses to #3 Jesse Mendez, #7 Anthony Echemendia, #9 Tagen Jamison, and #1 Beau Bartlett. 

Cornella and Jack have never wrestled in their college careers but they did meet back at the 2022 US Open where Cornella won a close, 8-4 bout. Despite that result, Jack’s style lends itself slightly better to folkstyle. That, and the way Jack has been wrestling lately gives me the confidence to pick Jack to come out on top in this one. 

Cornella’s win over Ryan Jack at the 2022 US Open:

Prediction: Jack by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 6, NC State 3

149: #28 Ethan Fernandez, Cornell vs #4 Jackson Arrington, NC State

This is the first match of the dual where the Wolfpack are the clear favorites and I expect Arrington to push for bonus against Fernandez. Arrington is currently 15-2 on the year and has won 13 of those matches by bonus - 1 fall, 9 techs, and 3 majors. Fernandez has rounded into a solid starter this year for the Big Red with a 17-6 record and has only been bonused once. Fernandez might be able to keep this close but I still expect a controlling victory for Arrington.

Prediction: Arrington by major decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 6, NC State 7

157: #7 Meyer Shapiro, Cornell vs #16 Ed Scott, NC State

The match at 157 between Shapiro and Scott has the potential to be the best bout of the night. Shapiro came into the season bringing incredible hype with him after winning a U20 world title over the summer. However, after a win over All-American #8 Bryce Andonian, Shapiro dropped two straight matches two #6 Daniel Cardenas and #22 Trevor Chumbley at the CKLV. Since then, Shapiro has responded well with 12 straight wins including bonus point victories over Paddy Gallagher and #12 Brock Mauller. Shapiro’s run has brought the hype back and he looks to have the potential to challenge Levi Haines and the rest of the best at 157 pounds for a title. 

With all of that said about Shapiro, Ed Scott is a returning All-American and has proven capable of defeating anyone in the country at 157. Scott will be a great test for Shapiro and will definitely test the true freshman’s poise and cardio. This match will also be a measurement of what to expect from Scott leading into the post-season. He’s had a rollercoaster year with quality wins over #8 Bryce Andonian, #14 Will Lewan, and #9 Ryder Downey but has also suffered losses to Sonny Santiago, #11 Travis Teague, #15 Peyten Kellar, and #19 Joey Blaze. A win over Shapiro would be huge for Scott and go a long way for NC State in this dual.

Prediction: Shapiro by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 9, NC State 7

165: #4 Julian Ramirez, Cornell vs #16 Derek Fields, NC State

Julian Ramirez is currently 17-2 and looks poised to earn his first All-American honors of his career. Along with several ranked wins, the highlight of Ramriez’s season came at the CKLV when he defeated national champion David Carr, 4-3. It’s also worth noting that Ramirez has already wrestled Derek Fields this season and came out on top with a dominating 16-1 tech fall. I expect a similar match on Friday night ending in a bonus point victory for Ramirez.

Julian Ramirez's win over Derek Fields at the 2023 Journeyman Classic:

Prediction: Ramirez by tech 

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 14, NC State 7

174: Benny Baker, Cornell vs #33 Alex Faison, NC State

The match at 174 is the only one of the dual that doesn’t feature two ranked wrestlers. While it’s not the most high-profile match, the winner of this bout could ultimately decide the dual. Faison and Baker have had similar seasons with both recording wins over 1 ranked wrestler - Faison recently defeated #22 Luca Augustine while Baker took out #30 Jared Simma back in December. However since then, Baker has lost 9 straight matches and because of that, I’m predicting Faison to win a competitive decision.

Prediction: Faison by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 14, NC State 10

184: #10 Chris Foca, Cornell vs #13 Dylan Fishback, NC State

184 pounds might be the match I’m most looking forward to in this dual. Foca is the established veteran and All-American while Fishback is a freshman looking to break into the top 10. Though they haven’t wrestled this year, Foca and Fishback have put together similar seasons with several ranked wins but a few surprising losses. Foca is currently 15-3 with notable wins over #6 Will Feldkamp, #12 Reece Heller, and Gavin Hoffman but head-scratching losses to #20 Aaron Ayzerov (twice) and #9 Sam Wolf. Fishback is 14-5 with ranked wins over #21 Gavin Kane, #23 Ryder Rogotzke, and #4 Trey Munoz but surprising losses to #12 Reece Heller and #16 Jaden Bullock.

I expect the match on Friday night between Foca and Fishback to be decided by a takedown or less. Foca has struggled to finish matches strong and Fishback wrestles a great pace for seven minutes. However, I’m going to favor the experience here and pick Foca to win a close decision.

Prediction: Foca by decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 17, NC State 10

197: #7 Jacob Cardenas, Cornell vs #2 Trent Hidlay, NC State

All-Americans Trent Hidlay and Jacob Cardenas met back in December at the CKLV in a match where Hidlay dominated from start to finish to win by major decision, 10-2. Hidlay is currently 19-0 this year and has 17 bonus point wins - 4 pins, 10 techs, 3 majors. While Cardenas is capable of closing the gap, I expect Hidlay to bring his best to the mat in one of his final matches in front of his home crowd.

Hidlay’s win over Cardenas at the 2023 CKLV:

Prediction: Hidlay by major decision

Team Score Prediction: Cornell 17, NC State 14

285: #17 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell vs #12 Owen Trephan, NC State

If everything goes to my predictions (which is unlikely), the entire dual has the potential to come down to the heavyweight matchup between Lewis Fernandes and Owen Trephan. These two All-American contenders have only met once in their career - back at the 2022 CKLV where Trephan won by pin late in the second period. While that win looks decisive, it was 0-0 for most of the match and Fernandes had ridden Trephan for almost all of the period until Trephan was able to scramble out of almost giving up back points right into the fall. 

I expect the match between Trephan and Fernandes on Friday to be decided by the slimmest of margins. Fernandes has the advantage on the mat but Trephan has proven to be better on his feet. This match has overtime written all over it and could be an incredible ending to what should be a fantastic dual.

Trephan’s win over Fernandes at the 2022 CKLV:

Prediction: Trephan by decision

Final Team Score Prediction: Cornell 17, NC State 17

Who Wins - NC State or Cornell?

I promise I didn’t plan on predicting the dual to end in a tie! With so many toss-up matches, I don’t expect the final score to be 17-17 but I do expect some wild things to happen. Ultimately, I believe the dual will come down to whoever wins more of the coin-flip matches at 125, 141, 157, 184, and 285. Reynolds Coliseum is an amazing atmosphere for wrestling and this dual is a can’t-miss from start to finish.