College wrestling’s postseason is finally here. 

After four months of chatter about developments leading to March, the time has arrived — and it’s time for the NC State Wolfpack to compete at the ACC Championships.   

NC State will go into the event as the reigning six-time champions, raising the team title trophy at the ACC Championships every year dating back to 2019.

“As you hit the postseason, it becomes more about the individual accomplishments and their personal goals, which of course bleed into the team aspect,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “You want to see guys finish out and accomplish their goals, and right now as we head towards March there are two opportunities left, starting with ACCs.”

If you go strictly by seeds — which are a result of ACC dual results — this year’s Wolfpack squad will look a lot different from last year’s, which set a school record for team points (116), individual ACC titles (seven), and had the largest margin of victory at the event (29.5 points over second-place Virginia Tech) since 2007.

NC State posted a 5-1 record in ACC duals to finish tied atop the conference standings for the sixth time in the last eight years. Unlike last year, however, the Pack won’t have eight of their 10 wrestlers seeded second or better. 

“We have seen guys lose in dual meets but then come right back and have a really good showing come ACCs and leading into NCAAs,” Popolizio said. “There is still a lot of wrestling left. Just in the last few days right after coming back from Virginia Tech, we saw some guys respond very well. We have a lot of motivated guys in that room.”

Popolizio and his staff know how to bring back hardware from the one-day ACC event.

“We have got to show up, compete, be aggressive, and score points,” Popolizio said. “We have to reverse some results that we let slip away in duals. This year is set up to be a nail-biter among quite a few teams, it is really pretty even across the board.

“I think it comes down to who wants it more. There are going to be a lot of tight, close matches, it is going to be exciting. It comes down to who is willing to go out there and take some risks to get their hand raised.”

Since the 2015-16 season, NC State has won seven ACC Championships and finished second a pair of times. The Pack has not finished lower than second place since the 2015 ACCs, a span of 10 straight top-two showings.

“I feel like this year’s team is geared well towards the tournament aspect,” Popolizio said. “We have a great mix of some veteran guys who have been through this before and another group of guys going for the first time and wanting to prove themselves at this level. That balance makes this a good tournament team.”

One Weight Left To Decide

Sitting a little more than one week out of the ACC Championships, NC State still has to make a decision on who will man the post season spot at 141 pounds.

Two-time All-American Kai Orine originally started the season at 141 pounds. But after a couple of months of action, Orine and the coaches decided it was better for him to move back down to 133 pounds.

All-American and 2024 ACC champion Ryan Jack was at 141 pounds last year, but he is currently redshirting this season and that left no back-up after the Orine move.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Tracy was in contention for the starting spot at 149 pounds to start the season, and was asked to move down to 141 pounds for a December 22 dual at Cornell. He then got the starting nod in six straight duals, including first four ACC bouts.

Redshirt sophomore Troy Hohman was in a wrestle-off for the starting spot at 133 pounds to start the season but was given the opportunity to move up to 141 pounds late in the season. In his first battle at the new weight, he scored a 5-3 win over #21 Jason Miranda of Stanford in the dual, and got the starting nod once again at Virginia Tech.

Although neither will earn an NCAA allocation, the Pack coaches must decide who has the chance to score more team points at the ACC Championships and fill out the starting lineup.

“Right now, we are still evaluating 141 (pounds),” Popolizio said. “Tyler initially got thrown into the lineup, coming down a weight class from where he started the season. Then we gave Troy an opportunity to bump up a weight from where he was earlier this year, and he showed a lot of promise with a ranked win in the Stanford dual.

“As a staff we are evaluating which direction we are going to go for the post season. Whoever gets the nod, we know they will show up and compete for us.”

New Venue For ACCs

Even though it will be the Popolizio’s 13th time leading the Wolfpack at the ACC Championships, this will be the first time the mats have been rolled out at Duke during his tenure.

For the first time since 1998, Duke will be hosting the ACC Championships. The event will be held at Cameron Indoor Stadium this year.

“It’s a big deal being at Duke,” Popolizio said. “The ACCs haven’t been there for a long time, and it will be nice to be close to home. It’s a great, unique venue. It will be nice to have it filled with wrestling people showing their support for ACC wrestling.”

The schedule also shifted slightly. With the addition of Stanford as a seventh team, only the top seed will get a bye in the first round and into the semifinals.

“This year will be a bit different, there is a new team coming in, meaning more matches will be wrestled,” Popolizio said. “There are going to be a ton of ranked guys, so it will be fun to go out and compete and see who shows up to be declared the best team.”

Regular Season Honors

With a national ranking of #9 in the final NWCA Coaches’ Poll, NC State finished inside the top-10 for the 10th straight season. The Pack has also been ranked in the top-10 in every NWCA Coaches’ Poll dating back to the 2015-16 season.

“If you look back from the start of the season on paper, our lineup looked a lot different to where it was today,” Popolizio said. “Throughout the year, I was impressed with how the guys were able to compete and piece together this dual season. We had a total makeover at those lower weights during the season, and those that were affected responded and went out there and competed.  

“I was impressed with the improvement as the year went on. We still have a lot left to continue to improve on, but to finish out how we did with (that) accomplishment is a testament to the mentality of everybody in our program.”