NC State wrapped up the ACC portion of its dual schedule with a 5-1 conference record. It was an exciting conference slate this year for fans, as three of the wins came down to the final match of the dual.
After this weekend, duals will be in the rearview mirror and the focus shifts to the postseason. First up, the ACC Championship at Virginia Tech before heading to Cleveland for the NCAA Championships, where the Wolfpack brought home a team trophy the last time the NCAAs were in Cleveland back in 2018.
But before then, NC State has one final home meet this Friday night against Cornell. Not only is it the final dual of the year, but it will also be the Pack’s Senior Day.
Prior to the match-up, NC State will honor six members of the program, highlighted by All-Americans Ryan Jack and Isaac Trumble.
Jack enters this weekend ranked #10 at 141 pounds, while Trumble is one of 24 NCAA wrestlers still undefeated and ranked #2 at heavyweight.
Trumble joined the Pack in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. He was a two-time NCAA qualifier at 197 pounds before taking a redshirt in 2023-24.
He broke out last year after making the move up to heavyweight. Despite suffering a torn ACL during the NCAAs, he went on to place fourth and earned All-American honors for the first time in his career.
He will be the top seed at the upcoming ACC Championship and a high seed at NCAAs. And he will leave NC State with a wife, their first child (due in April), and he already has a degree in Parks, Rec, and Tourism Management.
“He’s grown up a lot in his time here at NC State,” NC State head coach Pat Popolizio said. “He came here from Nebraska with that long, blond hair.
“He’s just made huge gains every year he has been here. He is super disciplined and very motivated. We saw that with his rehab, with his diet, and now with his skills on the mat. Everything that he’s had to do this offseason has fueled him and made him even better.”
Jack followed his older brother, All-American Kevin Jack, down to Raleigh the same season Trumble did in 2021. He was the ACC champion and an All-American in 2024 before taking his redshirt year last season.
“With him being out of the lineup last year, I think a lot of people forget about him and how good and talented he is,” Popolizio said. “He has placed at the NCAA tournament and has some really high-level wins. He is super skilled, very offensive, and he had that extra year of maturity under his belt.
“I think the sky's the limit for him. And the way you accomplish your goals is to go out and get those wins against the best guys in the country. The biggest thing this year for him is let's not talk about it. Let's just go out, do it, and execute and prove that you're one of the best guys in the country.”
A third Wolfpack starter will also be honored on Senior Day — 184-pounder Donald Cates.
A familiar face to Wolfpack fans, the Durham native spent the 2021-2023 seasons with the Pack down at 165 pounds going a combined 17-9.
After spending time away from the mat for two years, including starting his own clothing brand and working full-time selling cars at a Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership, Cates returned over the summer and has manned the starting spot at 184 pounds this year.
“We had that conversation with Don, he had some eligibility left and it was a position where he could come back and wrestle for us,” Popolizio said. “I think it worked out really well for both us and him this past year.
“He understood this could be a really good thing for him and our program, having him back with us. He can wrestle and he’s got a good skillset and has proved that this year out on the mat. He’s athletic enough up at that weight, he has risen to the challenge this year.”
Cates looks back and thinks about his previous time with the Pack and coming full circle to being back this season for his final campaign.
“I think it was just some life things that I had going on that led me to get burnt out with the wrestling and everything,” Cates said. “I look back now, and I know I took some things for granted the first go-around.
“But I knew I had one season left, and I got that itch to come back. I'm thankful for Pat, for him giving me the opportunity to come back.”
NC State will also honor a trip of redshirt-juniors — Aaron Faison, Troy Hohman and Andrew Macchiavello.
Hohman has been a utility man for the Pack during his time with the program. He started his career at 125 pounds and last year was the Pack’s starter at 141 pounds at the ACC Championships and fell one win shy of earning an NCAA bid. This year, he split time earlier in the season at 133 pounds with Zach Redding, who is also in his final season after transferring to NC State from Iowa State.
Faison and Macchiavello both saw their older brothers come through the Wolfpack program. Alex Faison was a starter for the Pack at 174 pounds, while Michael Macchiavello won a national championship at 197 pounds in his final season.