RELEASE: Wolfpack Wrestling Claims Second Straight ACC Title
PITTSBURGH, PA. – The NC State wrestling team won back-to-back ACC Championships for the first time since 2001-02, as the Wolfpack claimed top honors at the 2020 ACC Championship Sunday at Pitt.
NC State won the team race with 81 points. Host Pitt was second (77), North Carolina took third (67.5), Virginia was fourth (60.5), Virginia Tech fifth (52) and Duke was sixth (2).
The ACC title was the Pack’s second straight, third in the last five seasons and 17th all-time in school history. The 17 team titles are tied UNC among the current ACC schools.
The Pack had nine of its 10 wrestlers in the semifinals, six into the finals and a pair won individual ACC championships – R-Fr. Jakob Camacho (125 pounds) and R-Jr. Hayden Hidlay (157) both went 2-0 on the day to win their championships.
R-Jr. Tariq Wilson (141), R-Jr. Daniel Bullard (174), R-Fr. Trent Hidlay (184), and So. Deonte Wilson (285) each earned All-ACC honors with their second place finishes.
#10 R-Jr. Thomas Bullard scored a third place finish at 165 pounds, and added two additional team points in his third place bout with a pin.
R-Fr. Jarrett Trombley placed fourth at 133 pounds. Both Thomas Bullard and Trombley have advanced to the NCAA Championships with their automatic bids.
ACC Championship Finals
125 Finals | #18 Jakob Camacho (19-6) vs. #2 Jack Mueller (UVA – 13-0)
In his first ACC Championship, R-Fr. Jakob Camacho started the Pack’s run of gold by claiming the ACC title at 125 pounds. Matched up against 2019 NCAA Finalist #2 Jack Mueller of Virginia, Camacho came out strong with a pair of takedowns in the first period, and adding in a four-point near fall to jump out to an 8-2 lead. Camacho then added a third takedown in the third, and with the ride time point, scored an 11-4 upset over the previously unbeaten Mueller.
141 Finals | #12 Tariq Wilson (24-5) vs. #13 Zach Sherman (UNC – 26-5)
R-Jr. Tariq Wilson advanced to the ACC Finals for the second straight season, once again earning All-ACC honors. After a quick takedown in the first, Wilson held a 2-1 lead after the first. #13 UNC’s Sherman got a takedown in the second, and Wilson held a 4-3 lead going into the second. Sherman was awarded another takedown after a UNC challenge, and the bout ended after a NC State challenge for an escape at the end of the 5-4 bout.
157 Finals | #2 Hayden Hidlay (27-1) vs. #24 Taleb Rahmani (Pitt – 16-8)
R-Jr. Hayden Hidlay became the 11th NC State wrestler in school history to win three ACC titles, as he did so at 157 pounds for the third straight year. Hidlay also did it via bonus points, scoring a 13-4 major decision over Pitt’s Rahmani – defeating him for the title for the second straight year. Hidlay started with a takedown early and then added a four-point near fall to take a 6-0 lead. A late takedown in the third, and adding in ride time, gave Hidlay the title.
174 Finals | #12 Daniel Bullard (24-5) vs. #31 Clay Lautt (UNC – 20-7)
R-Jr. Daniel Bullard reached his first career ACC Finals, but fell to UNC’s Lautt in the title bout, 4-3. Lautt scored a pair of first-period takedowns, and all of Bullard’s points came off of escapes. He earns All-ACC honors for the first time in his career after back-to-back third place showings to begin his career.
184 Finals | #3 Trent Hidlay (23-3) vs. #2 Hunter Bolen (VT – 23-2)
In a battle of two of the top three ranked wrestlers nationally, #2 Bolen of Virginia Tech came out with a 2-1 win over #3 Trent Hidlay. Both wrestlers earned escape points by started the second and third periods down, but Hidlay was hit for a pair of stalls, with the second in the second period, for the decisive point. Hidlay earns All-ACC honors in his first ACC Championship.
285 Finals | #25 Deonte Wilson (19-8) #10 Demetrius Thomas (Pitt – 20-3)
So. Deonte Wilson also reached the ACC Finals for the first time in his career, and came away with All-ACC honors. Entering the third down down 4-2, he gave up an escape to #10 Pitt’s Thomas then turned around and got a late takedown but it was not enough in the 5-4 loss.
Consolation Finals
Thomas Bullard came back and claimed a third place finish when he scored a second-period pin over UVA’s Coy at the 3:31 mark.
Trombley narrowly missed his second top-25 win of the day, as he fell in extra time to #22 Hayes of UVA, 5-3.
R-So. A.J. Leitten will have to wait upon the NCAA at-large bids, as he placed fourth at 149 pounds, falling to UVA’s Spencer in the third place bout 7-0.
So. Tyrie Houghton started as the sixth seed but brought home a fourth place finish at 197 pounds, narrowly falling in the third place bout to Pitt’s Stout, 10-8 in extra time.
Consolation Semifinals
All four in the consolation semifinals advanced to the third place bout.
Trombley clinched his NCAA bid in advancing to the third place bout, as he used 1:02 of ride time to outlast VT’s Gerardi, 2-1.
Leitten got the lone takedown of his bout with 35 second left and downed Pitt’s Bulsak 5-2.
Thomas Bullard needed OT, but his escape in the second set of 0:30 tiebreakers downed Duke’s Anderson 3-2, and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships.
Houghton used a second-period ride out, plus three two-point near falls in the third period and scored bonus points to advance, with his 10-1 major decision over Duke’s Baker.
Semifinals
The Pack had nine of its 10 wrestlers reach the semifinals, and six advanced to the finals with a win in the round. After the semifinals, NC State was in first with 58.5 points, followed by UNC (50) and Pitt (47.5).
Camacho used a takedown in the first and third to score a 5-1 win over UNC’s Melendez. Tariq Wilson had a close battle with Pitt’s Matthews, as his over two minutes of ride time was the difference in the 10-0 win.
Hayden Hidlay scored bonus points with an 11-2 win over UVA’s McCoy. Daniel Bullard used a pair of near falls in the second to down Duke’s Eaglin 10-4.
In a battle of a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top-six nationally, Trent Hidlay got a ride out in extra time and downed #6 Bonaccorsi of Pitt, 3-2. Deonte Wilson capped the round with a top-25 win, 7-1 over UVA’s Miller.
After a first round bye, Thomas Bullard fell to #7 McFadden of Virginia Tech 4-1 in a top-10 battle.
A pair of third seeds fell to second seeds, as Trombley fell to UNC’s Hernandez (7-2) and Leitten fell to Virginia Tech’s Andonian (10-3).
First Round
The NC State day started with a bonus point win as Trombley scored a 17-1 tech fall after multiple near points in the second period. Leitten used an eight-point first period to start with a 9-4 win. Houghton fell in his first bout, 6-3.