#4 PackWrestle: New Rankings & App State Preview

New Rankings

The Pack (1-0) checks in at #4 in this week’s NWCA Coaches Poll, marking the 75th consecutive poll in the top-10. This streak dates back to the 2015-16 season.

This isn’t the only streak alive, however, as NC State’s domination of Gardner-Webb on Sunday was its 18th straight dual victory - the longest such run in the country. In addition, we’ve got new individual rankings from FloWrestling. See where our guys rank below:

• 125 - Camacho #3 (previous: 3)
• 133 - Trombley #17 (18)
• 141 - T. Wilson #11 (13)
• 157 - H. Hidlay #2 (2)
• 165 - T. Bullard #7 (6)
• 174 - D. Bullard #10 (11)
• 184 - T. Hidlay #3 (3)
• 285 - D. Wilson #16 (16)

Not much movement after beating up on Gardner-Webb since they didn’t have any ranked guys, but we will see some opportunities for ranked wins when App State comes to town on Friday - particularly at 149.

App State Dual

How to Watch: ACC Network Extra

Wrestling Rules & Scoring

The Pack traveled up to Boone last year where they claimed a dominant 24-12 victory, and now the Mountaineers will look to return the favor by visiting Reynolds Coliseum for NC State’s first home dual of the 2021 season. It’s a shame this one couldn’t have a crowd, as App State wrestling fans typically turnout for their team. However, what will be present in Reynolds is an always tough Mountaineer squad. App hasn’t reached the heights of college wrestling that the Pack has under Popolizio, but they are always a tough out. Their team is consistently full of well-conditioned, gritty, under-the-radar guys who bring the fight. They’re like the Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone of college wrestling. I guess that makes us Ivan Drago, ya know, minus the state-sponsored doping. Although, we might as well be, because our lineup is juiced from top to bottom. And I think we’re going to have too much for them. See my projected lineups and predictions below:

• 125: #3 Jakob Camacho vs. #23 Codi Russell (Camacho decision; 3-0 NCSU)
• 133: #17 Jarrett Trombley vs. #25 Sean Carter (Trombley decision; 6-0 NCSU)
• 141: #11 Tariq Wilson vs. Anthony Brito (Wilson major; 10-0 NCSU)
• 149: Ed Scott vs. #21 Jonathan Millner (Scott decision; 13-0 NCSU)
• 157: #2 Hayden Hidlay vs. Cody Bond (Hidlay tech fall; 18-0 NCSU)
• 165: #7 Thomas Bullard vs. #25 William Formato (Bullard decision; 21-0 NCSU)
• 174: #10 Daniel Bullard vs. #21 Thomas Flitz (Bullard decision; 24-0 NCSU)
• 184: Jacob Ferreira vs. Julian Gorring (Ferreira decision; 27-0 NCSU)
• 197: Nick Reenan vs. Mason Fiscella (Reenan decision; 30-0 NCSU)
• 285: #16 Deonte Wilson vs. Michael Burchell (Wilson decision; 33-0 NCSU)

A clean sweep? Something doesn’t seem right about that. There are too many close matchups, that I almost think they’re bound to get one of them. The most likely cases are at 149 or 184, but if we could pull it off against this tough App State team, that would be super impressive.

Key Matchups

#3 Jakob Camacho vs. #23 Codi Russell

This is not only a key matchup, it is a personal one. Russell was once a part of the NC State wrestling team under Pat Popolizio. His time in Raleigh was short though, as he couldn’t break into the lineup and eventually transferred to App State after his freshman year. So I’m sure he would love nothing more than to come back into Reynolds during his senior year, and get a top-5 win. He is also dropping down in weight from 133 where he has been his entire time in Boone, so he could have the size and strength advantage. To add one more layer of intrigue to this bout, Camacho just beat Codi’s older brother, Sean, at the RTC Cup last month. There are some seriously high stakes here for Codi, but I still like Camacho.

Ed Scott vs. #21 Jonathan Millner

Well, as expected, Scott burst onto the scene last week with a quick pin. However, this week will be his first big test and a drastic step-up in competition, and that won’t stop heading into ACC duals, so Ed will need to adapt quickly. Millner is no joke, he defeated last year’s starter AJ Leitten on both occasions that they met, so I don’t think Ed will be able to run over the Mountaineer like he typically does to get the pin. He will need to wrestle a full, measured match to get his hand raised. If he can show that element to his game so early in his college career, we could be looking at a young star. Certainly a win here would go a long way towards earning the freshman a spot in next week’s rankings.

#10 Daniel Bullard vs. #21 Thomas Flitz

Daniel is 4-1 against Flitz in his career, however each of their matches has been decided by three or fewer points. I expect this one on Friday to be no different. Bullard clearly has the edge in this rivalry, but Flitz and the App State coaching staff surely know the Bullards’ strengths at this point, and they will have a game plan. That likely entails finishing his shots quickly to avoid scrambles and staying off bottom. If he can do this, this bout will be tight once again. But if Daniel wants to separate himself this year and take a step towards All-American contender, this is the type of match he needs to take care of.

Listen to Coach Popolizio preview this dual on his podcast below.

Tune in for this in-state showdown on Friday at 7PM. Go Pack!