#6 PackWrestle: New Rankings & Gardner-Webb Preview

New Rankings

NC State (1-0) dropped one spot to #6 in last week’s NWCA Coaches Poll and remain there in this week’s release. Well, they didn’t drop so much as they were passed by Oklahoma State who have impressed early with dual victories over #24 Stanford and #12 Minnesota already. We’ll certainly have our opportunities for signature victories, but right now a home win over West Virginia wasn’t enough to keep us in the top-5.

We also have a new batch of individual rankings from FloWrestling. Check out where our guys rank below:

• 125 - Camacho #11 (previous: 10)
• 133 - Trombley #18 (18)
• 141 - Jack HM (HM)
• 149 - T. Wilson #3 (3)
• 157 - Scott HM (NR)
• 165 - Bullard #12 (12)
• 174 - H. Hidlay #4 (4)
• 184 - T. Hidlay #3 (3)
• 197 - Trumble #18 (17)
• 285 - Trephan HM (HM)

After a week off, there were a few slight changes for some of our Pack wrestlers. Ryan Jack and Ed Scott both move into the honorable mentions sections of their respective weight classes, giving us a ranked guy at every weight. Camacho drops a spot after the return announcement by former NCAA Champ Nick Suriano, who will wrestle his final year of eligibility at Michigan. Big pickup for the Wolverines. Also still seeing Trombley ranked, though it seems like Orine has taken control of the 133 spot for now. We will continue to monitor this situation.

Gardner-Webb Dual

How to Watch: ACC Network Extra

Wrestling Rules & Scoring

The Pack traveled to Gardner-Webb during the abbreviated 2021 season and dominated for a shutout victory, 42-0. Prepare for a lot of the same as the Runnin’ Bulldogs (1-1) visit Reynolds on Thursday evening. It’s unclear how much of the Pack’s starting lineup will take the mat for this mismatched dual, but based on some hints dropped by Coach Pop in previous interviews, there will certainly be some guys who sit this one out. See projected lineups and my predictions below.

• 125: #11 Jakob Camacho vs. Aedyn Concepcion (Camacho tech fall; 5-0 NCSU)
• 133: #18 Jarrett Trombley or Kai Orine vs. Todd Carter (Orine major decision; 9-0 NCSU)
• 141: HM Ryan Jack vs. Trevon Majette (Jack major decision; 13-0 NCSU)
• 149: #3 Tariq Wilson vs. Brandon Bright (Wilson major decision; 17-0 NCSU)
• 157: HM Ed Scott vs. Tyler Brignola (Scott pin; 23-0 NCSU)
• 165: Donald Cates vs. Rodrick Mosley (Cates decision; 26-0 NCSU)
• 174: Alex Faison vs. Evan Schenk (Faison major decision; 30-0 NCSU)
• 184: #3 Trent Hidlay vs. Jha’Quan Anderson (Hidlay major decision; 34-0 NCSU)
• 197: #18 Isaac Trumble vs. Anthony Perrine (Trumble major decision; 38-0 NCSU)
• 285: Deonte Wilson or Tyrie Houghton vs. Peyton McComas (Wilson decision; 41-0 NCSU)

We almost certainly won’t see Hayden in this one - this dual perfectly fits the mold of what Pop has been saying in regards to sitting HH occasionally throughout the year. There is almost nothing to gain for him by wrestling on Thursday and the team certainly doesn’t need his points, so it looks like it’ll be Faison. I also expect Donald Cates to fill in for Thomas Bullard at 165. This is unfortunate, because Mosley is inarguably their best wrestler and would be a solid win for Bullard to have on his resume. Would also have been a nice confidence booster following the disappointing loss to Peyton Hall two weeks ago. But the staff look set on Cates for this one - who actually beat Mosley in the dual last year - so 165 should be a competitive bout.

At heavyweight, we’ve got another switch as Deonte Wilson looks set to return to the lineup. It’s unclear what this means for the starting spot, but the staff is obviously not happy with Trephan’s result in the West Virginia dual and are maybe thinking, like myself, that Deonte could have had a better showing. Time will tell.

Action starts at 7PM in Reynolds Coliseum and tickets are $7 at the door (although you should already have season tickets!). You can’t beat that deal on a Thursday night. Let’s see some red!

Go Pack!