Hidlay leads #9 PackWrestle to two victories in New York

Saturday was a busy day for the NC State wrestling team. Popolizio returned to his home state where his pack of wolves dominated #15 Cornell in Ithaca then traveled an hour southeast to down the Binghamton Bearcats a few hours later. In all, the Pack won 16 of the 20 bouts, with five being bonus point victories.

Storylines:

• #13 Trent Hidlay had a huge day, earning victories over the #2 and #3 ranked guys at 184 pounds. Trent proved this weekend that he is a title contender at this weight, and should move up to #2 when the new set of rankings come out this week.

• Daniel Bullard claimed a huge win over #11 Brandon Womack of Cornell, a former All-American. This is the type of victory that I think could propel Bullard into fulfilling his potential the rest of the season.
• Redshirt-freshman Jarrett Trombley went 0-2 on the day after earning the starting spot for his showing at the Wolfpack Open. Despite the results, this was still an encouraging weekend - both of his opponents were top-10 guys (in certain polls), and he kept them close before surrendering late takedowns. Trombley showed that he can hang with the top guys at 133, so I expect him to hold the spot going forward over Kellen Devlin.
• 197 was still manned by Tyrie Houghton this weekend. This is merely a precautionary measure, as #7 Nick Reenan returned to live action a few weeks ago. The coaching staff is easing him back into action and have no reason to rush his return. However, as a fan, CKLV would serve as the dream scenario for his comeback. We will see, but one can dream.

#9 NC State 25-9 Cornell

• 184: #13 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #3 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell); 7-5 (3-0 NCSU)
• 197: Jonathan Loew (Cornell) fall Tyrie Houghton (NCSU); 1:35 (3-6 Cornell)
• 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. Brendan Furman (Cornell); 3-1 (6-6)
• 125: #14 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) dec. Dom LaJoie (Cornell); 8-4 (9-6 NCSU)
• 133: #6 Chas Tucker (Cornell) dec. #23 Jarrett Trombley (NCSU); 4-1 (9-9)
• 141: #8 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Noah Baughman (Cornell); 4-0 (12-9 NCSU)
• 149: A.J. Leitten (NCSU) dec. Hunter Richard (Cornell); 6-5 (15-9 NCSU)
• 157: #1 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Colton Yapoujian (Cornell); 4-0 (18-9 NCSU)
• 165: #17 Thomas Bullard (NCSU) major dec. Adam Santoro (Cornell); 9-0 (22-9 NCSU)
• 174: Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. #11 Brandon Womack (Cornell); 5-4 (25-9 NCSU)

#9 NC State 28-9 Binghamton

• 197: Tyrie Houghton (NCSU) dec. Nunzio Crowley (BU); 5-1 (3-0 NCSU)
• 285: Joe Doyle (BU) pin Deonte Wilson (NCSU); 0:22 (3-6 BU)
• 125: #14 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) dec. Tomasso Frezza (BU); 9-2 (6-6)
• 133: Zack Trampe (BU) dec. #23 Jarrett Trombley (NCSU); 3-1 (6-9 BU)
• 141: #8 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Anthony Sparacio (BU); 8-4 (9-9)
• 149: Matt Grippi (NCSU) major dec. Michael Zarif (BU); 10-2 (13-9 NCSU)
• 157: #1 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Chris Barker (BU); 20-7 (17-9 NCSU)
• 165: #17 Thomas Bullard (NCSU) major dec. Dylan Wood (BU); 9-0 (21-9 NCSU)
• 174: Daniel Bullard (NCSU) major dec. Alex Melikian (BU); 10-2 (25-9 NCSU)
• 184: #13 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #2 Lou DePrez (BU); 2-1 (TB1) (28-9 NCSU)

After a lackluster showing in the opening dual against Old Dominion last week, this was more of what we’ve come to expect from a PatPop team. Cornell is a perennial top-10 program, and handling them the way NC State did on Saturday is not something seen often in the wrestling world, even if they are redshirting some of their top guys.

The Pack has Turkey Week off and return to action at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on December 6th & 7th. This is one of the premier mid-season tournaments and should provide plenty of tests for the squad.