Takedown Report

NC State Aiming To Continue ACC Wrestling Mastery

NC State has captured the last six ACC wrestling titles and the Wolfpack are looking to keep that run going against a highly competitive field this weekend.
College wrestling’s postseason is finally here. 
After four months of chatter about developments leading to March, the time has arrived — and it’s time for the NC State Wolfpack to compete at the ACC Championships.   
NC State will go into the event as the reigning six-time champions, raising the team title trophy at the ACC Championships every year dating back to 2019. “As you hit the postseason, it becomes more about the individual accomplishments and their personal goals, which of course bleed into the team aspect,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “You want to see guys finish out and accomplish their goals, and right now as we head towards March there are two opportunities left, starting with ACCs.”
If you go strictly by seeds — which are a result of ACC dual results — this year’s Wolfpack squad will look a lot different from last year’s, which set a school record for team points (116), individual ACC titles (seven), and had the largest margin of victory at the event (29.5 points over second-place Virginia Tech) since 2007.
NC State posted a 5-1 record in ACC duals to finish tied atop the conference standings for the sixth time in the last eight years. Unlike last year, however, the Pack won’t have eight of their 10 wrestlers seeded second or better.  “We have seen guys lose in dual meets but then come right back and have a really good showing come ACCs and leading into NCAAs,” Popolizio said. “There is still a lot of wrestling left. Just in the last few days right after coming back from Virginia Tech, we saw some guys respond very well. We have a lot of motivated guys in that room.”
Popolizio and his staff know how to bring back hardware from the one-day ACC event. “We have got to show up, compete, be aggressive, and score points,” Popolizio said. “We have to reverse some results that we let slip away in duals. This year is set up to be a nail-biter among quite a few teams, it is really pretty even across the board. “I think it comes down to who wants it more. There are going to be a lot of tight, close matches, it is going to be exciting. It comes down to who is willing to go out there and take some risks to get their hand raised.”
Since the 2015-16 season, NC State has won seven ACC Championships … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13870760-nc-state-aiming-to-continue-acc-wrestling-mastery

March 4, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | college-football, ncaa, sports