North Carolina State
NC State had a rough NCAA tournament last season finishing in 17th place (31.5 points) with just one AA compared to placing 4th (80 points) with four AAs in 2018. The Wolfpack had a good dual season going 16-3. Their losses came against Ohio State, Wyoming and Pitt. Their biggest wins were one-pointers against Virginia Tech and Nebraska. NC State didn’t attend any of the major tournaments (they did send some redshirts to the Scuffle) and opted for the South Beach Duals. The Wolfpack won the ACC Championship for the 2nd time in the last four years and qualified 9 wrestlers into the NCAA Championship.
NC State brings back their one AA and four other qualifiers and will have four new starters replacing four NCAA qualifiers from last season. Hayden Hidlay has definite upside to finish higher this season and his brother Trent plus Jakob Camacho could be AA contenders in their first year as starters. The Wolfpack should beat their 17th place finish from last season. NC State has yet to release their 19/20 schedule.
125
Jakob Camacho (Fr) <Danbury, CT>
Camacho went 26-2 during his redshirt season with his losses coming against Nick Piccininni (OkSt) and Steven Bulzomi (Bing). He had a couple of wins against NCAA qualifiers with the biggest coming against Alex Mackall (ISU). <Bonus: 42.86%, RPI: .665>
Last season, outgoing senior Sean Fausz qualified for the NCAA Championship for a fourth time getting the 14 seed after placing 2nd at the ACC Championship. However, he fell just short of reaching the podium for the first time after losing to (8) Vitali Arujau in the Round of 12.
133
Jarrett Trombley (Fr) <Lake Fenton, MI>
Trombley went 21-6 during his redshirt season. All of his losses were by decision with the exception of a TF to Daton Fix. He didn’t beat any NCAA qualifiers. <Bonus: 40.7%, RPI: .595>
141
Tariq Wilson (Jr) <Steubenville, OH>
Wilson went 17-5 last season and entered the NCAA Championship as the 11 seed @133. He was the runner-up to Micky Phillipi (Pitt) at the ACC Championship. Two very close losses, to (6) Ethan Lizak (Minny) in the 2nd round and (8) John Erneste (Mizzu) in the Round of 12 kept Wilson from reaching the podium again at the NCAA Championship. <Bonus: 45.6%, RPI: .665>
Jamel Morris took over for his twin brother Jamal at 141 last season and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time. He won the ACC Championship and received the 14 seed at the NCAAs. Jamel was upset in the first round by (19) Sa’Derian Perry (ODU) then he upset (4) Josh Alber (UNI) in the wrestlebacks before losing to (11) Tristan Moran (Wisc) in the Round of 16.
149
Matthew Grippi (Fr) <Fox Lane, NY>
Yet another redshirt freshman entering NC State’s lineup, Grippi went 18-7 last season. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers. <Bonus: 36.0%, RPI: .577>
After transferring from Central Michigan, Justin Oliver qualified for the NCAA Championships for a fourth time after placing 3rd at the ACC Championships. He wasn’t able to reach the podium for a second the time (he placed 7th for CMU @149 in 2016) and went 2-2 from the 9 seed.
157
Hayden Hidlay (Jr) <Mifflin County, PA>
Hidlay is a heavy favorite to win the 157 title this year with Nolf, Berger and Pantaleo gone. Last season, he entered the NCAA Championship as the 5 seed after winning his second ACC Championship. After losing a painfully close semi-final to Jason Nolf, he defeated (3) Ryan Deakin (NW) in the consi semis and then placed 4th after losing a rematch against Alec Panteleo (Mich). His season record was 24-4 with losses to Tyler Berger (Neb) and Larry Early (ODU) in the regular season. <Bonus: 57.1%, RPI: .671>
165
Thomas Bullard (Jr) <Archer, GA>
Thomas qualified for the NCAA Championship a second time after finishing 2nd at the ACC Championship. He had a 21-10 season record and went 1-2 from the 16 seed at NCAAs. <Bonus: 22.6%, RPI: .631>
174
Daniel Bullard (Jr) <Archer, GA>
Daniel also qualified for the NCAA Championship a second time after placing 3rd at the ACC Championship. He had a 21-11 season record and went 1-2 from the 23 seed at NCAAs. <Bonus: 34.4%, RPI: .583>
184
Trent Hidlay (Fr) <Mifflin County, PA>
Another Hidlay enters the line-up after a very strong redshirt season @174 where he went 24-2. The losses came against David McFadden (VT) and Joe Smith (OkSt). Trent had several wins against NCAA qualfiers. His biggest was against eventual 12 seed, Matt Finesilver (Duke). <Bonus: 46.2%, RPI: .676>
197
Nick Reenen (Jr) <Wyoming Seminary, PA>
Reenen moves up to 197 after qualifying for the NCAA Championship for a second time last season @184 (he qualified at 174 in 2017). Reenen placed third at the ACC Championship and entered the NCAA Championship as the 7 seed. He went 1-2 after being upset by (26) Dakota Geer (OkSt) in the first round. Reenen went 16-6 on the season. <Bonus: 36.4%, RPI: .649>
Last season, Malik McDonald finished his career with NC State with qualifying for the NCAA Championship for a second time. He won the ACC Championship from the 3 seed and received the 13 seed at the NCAAs where he went 1-2.
Heavy
Deonte Wilson (So) <Amityville Memorial, NY>
Colin Lawler (So) <Kinkaid, TX>
Wilson went 22-12 as a true freshman last season but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the NCAA Championship after he finished 4th at the ACC Championship (3 allocations). He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers and lost to the last guy in, Jacob Aven (Pur). <Bonus: 29.4%, RPI: .532>
Lawler, also as a true freshman, split some dual starts with Wilson last season. He went 18-13 and had one win against a NCAA qualifier, Matt Voss (GMU). <Bonus: 29.0%, RPI: .540>
New Faces
Kai Orine <Seckman, MO>
Orine is a three-time Missouri Class 4 state champion (3rd as a freshman). He also was a 2018 NHSCA Nationals champion and finished 2nd at the 2018 Flo Nationals. Orine is ranked #4 at 126 by InterMat.
Christian Knop <Alexandria, AL>
Knop is a 4-time Alabama state champion and is the only wrestler in Alabama high school history to win four straight titles and go undefeated (321-0). He was also the 2019 NHSCA Senior Nationals champion. Knop is ranked #9 at 195 by InterMat.
Owen Trephan <Blair Academy, NJ>
Trephan is a two-time National Prep champion, a South Carolina state champion (2017), 2019 Ironman runner-up and 2019 Beast of the East champion. Trephan is ranked #3 at 220 by InterMat.
NC State had a rough NCAA tournament last season finishing in 17th place (31.5 points) with just one AA compared to placing 4th (80 points) with four AAs in 2018. The Wolfpack had a good dual season going 16-3. Their losses came against Ohio State, Wyoming and Pitt. Their biggest wins were one-pointers against Virginia Tech and Nebraska. NC State didn’t attend any of the major tournaments (they did send some redshirts to the Scuffle) and opted for the South Beach Duals. The Wolfpack won the ACC Championship for the 2nd time in the last four years and qualified 9 wrestlers into the NCAA Championship.
NC State brings back their one AA and four other qualifiers and will have four new starters replacing four NCAA qualifiers from last season. Hayden Hidlay has definite upside to finish higher this season and his brother Trent plus Jakob Camacho could be AA contenders in their first year as starters. The Wolfpack should beat their 17th place finish from last season. NC State has yet to release their 19/20 schedule.
125
Jakob Camacho (Fr) <Danbury, CT>
Camacho went 26-2 during his redshirt season with his losses coming against Nick Piccininni (OkSt) and Steven Bulzomi (Bing). He had a couple of wins against NCAA qualifiers with the biggest coming against Alex Mackall (ISU). <Bonus: 42.86%, RPI: .665>
Last season, outgoing senior Sean Fausz qualified for the NCAA Championship for a fourth time getting the 14 seed after placing 2nd at the ACC Championship. However, he fell just short of reaching the podium for the first time after losing to (8) Vitali Arujau in the Round of 12.
133
Jarrett Trombley (Fr) <Lake Fenton, MI>
Trombley went 21-6 during his redshirt season. All of his losses were by decision with the exception of a TF to Daton Fix. He didn’t beat any NCAA qualifiers. <Bonus: 40.7%, RPI: .595>
141
Tariq Wilson (Jr) <Steubenville, OH>
Wilson went 17-5 last season and entered the NCAA Championship as the 11 seed @133. He was the runner-up to Micky Phillipi (Pitt) at the ACC Championship. Two very close losses, to (6) Ethan Lizak (Minny) in the 2nd round and (8) John Erneste (Mizzu) in the Round of 12 kept Wilson from reaching the podium again at the NCAA Championship. <Bonus: 45.6%, RPI: .665>
Jamel Morris took over for his twin brother Jamal at 141 last season and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time. He won the ACC Championship and received the 14 seed at the NCAAs. Jamel was upset in the first round by (19) Sa’Derian Perry (ODU) then he upset (4) Josh Alber (UNI) in the wrestlebacks before losing to (11) Tristan Moran (Wisc) in the Round of 16.
149
Matthew Grippi (Fr) <Fox Lane, NY>
Yet another redshirt freshman entering NC State’s lineup, Grippi went 18-7 last season. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers. <Bonus: 36.0%, RPI: .577>
After transferring from Central Michigan, Justin Oliver qualified for the NCAA Championships for a fourth time after placing 3rd at the ACC Championships. He wasn’t able to reach the podium for a second the time (he placed 7th for CMU @149 in 2016) and went 2-2 from the 9 seed.
157
Hayden Hidlay (Jr) <Mifflin County, PA>
Hidlay is a heavy favorite to win the 157 title this year with Nolf, Berger and Pantaleo gone. Last season, he entered the NCAA Championship as the 5 seed after winning his second ACC Championship. After losing a painfully close semi-final to Jason Nolf, he defeated (3) Ryan Deakin (NW) in the consi semis and then placed 4th after losing a rematch against Alec Panteleo (Mich). His season record was 24-4 with losses to Tyler Berger (Neb) and Larry Early (ODU) in the regular season. <Bonus: 57.1%, RPI: .671>
165
Thomas Bullard (Jr) <Archer, GA>
Thomas qualified for the NCAA Championship a second time after finishing 2nd at the ACC Championship. He had a 21-10 season record and went 1-2 from the 16 seed at NCAAs. <Bonus: 22.6%, RPI: .631>
174
Daniel Bullard (Jr) <Archer, GA>
Daniel also qualified for the NCAA Championship a second time after placing 3rd at the ACC Championship. He had a 21-11 season record and went 1-2 from the 23 seed at NCAAs. <Bonus: 34.4%, RPI: .583>
184
Trent Hidlay (Fr) <Mifflin County, PA>
Another Hidlay enters the line-up after a very strong redshirt season @174 where he went 24-2. The losses came against David McFadden (VT) and Joe Smith (OkSt). Trent had several wins against NCAA qualfiers. His biggest was against eventual 12 seed, Matt Finesilver (Duke). <Bonus: 46.2%, RPI: .676>
197
Nick Reenen (Jr) <Wyoming Seminary, PA>
Reenen moves up to 197 after qualifying for the NCAA Championship for a second time last season @184 (he qualified at 174 in 2017). Reenen placed third at the ACC Championship and entered the NCAA Championship as the 7 seed. He went 1-2 after being upset by (26) Dakota Geer (OkSt) in the first round. Reenen went 16-6 on the season. <Bonus: 36.4%, RPI: .649>
Last season, Malik McDonald finished his career with NC State with qualifying for the NCAA Championship for a second time. He won the ACC Championship from the 3 seed and received the 13 seed at the NCAAs where he went 1-2.
Heavy
Deonte Wilson (So) <Amityville Memorial, NY>
Colin Lawler (So) <Kinkaid, TX>
Wilson went 22-12 as a true freshman last season but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the NCAA Championship after he finished 4th at the ACC Championship (3 allocations). He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers and lost to the last guy in, Jacob Aven (Pur). <Bonus: 29.4%, RPI: .532>
Lawler, also as a true freshman, split some dual starts with Wilson last season. He went 18-13 and had one win against a NCAA qualifier, Matt Voss (GMU). <Bonus: 29.0%, RPI: .540>
New Faces
Kai Orine <Seckman, MO>
Orine is a three-time Missouri Class 4 state champion (3rd as a freshman). He also was a 2018 NHSCA Nationals champion and finished 2nd at the 2018 Flo Nationals. Orine is ranked #4 at 126 by InterMat.
Christian Knop <Alexandria, AL>
Knop is a 4-time Alabama state champion and is the only wrestler in Alabama high school history to win four straight titles and go undefeated (321-0). He was also the 2019 NHSCA Senior Nationals champion. Knop is ranked #9 at 195 by InterMat.
Owen Trephan <Blair Academy, NJ>
Trephan is a two-time National Prep champion, a South Carolina state champion (2017), 2019 Ironman runner-up and 2019 Beast of the East champion. Trephan is ranked #3 at 220 by InterMat.
