Virginia wrestling returned to action Friday night against a strong NC State team that has won 19 of 20 ACC matches to start conference play on a strong note. The No. 4 Wolfpack (10-1, 3-0 ACC) overwhelmed the Cavaliers (3-5, 0-3 ACC), winning nine of the 10 duels at Reynolds Coliseum for a final score of 32-2. Although the scoreline reflects a dominant NC State performance, the matches were much closer as six of them were decided by four points or less.
The dual opened at 125 pounds beginning with Virginia senior Patrick McCormick and No. 14 sophomore Jakob Camacho. Camacho controlled the match, winning 12-3 for a major decision victory to give NC State a 4-0 lead.
Next, at 133 pounds, NC State’s No. 15 redshirt freshman Kai Orine defeated No. 22 graduate student Brian Courtney 10-5. The decision victory would boost the Wolfpack lead to 7-0.
At 141 pounds, No. 24 freshman Ryan Jack faced off against Virginia sophomore Dylan Cedeno. Cedeno kept the match close, but was defeated 4-3 in the end.
NC State continued to build on their lead at 149 pounds, as No. 3 graduate student Tariq Wilson. Wilson, named an All-American last season, defeated No. 30 graduate student Jarod Verkleeren 5-1. The victory further increased their lead to 13-0.
No. 29 fifth-year Jake Keating would then respond for the Cavaliers at 157 pounds. Keating, who was All-ACC in 2021, picked up an 11-10 decision victory against No. 10 freshman Ed Scott who was undefeated before the match. The win was Keating’s fifth career victory over a top-11 opponent.
During the 157-pound match, the Virginia bench received a team penalty point deduction. The decision victory only made the score 13-2.
NC State would then respond by winning the final five weight classes beginning at 165 pounds with No. 21 graduate student Thomas Bullard. Bullard handed No. 17 senior Justin McCoy his first loss of the year, winning 4-1. The win would give the Wolfpack a 16-2 lead.
At 174 pounds, No. 4 graduate student Hayden Hidlay faced off against Virginia junior Justin Phillips. Hidlay, a four-time All-American, pinned Phillips in nearly three minutes. The bonus-point victory brought the score to 22-2.
Next, No. 3 Wolfpack sophomore Trent Hidlay defeated No. 25 graduate student Micheal Battista 16-5 for a major decision victory.
The dual at 197 pounds was close between No. 20 freshman Isaac Trumble and No. 13 Virginia graduate student Jay Aiello. After three periods, the match was tied 5-5 and would require extra time. After 21 seconds, Trumble scored the winning takedown for a 7-5 decision against Aiello. The win would give the Wolfpack a 29-2 lead going into the final match.
At heavyweight, No. 26 NC State junior Tyrie Hougton faced off against No. 31 graduate student Quinn Miller. The score was tied 2-2 before Houghton recorded the winning takedown with 24 seconds to make the score 4-2. The final score of the duel would be a 32-2 win for NC State.
After the match, four extra matches took place beginning with Courtney and sophomore Jarrett Trombley. Courtney picked up the 4-3 victory to move to 1-1 on the day.
The next extra match was at 157 pounds, between Virginia graduate student Jon Errico and sophomore Matt Fields. Errico dominated the match, winning 10-2 for a major decision victory. Also at 157 pounds, Keating defeated NC State freshman AJ Kovacs 3-2.
The final extra match was between redshirt freshman Owen Trephan and Virginia sophomore Jessie Knight. The match would ultimately end in a 24-9 technical fall victory for Trephan in 5:17.
The Cavaliers will look to bounce back against Duke on the road. The dual will be at 2 p.m Saturday.
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