NCAA Qualifer Allocations; Final Coaches Ranking & RPI; Signee Recognition

Big day here on the Wolfpack Blog! NCAA Qualifer Allocations were announced today.  You can check out how the ACC fared below.

Also released today were the final RPI & Coaches' Rankings of the Year.  This is how your Wolfpack wrestlers ended up in those polls...

Click here for the link related to complete NCAA Rankings/Qualifier Allocations.

Finally, we have some impressive news about one of next year's incoming freshman, Chad Pyke.  His profile was featured on Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd.  Chad recently achieved an incredible milestone - his 325th career victory in the semifinals of the Georgia Class 3A Sectional.   With that win, he now holds the national record for wins.  Congratulations, Chad! 

For the list of all student-athletes featured in SI.com's series, click here. 

Pat's Pop Ins

Pack Preview: National Collegiate Open

This Sunday is the last tournament of the season for the redshirts. The tournament, the National Collegiate Open, has turned into one of the most exciting tournaments of the season for redshirt and non-starting wrestlers. Here is a preview of the tournament…

125 Pounds (23 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: John Sparks

Other Top Competitors: Drew Templeman (Wyoming, 18-4), Brian Bokoski (North Carolina, 18-9), Ty  Mitch (Ohio, 0-0), Kevin Devoy (Drexel, 19-4), Mitchel Hrnyak (Central Michigan, 18-9), Ryak Finch (Iowa State, 11-7), Will Mason (Virginia, 15-11), & Jared Germaine (Eastern Michigan, 13-7)

133 Pounds (33 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: Patrick Hutton

Other Top Competitors: Ryan Mango (Stanford, 15-0), Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State, 21-6), Mark Grey (Finger Lakes), Zane Richards (Illinois, 31-5), Shelton Mack (Pittsburgh, 15-7), Joseph Martinez (Virginia, 24-14), Mike Hayes (Old Dominion, 19-14), & John Meeks (Iowa State, 8-8)

141 Pounds (33 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: None

Other Top Competitors: Zach Horan (Central Michigan, 19-3), Tyler Small (Kent State, 20-5), Shyheim Brown (Maryland, 28-8), Jake Smith (Appalachian State, 25-8), Ryan Mosley (Gardner Webb, 17-9), Travis Shaffer (Pittsburgh, 10-9), Luke Goettl (Iowa State, 11-10), & Jamel Hudson (Hofstra, 12-4)

149 Pounds (27 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: Cohl Fulk

Other Top Competitors: Roger Wildmo (Michigan State, 21-2), Luke Frey (Penn State, 10-3), Matt Cimato (Drexel, 23-9), John Fahy (Illinois, 17-5), Ronnie Garbinsky (Pittsburgh, 16-8), Austin Sams (Chattanooga, 17-5), Nick Heilmann (North Carolina, 15-12), & Blake Kastl (Cal Poly, 9-5)

157 Pounds (32 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: None

Other Top Competitors: Josh Kreimier (Air Force, 21-4), Zach Brunson (Illinois, 30-4), Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg, 15-5), Donnie Tasser (Pittsburgh, 20-13), Kyle Ashe (Gardner Webb, 20-5), Chad Stube (Virginia Tech, 18-6), Dakota Cooley (Central Michigan, 18-12), & Cody Copeland (Lock Haven, 23-15),

165 Pounds

NCSU Entrants: Ryan Fox

Other Top Competitors: Chris Moon (Virgnia Tech, 13-6), Kevin Harnett (Bloomsburg, 19-6), Austin Trott (Gardner Webb, 21-6), Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State, 24-16), Frank Affronti (Hofstra, 12-6), Clay Wenger (Kent State, 15-14), Ryan Forrest (George Mason, 5-3), & Rex Lutz (Penn State, 12-10) 

174 Pounds (18 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: None

Other Top Competitors: Nikkos Reyes (Illinois, 6-0), Levi Clemons (Chattanooga, 11-2), PJ Tasser (Pittsburgh, 20-7), Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh, 13-7), Phillip Bakuckas (Rutgers, 21-11), Mike Vollant (Kent State, 23-17), Anthony Pafumi (Rutgers, 15-10), & Tyler Rill (Bloomsburg, 12-10)

184 Pounds (23 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: None

Other Top Competitors: Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh, 12-4), Boaz Beard (Iowa State, 10-5), Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel, 9-4), Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, 31-11), Jeff Koepke (Illinois, 20-11), Wes Phipps (Penn State, 11-8), Austin Severn (Central Michigan, 11-7), & John Dickson (Virginia Tech)

197 Pounds (18 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: None

Other Top Competitors: Danny Mitchell (American, 3-0), Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion, 28-12), James Fox (Harvard, 8-3), Paul Rands (Navy, 16-6), Jared Johnson (Chattanooga, 18-10), Nick Whitenburg (Eastern Michigan, 11-6), Boyce Corwell (Gardner Webb, 12-7), & Cody Rodgers (Ohio, 11-8)

285 Pounds (22 Entrants)

NCSU Entrants: Nick Gwiazdowski & Josh Davis

Other Top Competitors: Spencer Myers (Maryland, 8-0), Matt Gibson (Iowa State, 14-7), Ty Walz (Virginia Tech, 15-6), Mimmo Lytle (Kent State, 16-10), Josh Marchok (Stanford, 18-9), Chris Penny (Virginia Tech, 9-6), Justin Kozera (Gardner Webb, 15-7), & Lucas Ryan (Old Dominion, 16-14)

Pack Preview: Duke Dual

We compete against Duke University tonight at Reynolds Coliseum at 7:00.  This is our last dual meet of the season and we are currently 5-5 as a team so this match will determine whether we will have a winning dual meet record this season.  Duke is led by first year head coach (third season on the Duke coaching staff) Glen Lanham.  He is assisted by Ben Wissel, Will Rowe, and Corey Bell.  Duke is 7-9 on the season.  Here is a look at their line-up…

125 Pounds – Peter Terrezza is a redshirt senior who has been the Blue Devil’s starter for four seasons.  He has sixty-three career wins, including six this season.  He has placed in the ACC Tournament two times.

133 Pounds – Brandon Gambucci is a redshirt sophomore and in his second year as a starter at Duke.  He tied for the most wins on the team last year in wins with twenty-three and currently has a 14-4 record this season.  He leads the team in both technical falls and pins.  He is nationally ranked twenty-seventh in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.  He finished third at the Keystone Classic earlier this season.

141 Pounds – Tanner Hough is a sophomore and a returning national qualifier.  He placed at the ACC Tournament last season and was named Duke’s most valuable wrestler last season.  He recorded twenty-three wins last season and has eighteen so far this season.

149 Pounds – Marcus Cain is a redshirt freshman who went 25-7 wrestling unattached last season.  He has the second most wins on the team with twenty so far this season.  He leads the team in dual meet wins with an 11-2 dual meet record.  He finished fourth at the Keystone Classic earlier this season.

157 Pounds – Immanuel Kerr-Brown is a redshirt sophomore who leads the team in wins with twenty-three.  He won nineteen matches last season and is in his second year as a starter.  He has won five of his last six matches.  This season, he won the Ashland Open, took sixth at the Hokie Open, and finished in the top eight at the Wolfpack Open.

165 Pounds – Randy Roden is sophomore.  He started last season at 174 pounds and won thirteen matches.  This season, he has six wins.

174 Pounds – Trey Adamson is a redshirt freshman who won nineteen matches wrestling unattached last season.  He is second on the team in dual meet wins (ten) and falls (five).  He also leads the team in major decisions (six).

184 Pounds – Dylan Ryan is redshirt freshman.  He won ten matches competing unattached last season.  He has two wins so far this season. 

197 Pounds – Diego Bencomo is the second redshirt senior in the line-up.  He has thirteen wins so far this year and eighty career victories.  Bencomo has won six of his last seven matches.  He was listed in the RPI Ranking by the NCAA in the thirty-second spot.  He finished second at the Hokie Open at the beginning of the season.  He has placed second and third in the ACC Championships.  He has started for four years and finished in the top twelve at the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore.

285 Pounds – Brian Self is a junior with eleven wins on the season.  He started the season wrestling at 197 pounds but has since moved up to heavyweight.  He has thirty-five career wins and is in his third season as a starter.

If you cannot attend, results will be posted on twitter (@PackWrestle) and live scoring will be provided by TrackWrestling.com

Pat's Pop Ins

Don't forget - tomorrow night the Pack takes on the Duke Blue Devils at 7:00 in Reynolds Coliseum.  This is the last dual meet of the year before we gear up for ACCs & Nationals! Go Pack!

Mentality Monday

On Wednesday evening we close out our dual meet season at home against the Duke Blue Devils. Check out this promo video & come out to Reynolds at 7:00 to cheer on the Pack!

 

Pack Preview: Davidson & Ohio Northern Duals

This afternoon we have two dual meets at Davidson College.  We will be wrestling both Ohio Northern and Davidson.  We take on ONU at 1PM and Davidson right after that match concludes.  Ohio Northern is 15-3 on the season and ranked seventeenth in the country in NCAA Division III.  ONU is led by Ron Beaschler in his 25^th year at the helm of the Polar Bears.  Last season, they finished eighteenth in the NCAA Division III Nationals.  ONU assistant coaches are Rob Yahrmarkt, Jay Salge, Luke Miller, Nathan Jones, and Ben Marks.  Davidson has six wins on the season for ninth-year head coach Bob Patnesky.  His assistants are Erik Wince, Tim Stoud, and Julio Arce.  Here is a look at their line-ups…

Ohio Northern University Line-Up

125 Pounds – Jerry Pasquale is 23-10 on the season as a junior.  He has been a three-year starter.  He is third on the team in falls with seven so far this season.  He finished third at the Alma Open and fourth at the Midwest Classic this season.  He has forty-four career wins.

133 Pounds – Jeremy Jones is a senior and is 22-15 so far this season.  Jones is in his fourth year as a starter.  He is a returning NCAA Division III National Qualifier.  He placed third at the Wheaton Invitational and seventh at the ONU Invitational this season.  He has seventy-one career wins and has been ranked in the top five in the country in NCAA Division III.

141 Pounds – Shaun Lee has three wins and is a freshman from Michigan. 

149 Pounds – Kyle Brezovec holds a 9-7 record as a sophomore.  He won ten matches last season. 

157 Pounds – Jeff Stover has three wins as a freshman.

165 Pounds – Tyler Gargano is 19-11 and is a freshman who transferred into ONU from Kent State.  He placed fourth at the ONU Invitational and eighth at the Midwest Classic this season. 

174 Pounds – Kyle Kwiat is the team leader as a senior.  He is a returning NCAA Division III National Champion and a three-time All-American.  He is 35-3 so far this season and 138-16 in his career.  He holds the all time win record at ONU.  He won the ONU Invitational, won the Alma Open, won the Wheaton Invitational, and took second at the Midwest Classic this season.

184 Pounds – Kyle Raber has seven wins and is the third senior in the line-up.  He has been ranked in the top ten in Division III.

197 Pounds – Michael Pawlitz is a junior with a 25-5 record.  He has the third most wins on the team.  He won twenty-eight matches last season.  He is second on the team in falls with thirteen.  He has been ranked in the top five in NCAA Division III this season.  He took second at the Alma Open, third at the ONU Invitational, and fifth at the Midwest Classic this season.  He has sixty-three career wins.

285 Pounds – Cody Lovejoy is a sophomore with a 26-9 record.  Lovejoy is second on the team in wins and also had twenty-eight wins last season.  He leads the team in falls with seventeen.  He finished third at the Alma Open, fifth at the ONU Invitational, and sixth at the Midwest Classic this season.

Davidson College Line-Up

125 Pounds – Philip Elias is one of Wildcat’s top wrestlers.  He is 11-6 on the season and sophomore from Pennsylvania.  Elias ahs the second most wins on the team.  He missed most of last season with an injury.

133 Pounds – Anthony Elias (Philip’s twin brother) is currently one of Davidson’s hottest wrestlers as he has won three of his last four matches.  He has six wins on the season.  Last season, he won eleven matches and won the Mat Rumble Tournament at VMI.  He was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team last season.

141 Pounds – Sejiro Littleton is sophomore with six wins on the season and hails from North Carolina.

149 Pounds – Kevin Birmingham is a sophomore from New Jersey.  He has seven wins so far this season.  He won fourteen matches last season.

157 pounds – Nathaniel Powers has two wins so far this season.  He is a freshman from Pennsylvania.

165 Pounds – Chris Cirenza is a senior who has been in the Wildcat line-up for a few years.  He has six wins so far this season.  He came to Davidson from the state of Virginia.

174 Pounds – Ian Solcz is sophomore from New York.  He has seven wins so far this season.  He placed third last season at VMI’s Mat Rumble Tournament.

184 Pounds – Scott Patrick is a junior from Maryland.  He has a team best 14-9 record.  He has the most wins on the team and also the most matches.  Last season, he went 11-3 and placed at both the VMI Mat Rumble and the Citadel Open.  He placed fifth this season at the Wolfpack Open.

197 Pounds – Carson Stack has seven wins on the season.  He is a freshman from New Jersey.

285 Pounds – Ed Isola is a sophomore from Florida.  He has five wins on the year.  He is a returning starter who moved up to heavyweight from 197 pounds last season.

Pat's Pop Ins

Jamill Kelly Reacts to IOC Decision

Due to today's breaking news about the IOC's decision to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 Olympic Games, we have postponed Pat's Pop Ins until tomorrow.  Assistant Coach and 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Jamill Kelly discusses today's news in the video below...

Mentality Monday

Pack Preview: Maryland Dual

Tomorrow we take on the Maryland Terrapins at 5PM in Reynolds Coliseum.  The match will also be on ESPN3.  Maryland is 10-7 as a team this season and is receiving votes (top thirty) in the USA Today Coaches Poll.  They are led by fifth-year head coach, Kerry McCoy.  Under his tutelage, the Terrapins have won three ACC Championships and finished in the top twenty in the country on three occasions.  He has been named the ACC Coach of the year three times as well.  They are the reigning ACC Champions.  McCoy is assisted by Todd Beckerman, Mike Catullo, and Chris Vitale.  Here is a look at the UMD line-up…

125 Pounds – Shane Gentry is having a very good season as a junior.  He is a three year-starter that was an ACC Runner-up last season and finished third in the conference as a freshman.  He is a returning national qualifier that finished 14-8 last season.  Gentry is currently 15-8 on the season with a 10-6 dual meet record.  He won the Oklahoma Gold Classic earlier this season.  He is ranked twenty-seventh in the country by the NCAA Coaches Panel.

133 Pounds – Geoff Alexander is a sophomore that qualified for the NCAA Championships.  He finished last season 22-12 and as the ACC Runner-Up.  This season, he is 17-6 and finished second at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  He leads the team in falls and is second on the team in dual meet wins (13-2).  He is ranked sixteenth in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.

141 Pounds – Shane Arechiga is a sophomore with a 16-11 record.  He finished fifth at the Wilkes Open and third at the East Stroudsburg Open this season.  Last season, he finished with a 17-13 record.

149 Pounds – Lou Mascola is a sophomore with an 8-9 record.  He won ten matches last season.  He finished third earlier this season at the Oklahoma Gold Classic and won the most falls award at that tournament.

157 pounds – UMC could start either Brady Massaro or TJ Guidice, both are redshirt freshmen.  Guidice has 11 wins so far this season while Massaro has three.  Both have started in four dual meets this season.  Guidice recently placed in the Messiah Open.

165 Pounds – Junior, Domenic DeRobertis, is expected to start for Maryland.  He finished with a 10-6 and 10-8 record each of the last two seasons.  He has seen limited time this season as he has only wrestled in six dual meets and eight total matches.

174 Pounds – Josh Asper is the lone senior in the Terrapin line-up this season.  He is Maryland’s best wrestler as he finished sixth in the country each of the last two seasons after finishing in the top twelve at the national tournament as a freshman.  He is 12-1 on the season and 109-19 in his career.  He won the Oklahoma Gold Classic earlier this season.  He is currently ranked sixth in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.

184 Pounds – Jimmy Sheptock is a redshirt junior and team leader in many categories.  He leads the team in wins (thirty), major decisions (seven), and dual meet wins (seventeen).  He is also second on the team in technical falls (three) and third on the team in pins (four).  He is 30-3 on the season with a championship at the Oklahoma Gold Classic, a second place finish at the Penn State Open, and a fifth place finish at Midlands.  He is currently ranked seventh in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.  Last season, he was an ACC Champion and a national qualifier.

197 pounds – Christian Boley is a redshirt junior with an 18-6 record.  He won the ACC’s last year and was seeded fourth at the NCAA Championships with a 31-3 season record.  As a freshman, he took third at the ACC Tournament.  This season, he won the Oklahoma Gold Classic and finished third at the Penn State Open.  He already has eighty-seven career wins and is ranked sixteenth in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.

285 Pounds – Dallas Brown is a redshirt junior in his first season as a full-time starter after spot-starting the last two seasons.  He is 8-6 on the season with five dual meet wins.  He placed earlier this season at the Oklahoma Gold Classic

Pat's Pop Ins

Mentality Monday

We apologize for the delay - here is this week's Mentality Monday with Bret Peltier.

Pack Preview: UNC Dual

We wrestle at UNC tonight at 7PM.  We take on the Tar Heels in Carmichael Arena and the match will be on ESNP3 as well.  The Tar Heels have won four duals meets and have five nationally ranked individuals.  UNC has won the last six dual meets over NCSU.  CD Mock is entering his tenth year as the head coach at Carolina.  Cary Kolat is the associate head coach and is in his third year with the program.  Dennis Papadatos and Trevor Chinn are the other assistants at UNC.  He is a look at the Tar Heel line-up…

125 Pounds – Nathan Kraisser has burst onto the scene as one of the best freshmen in the country.  He is currently ranked eighth in country.  He has a 26-4 record with a sparkling 10-0 dual meet record.  He is tied for second on the team in both pins (four) and major decisions (five).  He won the Wolfpack Open, took third at the Penn State Open, and fifth at the Hokie Open this season.  He has won his last seven matches.

133 Pounds – Joey Ward is ranked eighteenth in the country as a freshman.  He is currently 16-7 with a 5-2 dual meet record.  So far this season, he placed second at the Hokie Open, fourth at the Wolfpack Open, and seventh at the Penn State Open.

141 Pounds – Evan Henderson is a sophomore and returning national qualifier.  He won twenty-seven matches last season and is currently 27-6 on the season.  He is second on the team in dual meet wins with a 9-1 record.  He won the Wolfpack Open, took second at the Penn State Open, and third at the Hokie Open this season.  He is on a four match win streak and is ranked ninth in the country.

149 Pounds – UNC has two good options here as Nick Heilmann and Christian Barber have been splitting time.  Heilmann is a redshirt sophomore.  He has fifteen wins on the season and is tied for second on the team for the most major decisions with five.  He took fifth at the Wolfpack Open and forth at the Penn State Open this season.  Barber is a redshirt freshman that won twenty-one matches last season.  He is 18-11 on the season.  He has placed second at the Wolfpack open and sixth at the Penn State Open this season.

157 Pounds – This is another weight that has seen two wrestlers split time in dual meets.  Jacob Crawford or Chris Mears could take the mat tonight.  Crawford, a freshman, is 10-6 on the season after missing November and most of December with an injury.  He took third at the Franklin and Marshall Open this year and has competed in four dual meets.  Mears is a sophomore and has competed in half of the Tar Heel dual meets at 157 pounds.  He posted four wins at the Hokie Open earlier this season.

165 Pounds – John Staudenmayer is a redshirt freshman that won twenty-eight matches last season.  He is nationally ranked thirtieth with a 17-10 record.  He leads the team in major decisions with six and is tied for the most technical falls on the team.  He took fourth at the Penn State Open and fifth at both the Wolfpack and Hokie Opens.

174 pounds – Tanner Eitel is a redshirt sophomore that transferred into UNC.  He has only wrestled in seven matches this season (all dual meets this semester).  He has a deceptive 4-3 record as all three of his losses are to nationally ranked wrestlers and he has a top twenty win.  He will most likely be in the next set of rankings.

184 Pounds – Alex Utley is a sophomore and is ranked twenty-fourth in the country.  He has an 18-12 record on the season.  He has wrestled in every dual meet this season for the Tarheels.  He won the Wolfpack Open and took sixth at the Penn State Open this season.

197 Pounds – Antonio Giorgio is a redshirt sophomore that redshirted last season.  As a freshman, he won nineteen matches and was ranked in the top twenty in the country for a good portion of the season.  This season, he has posted eight wins taking second at the Hokie Open and fifth at the Wolfpack Open.  Giorgio has not wrestled since early December but could be back for the match.  If he is not wrestling tonight, watch for Frank Abbondanza, a sophomore to start.  Abbondanza is a returning starter that has seven wins on the season.  He has wrestled in all ten dual meets for UNC this season wrestling anywhere from 174 to heavyweight.

285 Pounds – Cody Klempay is a freshman that was one of the top recruits in the country this past season.  He has seen limited action this year but has posted two wins.