2x NCAA All-American Tariq Wilson (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
Next is…
Tariq Wilson (NC State)
Weight: 149 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 82-22
Hometown: Steubenville, Ohio
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 3rd Place, 2021 ACC Champion, 2020 NWCA Honorable Mention All-American, 2018 NCAA 3rd Place
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #3 at 149 lbs
The recruiting Class of 2016 was a star-studded one for NC State. Two top-ten recruits and another two in the top-50 helped the Wolfpack to garner top honors for their class. One member of the 2016 class that was not among the top-50 has ended up exceeding the production of three of the four that were. With another year of eligibility remaining, Tariq Wilson has already carved out an excellent career finishing in the top-three at the NCAA Championships on two occasions.
Wilson redshirted during his initial season in Raleigh and amassed a 21-7 record. He got better as the season progressed and closed the year with a title at the Appalachian Open before taking third at the National Collegiate Open. His best win came at the F&M Open, where he split matches with the eventual EWL runner-up and NCAA qualifier DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven). After the collegiate season ended, Wilson took fourth in freestyle at UWW Juniors.
Let's fast forward to the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Wilson shocked the wrestling world by pushing the eventual NCAA champion, Seth Gross (South Dakota State), to the brink in the semifinals before finishing third at the 133 lb weight class. Along the way, Wilson defeated the #3 (Luke Pletcher - Ohio State), #4 (Kaid Brock - Oklahoma State), and #5 (John Erneste - Missouri) seeds. Wilson also turned into a scoring machine, never tallying less than seven points in any of his six matches.
So, the incredible run, should we have seen it coming? Maybe not, but at the same time, he shouldn't have been "that" off the radar. Wilson was a part of an incredibly deep ACC bracket that featured Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech - #9 seed), Jack Mueller (Virginia - #10 seed), and Dom Forys (Pittsburgh - #11 seed). He finished fourth in the conference tournament that included those three above him and Zach Sherman (North Carolina) behind him. Four of his pre-NCAA losses came to one of those conference foes, while Brock and Pletcher also defeated him. Two early-season defeats came to teammate Jamel Morris. Also, his best win during the regular season came over Mueller, who was coming off an All-American showing the previous year.
Wilson ended up having an odd sophomore year. He started with wins in his first 11 bouts, including a dual victory over Wyoming All-American Montorie Bridges. The year before, he fell 10-4 to Bridges at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Wilson's unbeaten streak ended the following day as he was upset by Paul Konrath (Indiana), 4-3. A week later, in one of the marquee matches in the team's super-dual with Ohio State, Wilson had to injury default out of a bout against Pletcher. He would only see action in one dual for the remainder of the season.
At the 2019 ACC Championships, Wilson was defeated by Pittsburgh's freshman sensation Micky Phillipi, 4-1. That led to the #11 seed at the NCAA Championship, coincidentally, held in Phillipi's backyard.
In the opening round of nationals, Wilson posted a 5-0 win over Noah Gonser (Campbell), which set up a meeting with past national finalist Ethan Lizak (Minnesota). Lizak prevailed 5-4. The loss set Wilson into the consolation bracket where he'd log bonus point wins versus Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) and conference foe Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech). Those victories put Wilson on the brink of earning All-American honors in back-to-back seasons. Standing in his way was Missouri's John Erneste, the same opponent he'd upset in the opening round of the 2018 tournament. In a long, epic bout, Erneste got some measure of revenge with a 9-7 win in sudden victory.
The 2019-20 season saw Wilson move up in weight to the 141 lb class. He responded by winning his first 11 bouts at the new weight. Wilson's initial win at 141 came over 2018 All-American Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion). That winning streak carried into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where Wilson advanced to the quarterfinals. He'd square off with fellow All-American Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska), who quickly cradled and pinned Wilson. Tariq would lose a second bout to Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa) before settling for seventh place.
In other big tournament action, Wilson took eighth at the Southern Scuffle. Both losses came to unranked opponents, Angelo Martinoni (CSU Bakersfield) and Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State).
Once again, Wilson was in the middle of a deep ACC weight class as he'd face off with Zach Sherman (North Carolina), Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech), and Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) in conference action. While Wilson shutout Sherman in dual action, Sherman got revenge in the ACC finals 5-4.
A runner-up finish for Wilson at the conference meet left him with the #15 seed at nationals. Unfortunately, the event ended up getting canceled due to Covid. Wilson was set to have another match with Moore in the opening round. The two had split matches that year with the Hokie winning in dual competition, after Wilson was successful at the CKLV Invitational. Had Wilson advanced, he likely would have faced #2 Nick Lee (Penn State) in the Round of 16.
The 2021 season proved to be Wilson's finest and most consistent, to date. Wilson only saw action in seven regular-season bouts, but did defeat conference foe Sherman 9-6. At the ACC Tournament, Wilson was able to open it up and ended up with a major over Sherman, 10-1.
A perfect 9-0 record and critical wins over an opponent like Sherman were enough to garner the fourth seed at the 2021 NCAA Championships. Wilson was on cruise control for two consecutive wins, which placed him into the quarterfinals opposite Real Woods (Stanford). As a freshman in 2019-20, Woods had a remarkable season and was seeded third at nationals. This time, his program had plenty of Covid-related hurdles, which prevented him from being in top form at the Pac-12's, hence his 21st seed. Woods pushed Wilson, but the Wolfpack senior was able to emerge victoriously and clinch All-American honors, 3-1.
In the semis, Wilson would square off with the undefeated top-seed, Jaydin Eierman (Iowa). In the opening period of a scoreless match, Wilson looked poised to grab a takedown and possibly a cradle. Unfortunately, Eierman turned the tables and took Wilson to his back for a fall. That proved to be Wilson's only loss of the tournament. He stormed back to take third place with two one-sided major decision wins over Red Jr. and Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers).
Shortly after the 2021 season concluded, Wilson announced that he would take advantage of the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA for the 2021-22 season. He also noted that he was aiming to compete at the 149 lb weight class.
Strengths: Wilson's one of those guys that have a lot of ways to beat you. His length has always presented a problem for his opponents. He's capable of attacking from space and has high-quality, low attacks. Wilson's reach allows him to get him out of unfavorable situations by picking an opponent's ankle or knee. He can either tie his competition up when they do reach his legs, or potentially sit the corner. Wilson also has good short offense and is crisp with go-behind's and reattacks. From the top and in neutral situations, Wilson is always a threat to pull out a cradle. In those 50/50 predicaments, he has excellent hips and tends to come out on top.
2021-22 Outlook: Wilson starts the year ranked third in the country behind Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) and Sammy Sasso (Ohio State). He has gone toe-to-toe with some excellent competition (Gross, Pletcher, Rivera), so don't expect him to get intimidated by opponents of that caliber. Wilson certainly has the goods for a potential finals run. The ACC could be fun, as well, with him and Bryce Andonian comprising the favorites in the league.
2x NCAA All-American Tariq Wilson (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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