ACC Weekly Recap (2/20/2024)

We had another solid weekend of ACC wrestling last week, setting up for a great final weekend and conference dual champion-deciding matchup. North Carolina used bonus points to knock off Virginia in a dual with a 5-5 split on matches. The Hokies exacted revenge in Pittsburgh, returning the favor from last season and knocking off the Panthers at home. In the final conference action of the weekend, the Wolfpack showed off their depth, resting most of their starters in a lopsided victory over the Blue Devils. NC State also started the weekend with a bang, dominating in their top-10 battle against Cornell. 

Virginia Tech 26 Pittsburgh 12

Though the dual was closer than the score may appear, the Hokies grabbed control early and never relinquished the lead. They opened the dual with a massive upset at 184 with TJ Stewart taking out #9 Reece Heller in sudden victory on a penalty point for an illegal head scissor. Colton Camacho gave Cooper Flynn a tough test but Flynn was able to secure a last-second takedown to take a 3-2 win. The biggest match of the dual featured the two remaining undefeated wrestlers in the conference at 141. It was a fun match. It was back-and-forth throughout and went to sudden victory; Matthews got in deep on a shot and Crook tried to scramble out - Matthews caught Crook mid-scramble and was able to secure the pin in sudden victory. Matthews earns the top seed for the ACC Championship with an unblemished record; he will still have a match remaining against Jack Gioffre but holds wins over Crook, McNeil, and Jack. The Panthers will be back home for the conference finale weekend, hosting Virginia while Virginia Tech will travel to Raleigh to face NC State for the ACC Dual Champion crown. 

125 - Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) dec Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) 3-2

133 - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec Vince Santaniello (Pittsburgh) 6-4

141 - Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) fall Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) 7:18

149 - Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) dec Finn Solomon (Pittsburgh) 10-6

157 - Clayton Ulrey (Virginia Tech) maj Kelin Laffey (Pittsburgh) 10-2

165 - Holden Heller (Pittsburgh) dec Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) 11-5

174 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) tech Grant MacKay (Pittsburgh) 19-4

184 - TJ Stewart (Virginia Tech) dec Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) 2-1SV

197 - Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) dec Dakota Howard (Virginia Tech) 7-4

285 - Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech) tech Geoff Magin (Pittsburgh) 17-2

North Carolina 18 Virginia 16

We expected this to be a close dual and it lived up to expectations. Both programs had some starters out due to illness or injuries, but both teams flexed their depth with backups picking up wins for the team. Justin McCoy and Tyler Eischens had a great match at 174 with McCoy holding on to an early lead to get the decision win; this will likely establish the 2-seed for the ACC tournament. At the lighter weights, I was very impressed by the performances of Spencer Moore for the Tar Heels and Marlon Yarbrough for the Hoos; both have good momentum going into the tournament and Yarbrough will have a tough test this week at Pittsburgh against Vinnie Santaniello. I was also very impressed by the match that Max Shaw put together against a scrappy Krystian Kinsey. The Hoos will face Pittsburgh and the Tar Heels will host Duke to close out the regular season. 

125 - Spencer Moore (North Carolina) tech Sammie Hayes (Virginia) 19-4

133 - Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) tech Derek Guanajuato (North Carolina) 16-4

141 - Kyren Butler (Virginia) dec Jace Palmer (North Carolina) 8-5SV

149 - Jayden Scott (North Carolina) dec Michael Gioffre (Virginia) 4-1SV

157 - Sonny Santiago (North Carolina) dec Nick Sanko (Virginia) 8-5

165 - Nick Hamilton (Virginia) dec Isaias Estrada (North Carolina) 9-8

174 - Justin McCoy (Virginia) dec Tyler Eischens (North Carolina) 6-4

184 - Sabino Portella (North Carolina) dec Hudson Stewart (Virginia) 17-5

197 - Max Shaw (North Carolina) dec Krystian Kinsey (Virginia) 11-5

285 - Ryan Catka (Virginia) dec Cade Lautt (North Carolina) 4-2

NC State 24 Cornell 9

The Wolfpack came into this dual looking for a statement win…and boy did they get one, taking out #9 Cornell seven matches to three. Camacho looked strong in his return to the lineup, notching a 5-1 win over Brett Ungar to start the dual. Kai Orine looked like he wasn’t happy he didn’t get the chance to wrestle Vito Arujau, who sat out the dual, and blanked Ethan Qureshi in a second period tech fall. Ryan Jack rallied from an early deficit to get the decision win over Josh Saunders and Jackson Arrington picked up a dominant major decision over Ethan Fernandez. 

After winning the first four, the Wolfpack dropped the next three matches as they got to the strength of the Cornell lineup. Meyer Shapiro looked fantastic in his win over Ed Scott, followed by AJ Kovacs dropping a 9-4 decision to Julian Ramirez and Alex Faison losing 8-4 to Benny Baker. 

The Wolfpack took the final three bouts in impressive fashion. Dylan Fishback earned the upset win over Chris Foca; I was very impressed by the composure of Fishback and his ability to stay in the match. Trent Hidlay notched win #98 of his career over a very good Jacob Cardenas - he also beat Cardenas at the CKLV. The final bout was a gritty win by Owen Trephan over Lewis Fernandes to give the Wolfpack the 24-9 team win. 

In their Sunday dual in Durham, the Wolfpack rested several starters, with 6 regular starters out for the dual. They showcased the young talent they have at the lower weights, picking up wins at 125, 133, and 141 from backups. Jarred Papscy earned a Senior Day win for the Blue Devils at 149 and Connor Barket continued his strong season with a pin over Chase Horne at 285. 

125 - Jakob Camacho (NC State) dec Brett Ungar (Cornell) 5-1

133 - Kai Orine (NC State) tech Ethan Qureshi (Cornell) 15-0

141 - Ryan Jack (NC State) dec Joshua Saunders (Cornell) 7-4

149 - Jackson Arrington (NC State) maj Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) 12-2

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec Ed Scott (NC State) 7-2

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec AJ Kovacs (NC State) 9-4

174 - Benny Baker (Cornell) dec Alex Faison (NC State) 8-4

184 - Dylan Fishback (NC State) dec Chris Foca (Cornell) 6-4

197 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) 8-2

285 - Owen Trephan (NC State) dec Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 1-0

NC State 36 Duke 9

125 - Troy Hohman (NC State) tech Logan Agin (Duke) 16-0

133 - Vincent Robinson (NC State) maj Raymond Adams (Duke) 20-10

141 - Tyler Tracy (NC State) maj Christian Colman (Duke) 11-0

149 - Jarred Papscy (Duke) dec Koy Buesgens (NC State) 7-3

157 - Ed Scott (NC State) fall Logan Ferrero (Duke) 3:32

165 - Derek Fields (NC State) dec Gaetano Console (Duke) 11-4

174 - Alex Faison (NC State) tech David Hussey (Duke) 22-5

184 - Brock DelSignore (NC State) maj Conor Becker (Duke) 15-4

197 - Trent Hidlay (NC State) tech Kwasi Bonsu (Duke) 18-2

285 - Connor Barket (Duke) fall Chase Horne (NC State) 3:46