The Wolfpack placed eight wrestlers in the finals and won five of the eight bouts to take the championship over runner-up Maryland by a whopping 36 points. NC State finished with 103.5 points to Maryland's 67.5. North Carolina was third with 60.5.
With eight men in the finals and Garrett Cummings taking third place at 133 pounds, the Pack held a 27-point lead following the consolation finals. With four wrestlers in the finals, Maryland mathematically had no chance to catch the Wolfpack. The Terps' Jason Kiessling won at 165 and Mike Letts won at 174. The only other bouts that NC State did not win were at 133, where North Carolina's Evan Sola easily repeated as conference champion, and at 157, where Virginia Tech's Jon Bonilla-Bonham upset the Wolfpack's top-seeded Kody Hamrah.
The rest of the finals was an NC State avalanche, with Taylor Cummings winning at 125, Darrion Caldwell at 141, Joe Caramanica at 149, Ryan Goodman at 197 and Jainor Palma at heavyweight.
All 10 ACC champions automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 15-17 at Detroit, Mich.
The championship was NC State's third in the last six years (2001, 2002, 2004) and its 14th in the last 32 years. It also is the first championship for Carter Jordan, who is wrapping up his third season as the Wolfpack's head coach.
Notes: NC State tied a school record with eight wrestlers making the finals, first set in 1982.
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