Nearly 30 minutes after No. 3 NC State wrestling capped off a dramatic 19-14 win over No. 8 North Carolina in the rivalry’s first-ever top-10 showdown (for this sport, at least), eighth-year head coach Pat Popolizio was still in awe.
Not over the result, though he was clearly happy about that.
“It’s a good night, anytime you can beat UNC it’s a good night,” he said.
Not that it all came down to the final match, and sophomore heavyweight Deonte Wilson stepped up to the challenge with a 5-2 victory. The big man is one of two Wolfpack starters not appearing in at least three sets of top-25 rankings (which may not be the case much longer). According to the Jan. 24 coaches’ panel rankings, Wilson was even the underdog on paper: No. 32 — second-to-last to make the cut — to Andrew Gunning’s No. 27.
Popolizio was beaming because of what both teams being in the top 10 — and putting on such a show — signifies for how far the sport and his team have come since he took the helm of a program prior to the 2013 season that had some tradition but just one top-20 national finish in the 19 years prior.
His squad has now placed among the top 20 at the NCAA Championships in a school-record six straight seasons, and after Friday night’s win sits atop the standings of a conference that, for the first time ever this season, features a quartet of top-10 teams.
However, the true highlight for Popolizio was the 4,383 fans that set a school record for attendance at a Reynolds Coliseum wrestling dual and produced a raucous atmosphere reminiscent of where he wrestled in college at national powerhouse Oklahoma State.
“It was just a wild atmosphere,” he said. “The culture that has been created here with the fan base and what the guys have been doing, and the staff. This is what the vision was to make NC State — a program that could compete at a high level.
“We have replicated [what it’s like at an Oklahoma State match]. To me, that is most important tonight. Obviously winning is big, but the growth of college wrestling in NC, this made a statement — that college wrestling, high school wrestling, wrestling is growing. It’s just good for our sport.”
The buzz that surrounded the event — there were probably more people in the stands 30 minutes before the 7 p.m. start time than at any other match this year — was noticeable, and when Wilson secured a final takedown to seal up the victory, The Old Barn had to sound like what it did in its heyday decades ago.
“This is it. I don’t know what else we could’ve asked for, outside of I was fighting to get a little pyrotechnic thing here, but other than that I don’t know what else you could’ve asked for,” Popolizio joked. “We came out with a win and just the energy and the excitement you get when you hear the crowd cheer — it’s so loud down here, you can’t hear anything.
“It pumps you up, it’s an adrenaline rush. I would love to know how loud it got in here.”
No matter how many decibels it reached inside The Old Barn, Popolizio’s team proved the moment wasn’t too big for them — despite being down a pair of starters, they were still able to overcome a top-10 foe for the second straight week.
“It goes to the whole culture of our program,” he said. “Guys are ready if needed.”
The Wolfpack passed this test, but the moments will continue to get bigger as March approaches. NC State hosts No. 7 Virginia Tech next Friday night for its first appearance on the ACC Network, then the ACC Championships are just around the corner March 8, followed by the NCAA Championships March 19-21.
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