NC State Wolfpack Wrestling goes for a team trophy at the NCAA Championships

NC State tied the school record with four All-Americans — 184 Trent Hidlay finished second, 141 Tariq Wilson third, 157 Hayden Hidlay fifth and 174 Daniel Bullard seventh.

Updates from all of the action are below, with a more detailed recap story coming later tonight.

9:17 p.m. — 184 Trent Hidlay fought tooth and nail, but lost a 3-2 decision in the finals to No. 1 Aaron Brooks.

The difference was two stall calls against Hidlay that resulted in a penalty point for Brooks, and then there was a point in the third period where it appeared like Brooks grabbed the edge of the mat, which should've resulted in a penalty point against Brooks and tied up the match.

There's no denying controversy found the Wolfpack in several instances at this event. However, as it stands, Hidlay finishes in second and NC State will wrap up the tournament in sixth place as a team. Likely only one point out of fifth place.

8:50 p.m. — No. 2 184 Trent Hidlay will be wrestling for the NCAA title next. Probably about 10 minutes before it begins versus No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State).

7:00 p.m. — 184 Trent Hidlay will be the seventh match of the finals on ESPN.

2:35 p.m. — At the end of the early session, and with only tonight's 10 NCAA championship matches to go, NC State sits in sixth place as a team, one point behind No. 5 Michigan and six points behind No. 4 Arizona State. No. 7 Missouri and No. 8 Minnesota can't catch the Wolfpack.

184 Trent Hidlay winning the gold medal can push NC State up the standings if the others don't add more points, but only a Hidlay pin and an Arizona State loss in the 125-pound finals would be enough to get the Pack a tie for fourth and team trophy finish.

It looks likely the Pack will finish in fifth or sixth place as a team, which will be the second-best NCAA placement in program history, trailing only the tie for fourth in 2018. It stands as just the sixth top-10 finish ever for NC State and second under ninth-year head coach Pat Popolizio (who has only coached eight NCAA Championships due to the pandemic canceling last year's).

1:45 p.m. — 174 Daniel Bullard receives a medical forfeit in the seventh-place match, which means he'll add two bonus point to the team total in addition to his seventh-place finish.

NC State and Michigan are tied for fifth in the team score at 68 points, six points behind No. 4 Arizona State and five points ahead of No. 7 Missouri. The Pack is likely to finish in fifth or sixth place as a team.

1:31 p.m. — NC State's first-ever four-time All-American 157 Hayden Hidlay makes it a fifth-place finish, after a pair of tough losses in the semifinals and consolation semifinals. He also picked up a big bonus point with a dominant 11-2 major decision.

That win and bonus point extends the Wolfpack lead for fifth place to three points over No. 6 Michigan and Missouri (62), though both of those teams have a few more wrestlers coming up.

To show what Hayden Hidlay means to his team and the program, this is two-time NCAA champ Nick Gwiazdowski, who has gone on to win two world medals, weighing in on his former (and younger) teammate:

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1:01 p.m. — 141 Tariq Wilson responds to his semifinals loss by wrestling all the way back to third place with a dominant 15-5 major decision victory over No. 3 Sebastian Rivera. He picks up what could be a crucial bonus point for the Wolfpack in the team race (moves NC State up to fifth place, one point ahead of No. 6 Michigan and Missouri).

It's Wilson second third-place finish at the NCAA Championships of his career (only three chances due to last year's pandemic cancelation). He is the sixth three-time All-American in program history and just the fourth with multiple top-three finishes. Even if he doesn't come back next year for a sixth season, his place is secured as one of the program's all-time best.

Wilson was just asked on the ESPN2 broadcast if he was going to take advantage of the free year of eligibility and come back next year. He said it was "still to be determined," but did admit several on the team didn't reach their goals this season, which will drive them in the future.

"I think we did a great job, but we're not where we want to be," he said. "A lot of guys fell short of their goals, so I know that will make them hungry to come back next year, and I can't wait for it."

11:34 a.m. — 157 Hayden Hidlay fell behind early against Arizona State's Jacori Teemer and trailed 14-3 at the end of the first period.He fought back valiantly to avoid a major decision, but still fell 18-12 and will wrestle for fifth place later in the session. That one hurts double because it gives Arizona State an early edge in the race for fourth.

In his next bout, Hidlay will face No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), somebody he has not wrestled before in college.

174 Daniel Bullard will also be back in action later this session, going for seventh against No. 26 Jackson Turley (Rutgers).

11:29 a.m. — 141 Tariq Wilson starts the session with some firework. He struck early and never let up en route to a dominant 12-1 major decision victory over No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska) that featured four minutes of riding time.

Wilson will move on to the third-place match, which he will be looking to win for the second time in his career (2018). He will face No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) later this session, they have not wrestled in college before.