At-large bids for the NCAA Wrestling Championships were announced Tuesday afternoon, and NC State, after nabbing six automatic bids during its runner-up performance at the conference tournament, received wildcards for its four remaining grapplers.
That means all 10 starters will be in action at the national tournament, March 16-18 in St. Louis, for the first time in school history. The Wolfpack is one of just two schools — longtime powerhouse Oklahoma State is the other — to have a national qualifier at all 10 weights in 2017.
"If you go back and look, there aren't many schools in years past that have gotten 10 guys through," fifth-year head coach Pat Popolizio told The Wolfpacker last week. “If we can do that, that’d be a major breakthrough. That speaks volumes for the type of depth we have and the work that these guys have been putting in. Once you get there [to the NCAA Championships], you never know who is going to score points for you, so having 10 guys is a big plus.”
It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for NCSU, who tied a program record with three All-Americans (and eight NCAA qualifiers) last season, but graduated two of its top-eight finishers and redshirted the other, senior 184-pounder Pete Renda.
Instead of rebuilding, the team simply reloaded with former backups and competitors who redshirted last year combining with a pair of true freshman and three returning starters to keep the Pack ranked among the nation's top 10 all year. They finished the regular season 13-2, with a win over Big Ten power Michigan in the national duals, and ranked No. 8 in the final NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
At the ACC Championships this past weekend in Raleigh, NC State finished second to Virginia Tech, behind champion 141-pounder Kevin Jack, who breezed through his two matches by a combined score of 27-8 en route to Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. The junior is 29-1 this year and ranked second nationally, which should earn him the No. 2 seed at nationals. The Pack had four others finish second in their weight classes at the conference tournament.
NC State finished 11th at nationals last year, for its third consecutive top-20 showing and highest placement since reaching an all-time best of seventh in 1993.
Quick Notes
• According to @D1CW on twitter, only 18 true freshmen qualified for NCAAs. A pair of schools had multiple rookies punch their ticket to nationals, with NC State being one thanks to freshmen Thomas Bullard (157) and Nick Reenan (174):
• Another one courtesy of @D1CW, only three North Carolina natives are headed to St. Louis — two of the three are from NC State: NC State's Michael Macchiavello (184) and Malik McDonald (197). The other is Appalachian State heavyweight Denzel Dejournette.
