NC State entered the National Championships with goals of accomplishing feats that have never been done in ACC history, but the Wolfpack fell short with an 11th-place showing on the sport's biggest stage. However, it was still a season to remember, capped by an ACC title and the school's best NCAA performance in more than 20 years.
Fifth-year senior heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski led the way with a second-place finish in one of the most exciting heavyweight championship bouts ever, an overtime battle against Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, the youngest World Champion in U.S. history. Meanwhile, junior 184-pounder Pete Renda placed third and redshirt senior 157-pounder Tommy Gantt took eighth. All three garnered All-American honors.
What They're Saying
Gwiazdowski:
NC State fourth-year head coach Pat Popolizio:
Former NC State national champion Darrion Caldwell:
6-time U.S. National Team member and former two-time NCAA Champion at Ohio State Tommy Rowlands:
ESPN broadcaster Adam Amin:
On his ESPN show Monday morning, Mike Golic of Mike & Mike said:
“This Snyder kid is a world champion freestyle wrestler at 97 kilos, which is about 213 pounds, so he is a great wrestler, and they both are. I loved this match because sometimes you get heavyweights that wrestle a little bit of upper-body, but these two wrestled. I loved it. I thought all of the matches were great, I loved watching it, but I do have a special place in my heart for these heavyweights. Congrats to Gwiazdowski on your two titles even though you didn’t get your third, and congrats to Snyder from Ohio State.”
2012 U.S. Olympic Gold medalist and two-time NCAA Champion Jordan Burroughs:
Former NCAA Champion Adam Tirapelle
National wrestling media outlet, FloWrestling:
NCAA and World Champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State after beating Gwiazdowski in overtime:
“Nick’s a great wrestler, great competitor. Hopefully we can train together in the future and continue to grow together, because I think he’s going to have — hopefully he keeps wrestling, he’s going to have a great future in the sport. But it was a fun match. I think it will go down as one of the most exciting heavyweight matches in NCAA history.”
By The Numbers
4, 5, 8, 9 • The seeds of the wrestlers that junior 184-pounder Pete Renda, who entered as the No. 13 seed, upset to take third place at NCAAs. He only lost to the eventual national champion, who won his second title in a row. Including Gwiazdowski in 2016, only 10 Wolfpackers have ever finished higher.
1 • Team that has ever won on the road in the same season at Oklahoma State and Iowa's respective home venues. The two schools have combined for 57 of 87 NCAA titles in the sport. NC State posted a 19-15 victory at Gallagher-Iba Arena — where the Cowboys are 475-39-6 all-time — Dec. 6 and concluded the regular season with a 21-17 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena — where the home team is 233-23 all-time — Feb. 22 in the National Duals. Only 13 teams in the history of the sport have wins over both national powerhouses.
1 • All-American in school history at 157 pounds and 184 pounds — Gantt and Renda were the Pack's first at their respective weight classes.
2 • NCSU's finish in the final coaches' poll after leading the country with 23 dual victories, setting a new conference and school record with a 23-1 mark. It marked the highest ranking in program annals.
2 • The number of wrestlers in their final year of eligibility on the entire roster this year — Gantt and Gwiazdowski, who combined to go 61-4 (.939 winning percentage) on the year. Both won individual ACC titles earlier this month.
3 • All-Americans for NCSU in 2016, which tied a school record set in 1992. Only six schools had more this year.
4 • Individual ACC champions from NC State that were crowned at the conference tournament in Charlottesville March 6 — Gantt, Gwiazdowski, 141-pound sophomore Kevin Jack and 165-pound junior Max Rohskopf.
6 • All-America finishes posted by the Pack in the last three years — which is one shy of the most ever in a three-year period, set in 1991-93. That stretch is also the last time NCSU boasted an All-America wrestler (which requires a top-eight finish at NCAAs) in three straight years.
7 • NCAA qualifiers that NCSU returns to the roster for next season — six from this year, plus fifth-year senior Sam Speno, a two-time qualifier who redshirted this year. Each has won at least one match at Nationals, and not many schools will enter the season with such depth (there are only 10 weight classes). The eight competitors the program sent to Nationals this year tied a school record.
9 • Ranked teams that NC State beat in dual matches this year — by a combined score of 225-103. In a total of 10 bouts against teams ranked in the nation's top 25, NCSU held a 239-122 advantage.
10 • NCSU wrestlers have won three or more ACC titles, Gwiazdowski joined the club while helping the Pack to its first ACC Championship since 2007 on March 6.
11th • Stands as the Wolfpack's fifth-best NCAA finish ever and its best performance at Nationals since setting a school record in 1993 (seventh).
12-13 • Was Gantt's record as a true freshman grappler in 2012. He went 28-3 as a senior and earned his first All-America laurel.
18-3 • Was the score of Renda's victory in the consolation finals to take the bronze medal over No. 8 seed Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State. No other match in the championship or consolation finals was won by technical fall (one wrestler tallies 15 or more points than his opponent).
21 • Individual wins posted by NCSU wrestlers in their weight class' double-elimination bracket at NCAAs. Collectively, the team finished 21-15 at the tournament; four grapplers posted winning records.
33 • All-America honors accumulated in program history by 21 individuals.
48-14 • The combined score of Gwiazdowski's five NCAA bouts, including the 7-5 overtime loss in his final match.
63rd • Was NCSU's national placement in head coach Pat Popolizio's first year. Since then, they have rattled off three consecutive top-20 NCAA finishes (19th, 16th, 11th), a first for the program since 1991-93.
88 • Straight matches won by Gwiazdowski, stretching from Jan. 2, 2014 until March 19, 2016. It more than doubles the next-longest streak in program annals (41).
110-3 • Gwiazdowski's record in three years of official competition at NC State. He went 30-9 and placed eighth at Nationals for Binghamton before transferring to Raleigh, giving him four All-America honors and a collegiate mark of 140-12 (.921 winning percentage). He is only the fourth Wolfpacker to earn three All-America trophies and ranks second in program history (to NCSU Hall of Famer Sylvester Terkay's 122) for victories despite only being able to count three seasons.
1980 • Is the only other year that NC State had two wrestlers place in the top three at NCAAs.
