NCAA history will be made in Naples, Italy, on Friday when the No. 5 NC State wrestling team battles No. 3 Oklahoma State in the first collegiate dual to be held outside of North America.
While the trip will be a great opportunity for both the Wolfpack (10-0) and the Cowboys (5-0) to experience a different culture and do some sightseeing, it will also be a marquee matchup between two of the nation’s strongest teams at the Naples Naval Base.
This won’t mark the first time that NC State and Oklahoma State have matched up in the past few years. The Cowboys came to Raleigh in February of 2015 and topped the Wolfpack 20-12, but in December of that same year the Pack beat Oklahoma State 19-15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
This weekend’s installment of the series should prove to be a good one, as NC State has six of its 10 starters nationally ranked by InterMat, while the Cowboys boast eight ranked starters. Of those eight, seven are ranked in the top 10 for their weight class, compared to the Pack’s five top-10 wrestlers.
Perhaps the most intriguing matchup comes in the 141-pound division, as NC State senior Kevin Jack (12-1), ranked fourth in the nation, faces off against the Cowboys’ Dean Heil (14-1), who comes in ranked third. Jack has five technical falls this season, and is 3-1 so far against ranked opponents.
There are two other top-10 matchups between the Cowboys and Wolfpack, in the 125-pound class and at 197 pounds. At 125, redshirt junior No. 8 Sean Fausz (9-1) of NC State will battle No. 3 Nick Piccinni and at 197 NC State’s No. 7 Michael Macchiavello (12-0), a redshirt senior, will go up against No. 4 Preston Weigel (2-0).
NC State has the clear advantage at 157 pounds and 184 pounds, while Oklahoma State is much stronger at 133 pounds, 165 pounds and 174 pounds. Wolfpack redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay (13-0) is off to a phenomenal start in his college career, and has jumped all the way up to number three in the country. He will wrestle the Cowboys’ Jonce Blaylock (10-4) at 157 pounds.
The Pack’s other strong advantage comes in the form of another wrestler ranked third in the country, as redshirt senior Pete Renda (14-0) is undefeated at 184 pounds. Oklahoma State will combat Renda with either Keegan Moore (10-3) or Andrew Marsden (12-5).
Oklahoma State will roll out top-10 wrestlers against unranked members of the Pack at 133 pounds, 165 pounds, 174 pounds and 285 pounds, while it will be a ranked matchup at 149 pounds between the redshirt senior No. 17 Beau Donahue (13-2) of NC State and No. 12 Geo Martinez (13-4) of Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys and the Wolfpack are as good as it gets in the NCAA, and both teams should be competitive forces for the remainder of the season. While this dual in Italy is historic and unique because of the location, it is also a great opportunity for both teams to build on already impressive resumes.
