Brandon Lang
Redshirt Freshman Sean Fausz wrestles in the Wolfpack Open, in which he placed 5th at the 125 pound weight class. The tournament, which hosted several regional teams including Virginia Tech, UNC, Duke and App State was held in Charmicheal gymnasium on Sunday, November 22, 2015.
A top-five ranking nationally, historic winning streaks, highly rated recruiting classes, ACC championships, All-Americans and competing for an NCAA National Championship — these are some of the goals and measurements for being an elite collegiate sports program. At NC State, the wrestling program boasts all of the aforementioned accolades and more.
The NC State wrestling team under head coach Pat Popolizio is achieving this level of excellence on a more consistent level. Senior heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski is surging toward a third-consecutive national championship while piling up 74-straight wins, and senior Tommy Gantt is also undefeated on the season and eyeing more than just an All-American distinction.
“Being an All-American means a lot, but I have my eyes set on much higher goals,” Gantt said. “I want to be a national champion; being an All-American is a good accomplishment, but I won’t be satisfied until I’m a national champion, and that should be the goal for everyone in our lineup.”
The level of success the Wolfpack’s wrestling team is enjoying right now — 16-0 on the season and a No.3 NCAA ranking — has only been accomplished by handful of teams, and this dominance is in spite of the Pack starting only two seniors.
The program is set up for the future — not only in terms of quality student-athletes coming into a winning culture that the wrestling coaches have established, but also with the mindset and legacy Gwiazdowski and Gantt are leaving behind.
“We have set a standard, and we don’t compromise to get there,” Popolizio said. “It’s a process. I told the guys we would be competing with the best teams, and we are going to beat them; it just takes everyone buying in, and that’s what has happened.”
It’s a given that few people understand the sport of wrestling, so to help put what the wrestling team has done into perspective, take a look at its biggest wins so far.
In its second match of the season, the team traveled to New York and beat then-ranked No.16 Minnesota 31-3, in other words, a complete performance by the Wolfpack not only on the road, but against a ranked team to boot.
Another noteworthy performance came Dec. 6 when Popolizio returned to his alma mater in Stillwater, Oklahoma to face his college coach John Smith and the No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Smith has led the Cowboys to five national championships, the equivalent to what Nick Saban has accomplished in college football.
The Wolfpack won a thriller by a score of 19-15 that has provided level of validation that is allowing the coach and his team to dream big moving forward.
“That was the biggest win I have ever been a part of,” Gantt said. “You’ve got Illinois and Iowa, but Oklahoma State is the best historical program in America. They’ve won 34 national championships and had 200-plus All-Americans.”
The 34 national championships that Oklahoma State has compiled is more team championships than all-but-11 NCAA universities have total. The Wolfpack just went into its building and proved to any remaining doubters that it is a legit contender for the national title.
“I think we can, the guys in that room think we can, why can’t it be us?” Popolizio said. “We don’t have history, we don’t have tradition but we have talent and have put in the work.”
The remaining schedule that stands in the way of an undefeated season is, without question, daunting. Starting with Sunday’s match against No.17 Virginia, the Pack will not face another unranked team the remainder of the season and has three matches to close out the season against the top-10 opponents. Fan support could make the difference between a one-point win for an undefeated season and an overtime loss preventing perfection.
For those who have not attended a wrestling match, the best way to describe it is one of the most intense competitions in all of sports.
”You’ve got to be prepared for a war,” Gantt said. “It’s a battle for a full seven minutes.”
A chance at making history is what is staring the Wolfpack wrestling team in the face right now. Matches start on Sunday at Dorton Arena as the Wolfpack continues its quest for the first national championship in program history.