Five N.C. State wrestlers clinched automatic berths to the 2014 NCAA Championships after the team’s sixth place finish at the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, Va. Saturday. In the previous six seasons, the Wolfpack has qualified five wrestlers only one other time.
“A big stepping stone for the program, taking five guys to the national tournament, especially after the year that we had before,” redshirt senior KaRonne Jones said.
The Wolfpack also put three men on the podium, including No. 3 redshirt sophomore Nick Gwiazdowski (285), the 2014 ACC heavyweight champion.
Heading into the first round, Gwiazdowski held the No. 1 seed in his weight class and received a first round bye. Over eight hours after arriving at Cassell Coliseum, Gwiazdowski began his first match of the day and, five minutes later, earned his 21st pin of the season.
“When there’s going to be a gap like that, we’ll adjust my training so I won’t sit around cold too long,” Gwiazdowski said. “I got my workout in with [volunteer assistant] coach [Matt] Kaylor, and went out there and wrestled.”
Gwiazdowski, who transferred from Binghamton to N.C. State after his freshman year, took care of Maryland’s No. 9 junior Spencer Myers in the finals, 10-4, to win an ACC title in his first year in the conference. Head coach Pat Popolizio said that only Gwiazdowski could hold himself back from a national title.
“It comes down to believing,” Popolizio said. “If thinks he’s going to win, then he will.”
No. 16 junior Tommy Gantt (157) fell one point short of an ACC title, as Virginia’s No. 13 Blaise Butler defeated Gantt, 3-2, in the championship match. During the regular season, Butler was the only ACC wrestler to defeat Gantt.
Despite a silver medal, the Cahokia, Ill. native said that he wasn’t satisfied and will have next year’s meet with the Cavaliers circled on his calendar.
“I don’t think he can beat me three straight,” Gantt said. “That won’t happen.”
The lone Wolfpack freshman to qualify for Nationals, No. 25 freshman Pete Renda (174) finished third in an impressive first showing at the ACC Championships. After a tough two-point loss in the semifinals, Renda bounced back with two shutouts to earn a third-place finish for the Pack.
Gantt said that he has seen lots of potential in all of State’s freshmen this season, especially Renda.
“I’ve been seeing it all year,” Gantt said. “It just comes down to learning how to win. It’s hard to transition from high school. Pete’s fortunate to be so talented and have such a great mindset.”
No. 20 sophomore Sam Speno (141) was State’s only wrestler at the ACC Championships that had been to Nationals before. Speno was awarded a No. 6 seed in the competition and lost his first match. However, the sophomore rebounded nicely, winning his next two matches to earn a fourth-place finish and his second NCAA Championships berth.
“He’s progressed a lot,” Gantt said.
Jones was the Pack’s final NCAA qualifier. Jones had a tough slate on Saturday, wrestling the top three seeds in his weight class. Despite two rough losses, Jones persevered in the fifth-place match, defeating Pittsburgh’s No. 14 sophomore Nick Bonaccorsi, 5-3, for an appearance at Nationals.
Popolizio said that he was thrilled to see Jones qualify for Nationals, especially after having the senior redshirt the 2013 season.
“[Jones] could’ve wrestled last year,” Popolizio said. “I saw potential within him. I knew that if we could get a redshirt year out of him, he could put himself in position to accomplish his goals.”
Despite the automatic five berths, Popolizio said that he wasn’t pleased with the team scoring aspect of the competition. The Pack finished sixth out of seven teams and put up 33.5 points on the day, only four short of fifth-place Maryland. The only program that State topped in the team competition was Duke, which sent less than 10 wrestlers to the event.
“As a team, you also hope for a better result,” Jones said.
The sixth-place finish marked the seventh straight year that the Pack has finished in the bottom two at the ACC Championships.
No. 16 Virginia Tech took home its second consecutive ACC title with a score of 87. The Hokies had four wrestlers win their respective weight classes, including the ACC’s Most Valuable Wrestler, junior Devin Carter (141).
