David Tracey
Redshirt junior Hayden Hidlay wrestles Princeton sophomore Quincy Monday on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 at Reynolds Coliseum. Hidlay defeated Monday by decision 7-2, helping the Wolfpack to a 29-12 dual win.
The No. 5 NC State wrestling team opened ACC play with a dominant 43-0 team victory over Duke.
The Wolfpack (9-1, 2-0 ACC) won every bout of the match, including a couple of pins and technical falls. The Blue Devils (6-7, 0-2 ACC) started just two ranked wrestlers, the Finesilver brothers, but both fell in close decisions to top-5 wrestlers on the State side.
At 125 pounds, No. 15 redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho got things started with a third-period pin of Logan Agin and at 133 pounds No. 17 redshirt freshman Kai Orine extended NC State’s team lead to double digits with a 17-2 technical fall of Drake Doolittle.
Duke didn’t weigh in a wrestler at 141 pounds, so No. 23 freshman Ryan Jack won by forfeit. No. 13 Josh Finesviler gave No. 3 graduate Tariq Wilson all he could handle, taking a 3-1 lead going into the third period, but Wilson escaped and scored a late takedown to win a 4-3 decision.
At 157 pounds, No. 10 freshman Ed Scott continued to dominate, riding a huge 12-point first period to a 19-4 technical fall of Wade Unger. At 165 pounds, No. 22 graduate Thomas Bullard kept to his winning ways with a 5-0 decision over Gabe Dinette.
No. 4 graduate Hayden Hidlay took on the other Finesilver brother, No. 15 Matt Finesilver, and had a similarly competitive bout to Wilson’s, but Hidlay took advantage of a late takedown and riding time advantage to win a 6-3 decision and extend the team margin to 31-0.
The win over Matt Finesilver was Hidlay’s 100th of his career, which places him No. 6 in team history in wins.
At 184 pounds, No. 3 redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay pinned Vincent Baker just 24 seconds into their bout, his second pin this year.
No. 20 freshman 197-pound Isaac Trumble took a close 2-1 decision over Kaden Russell, while junior heavyweight Tyrie Houghton got back to winning ways with a 4-1 decision over Jonah Niesenbaum.
With the victory, the Wolfpack gets its second-to-last tuneup before back-to-back-to-back ranked matchups. The Wolfpack hosts Virginia Friday, Feb. 4 for its first home dual since Dec. 2. The match starts at 7 p.m., broadcast on ACC Network Extra.