The NC State wrestling team competed in the Wolfpack Open Sunday, with six wrestlers moving on to the quarterfinals and three winning their title bouts for their respective weight classes.
The Wolfpack (7-0) competed in the Wolfpack Duals the day before, winning its matchups against Campbellsville, UNC-Pembroke, Cumberland and Anderson. The Wolfpack was dominant as a team, scoring more than 30 points in each match and never surrendering more than nine team points.
Among wrestlers that wrestled during the Open on Sunday, redshirt senior Nick Gwiazdowski (285), sophomore Sam Melikian (141), sophomore Nicky Hall (174), sophomore Michael Boykin (197), redshirt freshman Malik McDonald (197) and freshman Will Clark (133) made it to the quarterfinals for the Pack. Head coach Pat Popolizio said this is a testament to the depth of the roster.
“We’re starting to develop some depth,” Popolizio said. “It was great to get three guys to win their class when we had half of our guys not wrestling today.”
Gwiazdowski made quick work of his opponents, pinning each of his first two competitors to advance. The Delanson, New York native would then get a third pin in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals.
During the semifinals, Gwiazdowski ended things quickly, pinning his opponent in just under a minute in. Gwiazdowski would then get a 15-4 majority decision in the final matchup to win the heavyweight division.
In addition to Gwiazdowski’s four total pins, Michael Boykin would also make quick work of his opponents, defeating his first opponent to a 17-1 tech fall and a 16-2 majority decision. Boykin would then dominate the quarters with an 8-2 victory to advance to the semifinals.
NC State’s Boykin would then defeat Chattanooga’s sophomore Scott Boykinto make it to the finals. Unlike his first four matchups, the Coatesville, Pennsylvania, native’s title bout proved to be his toughest matchup.
Boykin got an early 1-0 lead against American University’s Jeric Kasunic, but Kasunic would tie it late in the third after escaping from a near-pin from Boykin. Boykin would make sure that the tie did not last long, registering a late point to get a 2-1 victory.
Hall would reach the quarters on a 9-0 major decision in the round of 32 and then would get a pin in the round of 16 to advance. Hall then took on Gardner-Webb sophomore Brett Stein, winning 12-1 to advance to the semifinals.
Hall’s semifinal matchup would be much tougher than his first three, as he went up against Chattanooga sophomore Justin Lampe.
After Hall took an early 1-0 lead in the match, Lampe made an escape in the third round to even the score, but Hall would come through in the end, scoring one point with 10 seconds left to secure the 2-1 semifinal victory. For Hall, he felt that he was in control despite the defensive struggle.
“I’m pretty confident in late match situations,” Hall said. “I knew I had to just stay busy, and I knew that I could close it out if I just wrestled the whole seven minutes.”
Hall would then go on to win the 174 weight class with a 6-3 win.
The Wolfpack now has more than a week off before traveling to Boone, North Carolina and Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers and No. 1 Oklahoma State, which hold FloWrestling’s No. 1 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country, junior Alex Dieringer (165).
Popolizio noted that each school will present its own challenge for the Pack.
“We can’t overlook App State,” Popolizio said. “It’s more individual matchups with App State, but as a team, we are definitely focused on taking on Oklahoma State.”
The Wolfpack will challenge the Mountaineers Dec. 4 and the Cowboys Dec. 6 with the opportunity to continue undefeated.
