PREVIEW: NC State seeks to knock off reigning champ Virginia Tech at ACC Championships, March 3 at North Carolina

The Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships are set to take place this Saturday, March 3, at Carmichael Arena on the University of North Carolina’s campus in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Of the 60 wrestlers expected to compete, 34 will receive automatic bids to the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, based on the allocations set by the NCAA last week. This is the fourth highest among the conferences, behind Big Ten (80), EIWA (47) and Big 12 (45).

Three of the six schools enter the tournament with NWCA /USA Today Coaches’ rankings, including No. 6 North Carolina State, No. 10 Virginia Tech and No. 25 North Carolina.

Other schools competing this weekend are Duke, Pitt and Virginia.

There are six 2017 conference champions in the field this weekend as well as two other past ACC champions.

Two 2017 champions will vie for the title at 157 pounds. Solomon Chisko of Virginia Tech won the crown at 149 last season and will bump up to 157 to challenge last year’s champ, Taleb Rahmani of Pitt.

However, neither of the two returning champions claimed the top seed. Heading into the weekend with the No. 1 spot is sophomore Hayden Hidlay of NC State, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Other past champions returning to the tournament include two-timers Kevin Jack of NC State at 141 and Zack Zavatsky of VT at 184 pounds, 2017 champions Dom Forys of Pitt at 133 and Jared Haught of VT at 197 pounds, 2016 champion Ethan Ramos of UNC at 174 pounds and 2014 ACC champion Dennis Gustafson at 133 pounds.

Ramos was a runner-up last year, while Gustafson took third.

In addition to Ramos, there are six more 2017 runners-up expected to compete, three of which will represent the NC State Wolfpack, counting Sean Fausz at 125, Brian Hamann at 165 and Mike Machiavello, who wrestled at 184 last year and has made the move to 197.  

Additional returning 2017 runners-up include UNC’s Troy Heilmann at 141 and Danny Chaid at 197 and Duke’s Jacob Kasper at heavyweight.  

As a conference, the ACC boasts 28 nationally ranked wrestlers by FloWrestling, with all six schools claiming at least one wrestler in the top 10.

NC State leads the conference in ranked wrestlers with eight overall and six in the top 10 followed by VT, which has seven in the rankings and three claiming top-10 spots.

The Wolfpack is led by two-time ACC champion and two-time NCAA All-American Kevin Jack at 141, who is nationally ranked No. 5 at the weight and holds the No. 1 seed. The squad also features hammers like No. 3 Hidlay, No. 5 Fausz, No. 5 Machiavello, All-American and No. 6 Pete Renda at 184 and No. 10 Michael Boykin at 285.

Seeking its second-straight conference title is Virginia Tech, which brings a competitive lineup to North Carolina, including seven ranked wrestlers in No. 3 Haught, No. 4 David McFadden at 165, No. 5 Zavatsky, No. 14 Gustafson, No. 15 Ryan Blees at 157, No. 16 Hunter Bolden at 174 and No. 18 Chisko.

Chisko and Haught are both two-time All-Americans and McFadden earned All-America honors in 2016.

Representing host UNC is 2015 All-American and 13th-ranked Ramos, No. 8 Heilmann, No. 13 Chaid, No. 13 Kennedy Monday at 157, No. 18 Chip Ness at 184 and No. 20 Cory Daniel at heavyweight.

Other wrestlers holding national rankings include three from Duke (No. 4 Kasper, No. 11 Mitch Finesilver and No. 18 Matt Finesilver), two from UVA (No. 7 Jack Mueller and No. 13 Louie Hayes) and two from Pitt (No. 8 Forys and No. 20 Nick Zanetta).

At 133 pounds, there is a chance fans will see a top-10 matchup in the semifinals as Virginia’s Jack Mueller and Pitt’s Forys are on the same side of the bracket.

Three weights have potential for top-10 bouts in Saturday’s finals, which could feature Zavatsky and Renda at 184, Haught and Macchiavello at 197 and Kasper and Boykin at heavyweight.

The tournament is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday with finals scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans can keep up with all the action live on Trackwrestling.com.

Tickets are still available to be purchased here.

2018 ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Schedule (Eastern Time)
Saturday, March 3

11 a.m. – First round
1 p.m. – Semifinals
3:30 p.m. – Consolation semifinals
5 p.m. – Consolation finals
7 p.m. – Championship finals

Seeds

125 Pounds (2 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Louie Hayes, Virginia
2. Sean Fausz, NC State
3. Kyle Norstrem, Virginia Tech
4. LJ Bentley, Pitt
5. Thayer Atkins, Duke
6. James Szymanski, North Carolina

133 Pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Dom Forys, Pitt
2. Dennis Gustafson, Virginia Tech
3. Tariq Wilson, NC State
4. Jack Mueller, Virginia
5. Zach Sherman, North Carolina
6. Josh Finesilver, Duke

141 Pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Kevin Jack, NC State
2. Brent Moore, Virginia Tech
3. A.C. Headlee, North Carolina
4. Nick Zanetta, Pitt
5. Jeremiah Reitz, Duke
6. Sam Martino, Virginia

149 Pounds (4 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Troy Heilmann, North Carolina
2. Beau Donahue, NC State
3. Ryan Blees, Virginia Tech
4. Sam Krivus, Virginia
5. Robert Lee, Pitt
6. Brandon Leynaud, Duke

157 Pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Hayden Hidlay, NC State
2. Mitch Finesilver, Duke
3. Kennedy Monday, North Carolina
4. Taleb Rahmani, Pitt
5. Fred Green, Virginia
6. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech

165 Pounds (2 NCAA qualifiers)

1. David McFadden, Virginia Tech
2. Andrew Atkinson, Virginia
3. Brian Hamann, NC State
4. Jake Wentzel, Pitt
5. Josh McClure, North Carolina
6. Zach Finesilver, Duke

174 Pounds (4 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech
2. Ethan Ramos, North Carolina
3. Matt Finesilver, Duke
4. Daniel Bullard, NC State
5. Will Schany, Virginia
6. Tommy O’Brien, Pitt

184 Pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech
2. Pete Renda, NC State
3. Chip Ness, North Carolina
4. Gregg Harvey, Pitt
5. Drew Peck, Virginia
6. Kaden Russell, Duke

197 Pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech
2. Michael Macchiavello, NC State
3. Danny Chaid, North Carolina
4. Kellan Stout, Pitt
5. Alec Schenk, Duke
6. Jay Aiello, Virginia

285 Pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)

1. Jacob Kasper, Duke
2. Michael Boykin, NC State
3. Cory Daniel, North Carolina
4. Ryan Solomon, Pitt
5. Andrew Dunn, Virginia Tech
6. Tyler Love, Virginia