The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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40 ■ THE WOLFPACKER himself allows him to do what he's done at NCAAs. When Tariq wrestles with no pres- sure, he's Tariq The Freak." Popolizio and his staff always have con- fidence in Wilson to step up when the lights are brightest. The coach points to a dual meet in December 2018, when the No. 7 Wolfpack hosted No. 11 Nebraska. After dropping four of the first five matches, the Pack stormed back by taking three of the next four. That meant the dual would came down to Wilson in the final bout, with the home team trailing by five team points. A simple win wouldn't be enough — Wilson needed to beat his opponent by technical fall (outscoring his foe by 15 or more points) or pin to clinch the team vic- tory. Wilson left no doubt and posted an 18-2 technical fall. "When the limelight is on him, he steps up," Popolizio noted. Coming Full Circle Wilson's two bronze medal finishes — in his first and what was supposed to be his last year of eligibility — represent just one example of the ways his wrestling career has come full circle. Though Wilson embraces his "Tariq The Freak" moniker, he never let anybody in Ra- leigh know that was what some called him in high school. It just organically followed him down from Ohio. "I thought when I went to college, I'd leave that nickname behind," he said with a laugh. "I don't mind it; I actually like it. It must have been meant to be since this nick- name sticks with me." Wilson and three of his classmates that made up the nation's No. 1 recruiting class coming out of high school — four-time All- American Hayden Hidlay, Thomas Bullard and Nick Reenan — have all decided to come back for sixth years in Raleigh, tak- ing advantage of the extra year given by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That should give each an opportunity to wrestle at four NCAA Championships after the 2020 event was canceled. For Wilson, it could be another way his wrestling career comes full circle — by bringing home a team trophy during his debut season and final campaign, buoyed by another of his deep tournament runs. Though he cherished winning his first ACC title this season in front of a very lim- ited crowd at Reynolds Coliseum, it will also give the quartet a chance to go out in front of the packed houses they have helped make a common occurrence in Raleigh. "Coming back speaks to the love and pas- sion these guys have for wrestling, but more importantly the fan base they've helped build here," Popolizio said. "These guys love to compete in front of that environment. Ten years ago when we'd show up to Reynolds, there wasn't a huge crowd, and I don't know if these guys would've cared to come back. "These guys want to give back to the program, and the people they know care about them. They have their per- sonal goals they want to accomplish, but I think it's more about the team first and then them." Wilson confirms the latter notion, but adds that matching previous accomplish- ments is not what the group came back for in 2021-22. "I think it was in my best interest to come back," he said. "We had something special last year, and we knew if all the guys came back we could do something special again. We can definitely get that team trophy — we were so close to reaching it this year, but it slipped our grasp." Although he's already accomplished a lot, Wilson also has some goals remaining unchecked from the list he wrote when he first arrived at NC State. This year, in his third ACC finals appear- ance, he was finally able to knock winning a conference title off the list. He is the pro- gram's seventh three-time All-American, meaning he also met his desire to be a mul- tiple-time All-American. But the biggest goals still loom, which helped him make his mind up about the future after this season ended. "I felt like I was missing something," he admitted. "That missing piece would be a national title and a team trophy. The younger guys haven't experienced that team trophy. For them to experience that, it will make them want to accomplish more than what our class did and provide some mo- tivation. "But we're not just trying to match that [fourth-place] team trophy that we have, we're trying to improve on it and get some- thing bigger. We want to go compete for that team national title, which I think we can. Why not us? That's the mindset we have as a team. "We can't put limitations on our wrestling ability and performance. We have the pieces and the tools necessary. This upcoming year is going to be something special." ■ Wilson will return for a sixth year of eligibility next year, alongside three others from the 2016 recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 nationally, and has said the goal is to win an individual and team national title. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS " When the limelight is on him, he steps up. " Head coach Pat Popolizio on Wilson