The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1407083
TRACKING THE PACK 14 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Despite suiting up for a program that has won eight individual national cham- pionships, Hayden Hidlay was still able to make history and become the first NC State wrestler ever to earn four All- America honors. And his record-setting ways aren't limited to the mat, either. In early Au- gust, Hidlay was believed to be the first player in program history named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large team, which honors athletes across all sports for their combined standout performances in athletic com- petition and in the classroom. Hidlay was one of just eight wrestlers to be named to one of the three pres- tigious teams, and the only one from the ACC. He was listed as a third-team honoree. "I actually found out about it through Twitter, so I researched what it entailed because I had heard of it before, but I didn't know exactly what went into it," he said. "It's all athletes around the region, and to be honored with them is pretty cool. "It's definitely a huge honor to repre- sent our school and our wrestling team. There aren't a whole lot of wrestlers that get honored with this award, so it's cool to be in that crowd." It's just the latest in a long line of academic honors for Hidlay. He is an annual honoree on the league's various academic honor rolls and teams; was a part of NC State's inaugural Chi Alpha Sigma class, a highly esteemed National Honor Society that recognizes student- athletes who excel on and off the field of competition; plus has been named a four-time Academic All-American in his sport, as well as the 2020 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in wrestling. "I think when you're competing at a high level and training in such a demanding sport at such a high level, a lot of that just spills over into your everyday life and what you do in your academics," he said. "I've always thought the guys that are the highest level in wrestling, it's hard for them to screw up academics because they take that men- tality from wrestling into class and their extracurricular activities. "It just helps to have that tenacity and will. It makes it easier to work with professors, it makes it easier to work on group projects be- cause you're used to following a strict regimen and doing what your coaches are telling you to do. You treat your professors like a coach, with the same respect." Hidlay just finished his fifth year of college and boasted a 3.52 GPA while obtaining his undergraduate degree in business adminis- tration, which he received in the spring of 2020. In the past year, he upped his classroom performance to a perfect 4.0 while receiving a graduate certificate in nonprofit management. Because Hidlay originally thought last year would be his last in college, he enrolled in a one-year graduate program. Then, the NCAA announced last October that all winter sport athletes would gain an additional season to play. Hidlay admitted that turning around so quickly to find another one-year graduate program was difficult, but the resources provided by NC State — in- cluding guidance from academic advisor Erin McGovern — helped him land on obtaining another graduate certificate, this time in professional management and communication. "That was tough, but I was glad I was able to do that with the help of my aca- demic advisors and get it worked out so I could be here for a sixth year," he said. That will give Hidlay the opportunity to wrestle in his fourth NCAA Cham- pionship tournament, after the 2019 event was canceled. It will also give him a chance to make more history. He's already the school's fifth four-time ACC champ, and could set new records that very few would even have the opportunity to match with five confer- ence championships and All-America honors. With Hidlay and three other class- mates from the former No. 1 recruiting class in the country — fellow super seniors Thomas Bullard, Nick Reenan and All-American Tariq Wilson — returning for an unexpected sixth season, the wrestling team has high goals for the upcoming year. The Wolfpack has won three straight ACC championships and finished sixth nationally last year. While some things don't change, like Hidlay's commitment in the classroom or place in the NC State starting lineup, there will be new challenges this winter. After wrestling the last four years exclusively at 157 pounds, he plans to move up two weight classes to 174. He's been focused on getting bigger and preparing to do big things at his new weight class since last March, when he took fifth at the NCAA Championships — his third top-five showing, but lowest fin- ish yet. The move will also place him directly in front of younger brother Trent, an NCAA finalist at 184 pounds last winter, in the lineup. It's his last chance to claim an elusive national title, as both an individual and team, and collect his final lessons before beginning his post-college career — all the more reason for Hidlay to make the last go-round his best. "I'll be done after this year," he said of college. "I think I'm ready to get some real-world knowledge, but it's been a good ride. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I think I'm ready to go out in the real world and, I guess, be an adult." — Ryan Tice STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH ALL-AMERICAN WRESTLER HAYDEN HIDLAY Hidlay is the first four-time All-American in NC State wres- tling history and has also earned Academic All-America honors in each of those seasons. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS