The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466831
MAY/JUNE 2022 ■ 45 conference wrestlers when each has one loss to another. Lautt beat Hidlay, who beat Lewis, who beat Lautt. But there is a wrong way. Lautt, the least-accomplished of the trio and the only one who had not been an All- American at that point, was seeded first, with Lewis second and Hidlay third. That meant only one of Lewis or Hidlay could make the ACC champion- ship bout, since they would meet in the semifinals. Lewis got revenge on Hidlay and beat him to advance to the championship bout, where he predictably prevailed. Hidlay easily won the bronze medal, but the loss and his lowest ACC placement ever set up a chance for another re- bound on the college wrestling world's biggest stage. The Grand Finale Hidlay earned the No. 4 seed for the NCAA Championships, but in such a loaded bracket, that provided no easy path. After a pair of bonus-point victories to open things up, he drew Kemerer, who had beaten him nine times in a row dating back to their high school days. Hidlay turned the tables with a 5-3 vic- tory. However, the matchup of the former NCAA finalists happened in the quar- terfinals, meaning the winner was re- warded with a showdown against No. 1 seed Starocci. In a live interview on ESPN the next day, Hidlay said of his 10-3 loss in the semifinals to the even- tual champ: "I got the crap kicked out of me." But Hidlay would have one final chance to prove his fortitude, and it would come in what he and his father deemed "The Wasteland Invitational" — the consolation bracket of the NCAA Championships, where everybody has had their national title hopes derailed but continues fighting on, even with less interest from fans and media. Only a Hollywood script could have imagined the ending to Hidlay's career. Following a comfortable 8-2 win in the consolation semifinals, he advanced to the third-place match, where he'd face — of course — Kemerer. The long- time rivals met again … to conclude their sixth (Hidlay) and seventh (Keme- rer) college seasons. Hidlay was in control the entire bout this time, and led 5-3 late in the second period. Then, he found another gear to turn an 8-3 advantage with one minute left into a 12-4 major decision. Popo- lizio could be heard instructing Hidlay to "Get the major!" with 30 seconds left, and his pupil was able to do just that with a takedown at the final buzzer — against a guy he had never beaten be- fore that weekend. "I might not have won an NCAA ti- tle, but I did win the Wasteland Invi- tational," Hidlay recalled recently with a laugh. "Things came full circle, and the chances of that happening aren't really high. "He still has a career record against me better than I do against him, but it was nice to finally get those wins. Dur- ing high school, I had a lot of question- ing myself [after losses to Kemerer], 'Why in the world can I not beat this guy?' To finally get that answer was a pretty cool thing." The bonus point that he earned for winning by major decision wound up being the difference between NC State's 10th-place national finish and 11th. In the post-match interview in which Hid- lay announced his retirement, ESPN commentator Quint Kessenich called him "the ultimate team guy" pointing to the closing seconds as just the latest example. For the fourth time in his career, he had lost at the NCAA Championships to the eventual champ. This time, he wrestled back for the next-best thing, with two cherries on top, each repre- senting a victory over a longtime foe who always seemed to have the upper hand. Plus, he enjoyed this season more than years past and, perhaps most im- portantly, was at peace with the final outcome. "It's almost like the challenge of mov- ing up made me more relaxed," he said. "I knew I faced a serious challenge. It probably would've been easier if I went up to 165 or stayed at 157 … but I don't have any regrets. I don't think I would sacrifice a better result to go down. If I had to choose better results at 157, but I didn't get to feel how I did this year, I don't think I would do it any different — and that's a lot of clarity to have. "I've been able to look back at my ca- reer and my journey. I like the person I've become through this journey. To me, the biggest success was just learn- ing to accept myself and not be upset about what happened on the mat. " T h e re a re a lways go i n g to b e that couple of hours where you're k i c k i n g yo u rs e l f fo r w h a t h a p - pened. But that's life. You have to learn how to accept what happened. That's the greatest thing I've taken away from this sport — no matter what, you can only change what you do, not what happened." Even though this winter didn't bring Hidlay a historic fifth ACC champion- ship or his highest national placement, he felt it was his best NCAA perfor- mance — and it's hard to argue. In the ESPN interview with Kessenich follow- ing his final bout, he took a moment to reflect on his time as an NC State wrestler. "It's been a long career," he said. "I wasn't the best guy in my weight in any year. I wasn't the worst either, and I tried to be the best. That's something to hang your hat on." ■ HAYDEN HIDLAY'S COLLEGE CAREER Year Record ACC Finish NCAA Finish 2018* 26-1 1st 2nd 2019* 24-4 1st 4th 2020* 28-1 1st Canceled 2021* 13-2 1st 5th 2022^ 19-3 3rd 3rd * Wrestled at 157 pounds; ^ wrestled at 174 " Hayden has been one of the most impactful student-athletes that I have ever seen. Not only just within our program, but both at the conference and national levels too. " Head coach Pat Popolizio