The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466831
44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER eventually decided he would return, but there were two conditions. One, he wouldn't serve as a team cap- tain for the fifth time; he wanted to pass the leadership torch. Two, he would move up from 157 pounds, where he had competed the previous four years, and he had his eyes on going up two weight classes, an un- precedented move, especially for some- body with Hidlay's national title aspira- tions and stature. He determined that moving up would allow him to focus on enjoying the sport and being healthy, instead of putting in the hours that keeping his weight down would require. Going up to 174 would put him in the lineup immediately in front of younger brother Trent, who like Hayden reached the NCAA finals as a redshirt freshman. However, it also put him squarely in the middle of arguably the nation's toughest weight class. Not only did phenom Carter Starocci of Penn State return at 174 pounds after winning a national title as a freshman in 2021, but ACC rival Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech — the 2019 NCAA champion at 165 pounds — was moving up as well. If that weren't enough, one of Hid- lay's longtime rivals — Michael Keme- rer, a fellow Pennsylvania native now suiting up for wrestling superpower Iowa — returned after losing to Starocci in last year's final. That meant the weight featured two former NCAA champions and four fi- nalists going into the season. But Hid- lay's mind was made up. Officially, the grizzled veteran did not have any special responsibilities beyond just winning matches. Unofficially, he was as close to a player-coach as one could be in college athletics … and he had made that crossover a few years ago. Prior to the 2020-21 campaign, Popo- lizio said of Hidlay: "He's like having a coach on your team. He's good enough right now to be a full-time coach for a Division I program without any coach- ing experience. … If you were to ask me what's the perfect athlete and leader that you can have on your team — this guy's it; he's special." Highs And Lows Looking back, Hidlay's move up to 174 was a success by any measure. He was undefeated going into the final weekend of the regular season. Then, against rival North Carolina, without having ever experienced a loss against an ACC foe, Hidlay was thrown to his back and pinned by the Tar Heels' Clay Lautt. Hidlay later estimated it was the first time he had been pinned since fifth grade. It was his college career's first bonus-point defeat (losing by eight or more points), and his first regular-sea- son loss since December 2019. Hidlay called it one of the worst losses of his entire career. And, with Virginia Tech coming to town two days later, his toughest foe — Lewis, the former NCAA champion — was up next. He approached the challenge with a simple philosophy: Badasses always bounce back. In one of the most-anticipated matches of the college wrestling season, Hidlay and Lewis were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, before Hidlay com- pleted the bounce back with an over- time victory. Popolizio noted that Hidlay's stated focus of just enjoying the season shined through in that one. "I think with the amount of stress and pressure that he's put on himself in years past, I don't know if he would've rebounded after what happened to him [against UNC]," the coach explained. "It was a career loss that was haunt- ing and embarrassing for me, then I turn around two days later and I have my biggest career win," Hidlay admitted after the triumph that made Reynolds Coliseum louder than he could ever re- call in his final home bout. "I've never beaten an NCAA cham- pion before. Tonight was the night. I felt in control, and I stuck to the game plan." The win threw a major wrench into seeding for the ACC Championships. There's no perfect way to seed three Hidlay placed among the top five at all four NCAA Championships he competed in, finishing (in order) second, fourth, fifth and third in his weight class. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS