The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481002
The coach also said redshirt freshman Joey Milano could factor into the mix. Mi- lano was the NC State Freshman of the Year while wrestling at 184 and is mov- ing down a weight class. Milano recently placed eighth at the 2022 U.S. Open at 86 kilograms in U20 freestyle. 184 pounds: Three-time All-Ameri- can and two-time ACC champion Trent Hidlay, a redshirt junior, is the unques- tioned headliner of the Wolfpack lineup. Hidlay was an NCAA finalist in 2021 and looks to rebound after a fifth-place finish in 2022. 197 pounds: Third-year sophomore Isaac Trumble went 18-6 a year ago and made his NCAA Tournament debut as a No. 15 seed after finishing as runner-up at the ACC meet. Trumble had an impressive summer, finishing as the runner-up at the 2022 World Team Trials at 92 kilograms and also at the 2022 U.S. Open. In the former, he avenged his U.S. Open finals loss to Michigan State's Cameron Caffey. Popolizio is also excited about the po- tential of true freshman Dylan Fishback, who could wrestle at either 184 or 197. Fishback was rated the No. 1 recruit na- tionally at 195 pounds in the 2022 class by both FloWrestling and MatScout. "He's a guy that wants to challenge and start right away," Popolizio said. Heavyweight: Senior Tyrie Hough- ton and redshirt sophomore Owen Trephan split the duties last year at heavyweight. Houghton won 20 matches and wrestled at NCAAs, while Trephan went 17-5. Po p o l i z i o n o te d t h a t c h o o s i n g Houghton for NCAAs over Trephan "was a really tough decision." "Both of those guys had some quality wins against returning All-Americans over the offseason in some big freestyle events," Popolizio said. ■ 2022-23 WRESTLING SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time (ET) Oct. 28 Wrestle-Offs TBA Nov. 4 Appalachian State 7 p.m. Nov. 12 Lock Haven* 3 p.m. Nov. 12 Nebraska* 5 p.m. Nov. 13 Wrangle Mania Round Robin* All Day Nov. 18 Central Michigan** 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18 Illinois** TBA Dec. 2-3 Cliff Keen Invitational^ All Day Dec. 19-20 Collegiate Wrestling Duals^^ TBA Jan. 6 Binghamton 7 p.m. Jan. 13 Army 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at Virginia Tech 7 p.m. Jan. 27 Duke 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at Virginia 7 p.m. Feb. 10 Pitt 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at North Carolina 7 p.m. Mar. 5 ACC Championships # All Day Mar. 16-18 NCAA Championships ## All Day * at Bethlehem, Pa.; ** at Albany, N.Y.; ^ at Las Vegas; ^^ at New Orleans; # at NC State; ## at Tulsa, Okla. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 ■ 43 Pat Popolizio is entering his 11th season in charge of the Wolfpack wrestling program. He's coached three national champions and 24 All-Americans, and has led NC State to five ACC team titles, including the past four in a row. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS