The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534227
42 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN ince Robinson was told not to look up. Whatever he did, he wasn't to stand on the mat and stare up at the 18,099 in attendance at the NCAA Wrestling Championships inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The assumption was that the thousands of sets of eyeballs might be intimidating. Robinson couldn't help himself, though. He had to look. What he saw was "mind blowing," he said, but it didn't faze him going into the biggest matches of his wrestling career. Robinson shined in his first appearance at the national meet, winning five bouts in three days, a run that he capped with a 2-1 overtime decision over Oklahoma State's Troy Spratley on March 22 to claim the 125-pound national champi- onship. "I've got a lot of will to win," Robinson said after capturing the title. "Nobody wants it more than me. It's like some- body's trying to take everything I want." There's a reason why Robinson felt as though he had to constantly battle. The redshirt freshman didn't have a smooth debut season at NC State, but somehow he was able to cap it by claiming the pro- gram's eighth individual championship. Adversity Strikes After redshirting as a true freshman, Robinson was eager to put his growth on display in the Wolfpack's preseason wrestle-off to set the lineup for the 2024-25 campaign. But he fell to three- time ACC champion Jakob Camacho and began the season as a reserve. A few hours after the wrestle-off, Robinson got a call from NC State coach Pat Popolizio urging him to use his de- feat as motivation to keep improving. Popolizio assured him that his deter- mination would eventually pay off on the mat. Robinson took that message to heart and went on to win eight consecutive matches, mostly in tournament action, including three bouts against top-40 opponents. It was enough to earn him a spot in the Wolfpack's lineup. "That defines the competitor in him," Popolizio said. "The easy thing to do would be to lay down and just surren- der. Or you can come out swinging. It's a long season, it's a grueling season. There are always opportunities that lie in front. … He never gave up on hope and belief. When his opportunity came, he shined." Sporting an 11-0 record, Robinson TRUE BELIEVER Vince Robinson Keeps The Faith And Comes Away With An NCAA Title V