The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER for the ages, with the NC State veteran winning his title 366 days after finishing fourth at nationals on a bum knee. "Any time you see someone commit and dedicate a big portion of their life to a goal and actually accomplish it, that's what it's about," Popolizio said. "In college ath- letics, you get rewarded with titles, and that's exactly what he was able to do." The Future Although his time in an NC State sin- glet has come to an end, Trumble is look- ing to return to the Wolfpack's wrestling room in the near future. For now, though, he's preoccupied with a very different role: first-time father. Trumble's son, William, was born seven days after he won his national championship. Soon, Trumble will be headed to offi- cer school at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Once he completes his training this summer, he hopes to be admitted into the Army's World Class Athlete Program to continue working out in Raleigh with his sights set on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. NC State athletics director Boo Cor- rigan is working on the latter, using his connections as the former head of athletics at West Point, to get Trumble approved. If he's accepted into the pro- gram, he will train alongside Wolfpack world champion Trent Hidlay to prepare for his senior-level career. "It would be very impactful to have him in this room. One, when you win a national title at NC State, you're a legend in this town," Popolizio said. "Hopefully, the military works with him. Anytime you graduate from a school, you know exactly what you're getting. That's the difference between going from one Re- gional Training Center to the next. If you're homegrown, it's always different." Trumble, who had his ACC title put in perspective, has a new view on wres- tling moving forward. Instead of looking to win for himself, he'll be representing his country each time he steps on the mat. It's a change that figures to be mo- tivational, even for an athlete who was already driven to excel. "I feel like this last year, I was doing it all for me and my family, and my team- mates and coaches," Trumble said. "But now I'm doing it for someone bigger than just those people, I'm doing it for the en- tire country. It's not just me." ■ Hayden Hidlay Returns To NC State As Assistant Coach When NC State assistant Kevin Jack left in December to start a wrestling program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., head coach Pat Popolizio began thinking about potential replacements. It didn't take long for him to come up with his top target: five-time All- American and four-time ACC champion Hayden Hidlay. "It was a no-brainer to make my first call to a guy that I knew, and who, in due time, we wanted to bring back to NC State," Popolizio said. "It just worked out. The timing was right, and he was in for it." Hidlay, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Stanford, was officially hired in March following the NCAA Championships. The Lewistown, Pa., native began his coaching career as NC State's student-athlete development coordinator during the 2022-23 cam- paign, then spent a year at North Dakota State before moving on to Stanford. Popolizio viewed Hidlay's experience at other programs as beneficial to his growth as a coach. At this year's NCAA Tournament, Hidlay helped guide 10th-seeded Aden Valencia to the 149-pound national championship. "You want your guys to go out and see a different perspective. You want them to take as much information as they can, process it and alter it to work at our program," Popolizio said. "Every program is different. The way you do things at NC State might be different from a certain school just because of the demands of academics and where you're located. "He's very familiar with NC State, but he's also coached some high-level guys now and has had to learn the difference between being an athlete and being a coach." Hidlay enjoyed immense success during his wrestling career at NC State, becoming one of only 10 wrestlers in ACC history to earn four conference titles. "He's laid a great foundation as an athlete," Popolizio said. "I think more so with the mentality and work ethic that we need to get back to as a program. The older guys have it, and I need the younger generation to carry that. I think Hayden is going to help tremen- dously to make sure that transitions back over to where we've been." Hidlay, whose younger brother Trent was a four-time ACC champ at NC State and a 2025 world champion, has a strong supporter in Isaac Trumble. The recently crowned heavy- weight national champ has exhausted his college eligibility, but he's eager to see the im- pact that Hidlay will have on the program. "He was an incredible athlete and mentor for guys," Trumble said. "He just set a great example. The entire Hidlay family sets a great example of what it means to be a part of the Wolfpack. They set great examples for the next generation behind them." — Noah Fleischman Hidlay went 110-11 and was a five-time All-American at NC State. He later moved into coaching and spent the past two years at Stanford before joining the staff at his alma mater in March. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS