The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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State who was ranked No. 1 in the country as a senior. "Those guys gained so much confidence and now believe that they're some of the best guys in the country. "Those three guys that qualified for nationals and guys like [junior 149-pounder] Thommy Gantt, who came up a little short, gained valuable experience for this year. You combine that with our recruiting class and guys coming out of a redshirt, and it's a good combination. We're going to have five guys right away that can go with anybody in the country." The entire wrestling community has been waiting for Gwiazdowski to return to the mat after he earned All-America honors as a true freshman under Popolizio at Binghamton, then followed his coach to Raleigh and redshirted last season. It was a move that might have stung initially, but has already paid dividends. In addition to putting on an estimated 30 pounds of muscle, the heavyweight matured, while he went 20‑1 wrestling unattached at open tournaments. His lone loss came against Minnesota's Tony Nelson, who will go for his third straight NCAA title in 2013, but Giazdowski got his revenge this summer. While competing at the U.S. World Team Trials, State's big man recorded a pair of victories over Nelson in the same day and finished in third place, just one spot shy of making the USA World Team. "I think that was a career-changing win," Popolizio said. "Nick is going to be a big confidence booster for our program. He's a guy that has gotten it done at the end of the year. Now he is in position to compete for a national title this year." State will also benefit from the return of fifth-year senior KaRonne Jones at 197 pounds after he redshirted last year. He collected 18 wins in the year before Popolizio took over, but the coaching staff saw his potential and thought it would be most beneficial to develop him for 12 months and aim high this winter. He will also provide Last season, junior Thomas Gantt compiled 16 wins at 149 pounds — including two against nationally ranked opponents, which tied for the team lead. photo by larry blankenship a boost in the leadership department as one of just five grapplers in their junior year of eligibility or later. The final piece to the puzzle is a group of 20 freshmen that combined for a consensus top-15 recruiting class in Popolizio's first year on the trail. "We recruited a certain attitude this year," he said. "They have a lot of confidence, and that's really what we went after — guys that are confident and believe in how we train and the lifestyle that our guys live. We had some holes last year, and we're going to plug them this year with some guys that have a lot of talent — they're just inexperienced. "This year our goal is to be a top-25 team. As a coaching staff, we've got a lot of work to do to get there, but it's a realistic goal. As we get better in years two, three and four, we're going to keep raising the bar, but right now being a top-25 team is what we want to focus on." ■ ■ By The Numbers 4 Key Wrestlers To Watch The freshman class was ranked as the fourth best in the land, according to D1collegewrestling.net, and all five major websites ranked the Pack among the top 15 classes in the country. Six of the 14 newcomers were ranked among the D1CW's top 200 recruits in the nation (only Michigan had more). W.I.N. magazine ranked NC State 26th in its preseason national tournament rankings. Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski is ranked as the No. 41 wrestler in the country, regardless of weight class, according to D1collegewrestling.net. Intermat ranks him as the No. 3 heavyweight in the land. Redshirt sophomore Nick Gwiazdowski, heavyweight As a true freshman, the native of Delanson, N.Y., placed eighth in the nation. The All-American has a record of 50‑10 over the past two years of collegiate competition and nearly made the U.S. World Team this summer. Senior Nijel Jones, 165 pounds Jones has competed from 165 pounds all the way up to 184 pounds in his career, but has settled at 165. He won the Reno Tournament of Champions last season at that weight and then nabbed an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Jones, who opens the season ranked 18th nationally by W.I.N. magazine, paced the team with 27 wins last season and has totaled 55 in his career. Junior Thomas Gantt, 157 pounds After debuting with 15 wins during the 2011-12 campaign, Jones followed with 16 wins at 149 pounds last year. He tied for the team lead with a pair of victories over nationally ranked wrestlers. This summer, he placed second and earned All-America honors at FILA Junior Nationals and advanced to the U.S. World Team Trials. • The Pack returns six wrestlers that tallied at least 16 wins a year ago and five of them come in consecutive weight classes from 133 pounds to 165 pounds. The lone outlier is sophomore heavyweight Mike Kosoy, who tallied 20 wins while Nick Gwiazdowski redshirted. Gwiazdowski's 20 wins don't count because they came while he competed unattached in open tournaments. • State boasts five wrestlers in their junior or senior years of eligibility, but each has wrestled quite a bit with 166 career victories.The roster also includes four redshirt sophomores. 26 41 Noting The Pack November 2013 ■ 117 115,117.Wrestling Preview.indd 117 10/22/13 12:08 PM