The Wolfpacker

26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY RYAN TICE I nside the NC State wrestling room is a mural honoring the Wolfpack's storied tradition of NCAA champions. Each of the five celebrated grapplers are pic- tured on the wall and watch over practice as the current athletes work to reach the top of the podium, just like the legends who look down on their workouts. The wall will need to be re-worked af- ter redshirt sophomore heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski shocked the wrestling world by upsetting two-time defending national champion Tony Nelson of Minnesota in the championship bout, 4-2, on March 22. Gwiazdowski, who marks the Wolf- pack's third NCAA champion heavy- weight, finished the year with a 42-2 ledger and was named ACC Wrestler of the Year for his record-setting campaign. The native of Delanson, N.Y., broke the program standard for single-season victo- ries, which was previously held by three- time ACC Wrestler of the Year and fellow NCAA heavyweight champion Sylvester Terkay, who was the first in program his- tory to be inducted into the NCSU Hall of Fame. "I remember as a young kid watching NCAAs on TV, and I couldn't even imag- ine what it would be like to wrestle in it," Gwiazdowski said. "When I got to college, it became real that it could be me some- day. Then this year, with the way I was wrestling and the guys that I beat, it was realistic that I could win it. "It was just a matter of time before I ac- complished it." While the Pack boasts the second-most national champions of all ACC wrestling programs, the school has never had one who has earned multiple NCAA crowns. Gwiazdowski, who also won his first ACC title this season, has already set his sights on changing that. "Hopefully, I keep getting better; I don't plan on taking any steps backwards," he noted. "I want to keep moving forward and The BesT In The naTIon Heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski Is NC State's Sixth NCAA Champion Wrestler 26-28.Wrestling NCAA Champion.indd 26 4/29/14 12:02 PM

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