The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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112 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Flo's preseason top-20 listings at seven of the 10 weight classes, and NCSU checked in at 14th as a team. Those rankings didn't include true freshmen, and Popolizio be- lieves his squad boasts a few that can break into the national rankings right away. The depth on the team is so good that others who could be contenders on the national stage, like top-10 recruit Hayden Hidlay at 157, will redshirt. The rookie group will be led by 174-pounder Nick Reenan, who won mul- tiple national championships on the high school level and even represented the U.S. in international competition as a Junior World Team member. One of the Bullard twins — Daniel was ranked as the No. 42 overall recruit in the 2016 class by Flo while Thomas checked in at No. 43 — is expected to step in at 165, while four rookies are competing to start at 125, where redshirt sophomore Sean Fausz, the ACC runner-up who qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, will work to get down to the weight class for the sec- ond semester. "Basically you start all over as a fresh- man … the luxury with these guys that we got is their talent level is much higher than anything we've ever dealt with," Popolizio explained. "It will be a much faster process, but they still have to go through the process. "We're going to rely on a couple of fresh- men this year to win right away, and that's going to be the difference in how good of a team we are. If the freshmen can come Three Wrestlers To Watch Junior Kevin Jack, 141 pounds After being pulled out of a redshirt late in his true freshman season, he surprised the wrestling world by storm- ing his way to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships as a relative unknown. He had a huge target on his back last year, but went 26-5 and finished the year ranked fourth nationally by FloWrestling. He'll compete for a national title this season and is ranked fourth in Flo's preseason poll. Senior Max Rohskopf, 157 pounds After wrestling at three different weights as a rookie, including as an undersized 165-pounder in the postseason, he found a home the last two years at the weight. He broke through as an NCAA qualifier in 2014-15, then was a top-10 grappler all of last year. He was seeded fifth at the NCAA Championships, but did not perform up to ex- pectations. That will motivate the senior with an already sizable chip on his shoulder; he starts fifth in Flo's rankings. Fifth-year senior Sam Speno, 149 pounds The NCSU coaches have been incredibly successful with guys who have competed as true freshmen and red - shirted later in their careers. Speno qualified for the NCAA Championships his first two seasons and was on his way to a third before missing the last month of his junior campaign with mono, which cleared the way for Jack's freshman performance. He's back after redshirting and adding some size, which has him primed for a big final year. Noting The Pack • All-American senior Pete Renda will redshirt this season after placing third at 184 pounds at the NCAA Championships. He competed at 174 his first two years and had a solid 2016 regular season, but really came alive in the postseason. He lost in the ACC finals to Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky, but avenged that defeat at nationals en route to a 5-1 mark, where he only lost to even - tual two-time champion Gabe Dean of Cornell. Having him around "is going to be valuable as young guys look up to him," Popolizio explained. "They see why he wins and who he is as a per - son. He'll play an important role behind the scenes this year." • Last year's graduated seniors, two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski and All- American Tommy Gantt, have stayed in Raleigh to continue training for their post-collegiate wres - tling careers at the Wolfpack Olympic Regional Training Center. Along with an outstanding staff of assistants, led by associate head coach Frank Beasley — "one of the elite recruiters in college wrestling," per FloWrestling — the team has several high- level resources at their disposal. ■ Key Matches • Vs. Appalachian State, Nov. 30 — The Wolf- pack's first bout inside of renovated Reynolds Coliseum comes with this in-state showdown. The now-intimate arena provides the perfect setting for college wrestling, and the Mountaineers are a traditionally solid program that finished last year ranked No. 23 in the coaches' poll. • Vs. Nebraska, Dec. 9 — The Cornhuskers open the year No. 9 in FloWrestling's national rankings, five slots ahead of NCSU. In the last two years, the programs have split the series 1-1, with the Pack loss a one-point defeat at Reynolds two years ago. It could be another close one — every match features at least one athlete ranked in the preseason top 20 by Flo, and five bouts pit ranked grapplers against each other. • ACC Championships, March 4 — What a way to celebrate the re-opening of the historic venue, by hosting the ACC Championships for the first time since 2010. It will be the first conference championship hosted at the updated facility. "For college wrestling, I don't know if it can get much better," head coach Pat Popolizio said. "Obviously there are great venues across the country, but I'll put it up there as far as just being the right size and the way the crowd is going to be right on top of the mat. "I've been there for a couple of events already, and it gets super loud. It's going to be a home advantage for us." Newcomer To Watch Freshman Nick Reenan, 174 pounds — Reenan was the final — and highest-ranked — addi- tion to a recruiting class that was ranked first nation- ally. He was listed fourth overall in the class of 2016 by Flo, leading a crew that included five among the top 66. After winning a prep national title as a junior, he wrestled up at 195 pounds as a senior and finished second — but he'll be moving back down to a more natural weight this season, where he's expected to immediately contend for All-America laurels. Senior Max Rohskopf is moving down to 157 pounds after starting for two-plus years at 165. He went 16-4 and won an ACC title at that weight last season. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP