The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/896287
NOVEMBER 2017 ■ 121 Three Wrestlers To Watch 141-pound senior Kevin Jack He is one of just three active college wres- tlers to defeat two-time defending NCAA champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, handing him a loss in a February 2015 dual meet. Heil has defeated Jack twice while losing only three times since then, but is standing between Jack and the national title he is focused on entering his final campaign. Jack is also vying to become just the fifth three-time All-American, which requires a top-eight NCAA finish, in program history. 184-pound fifth-year senior Pete Renda He has not won an ACC title yet, but en - tered the 2016 NCAA Championships as a No. 13 seed and finished third. He'll have plenty of motivation to get to the top of the podium — on the conference and na- tional level. While redshirting last season, he posted a win over 2016 NCAA champion Myles Martin of Ohio State. 197-pound fifth-year senior Michael Macchiavello The Monroe, N.C., native filled in admi - rably for Renda last year, going 26-8 and placing second in the ACC. He finished one match shy of All-America honors at nation- als, but the coaches deemed the best lineup would feature him moving up a weight class this season. He ended his high school career with his lone state title as a senior, and Popolizio envisions him finishing his college days with a similar bang. Fifth-year senior Pete Renda placed third at the na- tional tournament in 2016 and redshirted last season to set up his final run at an NCAA title. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS ■ Key Matches • Vs. Oklahoma State in Naples Italy, Jan. 5 — The first NCAA college wrestling dual to be held outside of North America will match up likely top-10 foes who have split the last two meetings (the away team won in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons). The 141-pound bout between Kevin Jack and two-time champion Dean Heil could be a preview of this year's NCAA finals. • Ohio State, Feb. 18 — The final weekend of the regular season starts with the top two ACC squads battling in Ra - leigh on Friday night (Virginia Tech opens the year ranked No. 8 nationally by FloWrestling) and then longtime power Ohio State (No. 2) on Sunday afternoon. The Pack hopes to set an attendance record when hosting the Buckeyes, who many believe is the only team with a chance to end the reign of Penn State, winners of six of the last seven national titles. OSU returns all six top-five NCAA finishers from a year ago, including Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder — who beat NCSU's Nick Gwiazdowski in his final college bout, an epic NCAA finals match in 2016. • ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, March 3 — It will be a short drive to the conference tournament, where bids are earned for the NCAA Championships, held March 15-17 in Cleveland. After placing fifth or sixth (out of six teams) in his first three years at the helm, coach Pat Popolizio has led first- (2016) and second-place (2017) finishes the last two years. C.B. Lee & Company Accountants, Consultants & Tax Advisors 4617 Western Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27606 919-851-2640 Fax 919-851-4577 Accounting & Tax Preparation Accounting & Business Managment Services Taxes Individual - Corporate - Partnership - Trusts - LLC's Proud supporter of "The Wolfpack" for over 30 years