The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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126 ■ THE WOLFPACKER what was to come when the young player toe-tapped an interception at Florida State. Then Chubb added 15 more pounds going into his junior season to reach 280. "He looked like a grown man when he went onto the field, and he knew it," Bur- nette added. "He was able to push people around." Part of the weight gain was by design. Former NC State defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen pulled Burnette into his office one day to explain his vision for his unit. "He had Alabama's D-line laid out, all four guys," Burnette remembered. "And said, 'This is what I want for my guys. I want 275, 280 pound D-ends, 315-pound D-tackles. I need you to make this happen.' I said, 'Alright.' "Literally every day we were checking guys' body weights, and we still do that to this day." Chubb finished his junior year with 22 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, and Bur- nette saw him make the adjustments that led to his stellar senior season when he became arguably the greatest defensive player in school history. "He's even said multiple times he was a guy that liked to eat," Burnette noted. "One of the things he did his senior year was he decided to trim down some. He cut out fast food, cut out a lot of stuff, and his body leaned out even more. He was able to play a whole lot more and be productive. "I always tell guys for every vision they have there is pro vision. His vision was to be a top-five pick. His pro vision was the things he put into place — 'I am cutting out this, I am doing a lot of recovery stuff.' "He carried himself like an NFL guy his whole senior year." ■ Here are the top 10 male athletes during the 2017‑18 school year at NC State after Bradley Chubb, The Wolfpacker's Male Athlete of the Year. 1. Andreas Vazaios, Swimming: The junior was the ACC Men's Swimmer of the Year after he won the national title in the 200 butterfly, and was the runner‑up in the 200 individual medley and took third in the 100 backstroke. He also swam leadoff on the na‑ tional title‑winning 800 freestyle relay swim, setting an ACC record in the 200 freestyle. Vazaios' 53 individual points at the NCAA Championships tied for the third most of any swimmer there, and the top two were both seniors. 2. Michael Macchiavello, Wrestling: He capped his senior season by executing a takedown in the final 15 seconds to defeat Virginia Tech's Jared Haught and win the national title at 197 pounds. Macchiavello, who finished the year 22‑3, is only the second North Carolina native to win a national championship in wrestling. He was named the ACC Wrestler of the Year and ACC Wrestling Scholar‑Athlete of the Year. He was just the second NCSU wrestler to win the latter award, joining former two‑time national champ Nick Gwiazdowski. 3. Anton Ipson, Swimming: NC State's greatest long‑distance swimmer of all time closed his career by dominating the 1,650 freestyle at the NCAA Championships to win the national title. He also won that race at the ACC Championships, along with the 500 freestyle and the 400 individual medley. Ipsen also was an All‑American in the 500 freestyle and an honorable mention All‑ American in the 400 individual medley. Outside of the pool, he was named the 2018 ACC Scholar‑Athlete of the Year. 4. Coleman Stewart, Swimming: During his sophomore season, Stewart emerged as one of the breakout stars on the national scene in swimming. He won the national title in the 100 backstroke, becoming the first individual national title winner at NC State since 2006. He also was on the 400 freestyle national title‑winning relay team that set a new American record, and at the ACC meet he won both the 100 and 200 backstrokes and made All‑ACC in the 100 butterfly. 5. Stephen Franken, Golf: The junior became just the fourth golfer from the pro ‑ gram to be named the ACC Men's Golfer of the Year. He finished the season with an average stroke per round score of 70.6, the second lowest in school history (Matt Hill' averaged a 70.10 during his national title‑winning 2008‑09 campaign. Franken's opening round score of 62 at the Puerto Rico Classic in February and tournament score of 15‑under‑par while winning the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in October both tied school records. He was chosen to represent the United State in the Arnold Palmer Cup in July. 6. Brian Brown, Baseball: He will go down as one of the most productive pitchers in Wolfpack history, and he saved his best for last. Brown was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year after going 7‑2 with a 2.74 ERA. His 16 starts this season gave him 61 for his career, the most ever by a NC State pitcher. In his last start, Brown pitched a complete game victory over Northeastern in the NCAA Regional. He was named a second‑team All‑American by Collegiate Baseball News and after the season was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft. 7. Ryan Held, Swimming: Held was the ACC's Most Valuable Swimmer at the con ‑ ference championship meet after the senior won the league titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. At the NCAA Championships, he was on both of the title‑winning relay teams (800 and 400 freestyle) and was second to world‑record holder Caeleb Dressel from Florida in the 50 and 100 freestyle races. He also was fifth in the 100 butterfly. Held was the 2016‑17 Wolfpacker Male Athlete of the Year. 8. Hayden Hidlay, Wrestling: The redshirt freshman was a match away from mak ‑ ing a compelling case for topping this list. He went through his entire debut season undefeated before falling to two‑time national champion Jason Nolf of Penn State in the title match at 157 pounds. Hidlay finished the season 26‑1 overall and won an ACC title. He also earned spot on the All‑ACC Academic Team. 9. Joshua Davis, Track & Field: The fifth‑year senior finished third in the men's weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships after winning the ACC title in the same event with a conference record heave. He was named the ACC Men's Field Performer of the Year for the indoor season and the Southeast Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year. During the outdoor season, he finished second‑team All‑ACC in the hammer throw. 10. Will Wilson, Baseball: The sophomore shortstop was named a second‑team All‑American by Collegiate Baseball News and became the first NC State player in pro‑ gram history to be named ACC Player of the Week three different times in a season. Wilson was also named first‑team All‑ACC after batting .307 with 15 homers and 53 RBI. — Matt Carter Chubb racked up 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks during his senior campaign en route to being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN THE BEST OF THE REST