The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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138 ■ THE WOLFPACKER He also was the ACC Coach of the Year, and capped the year by signing the No. 3 recruiting class nationally according to InterMat.com. The accomplishments under this watch haven't stopped in the offseason, either. One current member of his team, rising redshirt sophomore Nick Reenan, finished second for the starting spot on the senior-level U.S. world team — one of just four collegians to make the finals — while graduate Nick Gwiazdowski, who still trains in Raleigh, won the spot at 125 kilograms. Two more — 2018 NCAA champion Michael Macchia- vello, who was a fifth-year senior this past year, and Hayden Hidlay, who reached the NCAA finals as a redshirt freshman — made the national team for the under-23 level. ■ Individual Male Performance Of The Year When four different men win a national title, it's difficult to choose just one, but the honor goes to Macchiavello, the outgoing wrestler, for his performance at the NCAA Championships. The 197-pounder started the event not only with a pair of wins, but two major decisions that added bonus points to the Pack's team score, including a 16-5 win over No. 13 seed Jeric Kasunic of Ameri- can. He reached the semifinals with a 5-4 win over No. 5 seed Shakur Rasheed of national champion Penn State, and then registered a pin of Kyle Conel of Kent State to reach the finals with more bonus points. After losing twice earlier in the year to No. 3 seed Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, Macchiavello turned the tables with a 3-1 win to capture the national title and show incredible improvement from his 11-14 record during the 2013-14 season. ■ Individual Female Performance Of The Year With a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 on the line, NC State redshirt junior wing Ki- ara Leslie came up big against her former team. Leslie was a graduate transfer from Maryland, and irony had it the two faced each other in Reynolds Coliseum in Ra- leigh during the second round. Leslie went for a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds plus added four steals to help the Pack register a 74-60 victory and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007. ■ Breakout Male Performer Of The Year Coleman Stewart had shown during his freshman year that he was going to be a good swimmer for the Wolfpack. He was the 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year after he was named All-ACC in the 100 backstroke and an honorable mention All- American in the same race. In 2018, though, Stewart took it another level, winning the national title in the 100 backstroke, and capturing ACC titles in that race and the 200 backstroke. He also was All-ACC in the 100 butterfly and swam on the national title-winning 400 freestyle relay. ■ Breakout Female Performer Of The Year Sophomore women's tennis player Adri- ana Reami was considered a five-star re- cruit when she inked with the Wolfpack, so it was not stunning when she set a school record with 19 wins in her rookie season — but most of those primarily came at No. 4 singles. Reami jumped up to the No. 2 singles slot this year and went 18-8 in the dual season, including a team-best three wins over ranked opponents. She earned third-team All-ACC honors and ended the season at No. 88 in the In- tercollegiate Tennis Association's singles national rankings. ■ Most Improved Team In so many ways, Keatts' men's hoops team engineered quite a turnaround in his first season at NC State. The Pack endured back-to-back losing seasons before Keatts arrived, but went 21-12 overall and 11-7 in the ACC this year. That included five wins over ranked opponents. There was also a noticeable uptick in effort. Keatts' squad rebounded from a cou- ple lopsided ACC road losses to start con- ference slate to stun No. 2 Duke at home, and there was never a sense of quit in his team for the rest of the year. Redshirt junior wing Kiara Leslie — a graduate transfer from Maryland — compiled 21 points, 11 rebounds and four steals to help knock off her former school 74‑60 and give NC State its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2007. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN