The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1043000
106 ■ THE WOLFPACKER glet has to have that mentality," he said. "If they fall short and finish third in the country, it was still a successful year. But there are multiple guys in this room right now that can win national titles for sure. "Five are going to be in the lineup this year, and I think there's two or three more that are going to redshirt that will be right in the mix when we're ready to use them." Fifth-year senior Sean Fausz is estab- lished as a top-10 125-pounder, but an injury ended his NCAA Tournament a year ago. The lanky grappler is back to 100 percent after an offseason surgery and will open his campaign overseas at the U23 World Championships Nov. 12-18 in Ro- mania, alongside Hidlay. The fifth title contender is fifth-year senior Justin Oliver, a 149-pound transfer from Central Michigan. He earned All- America honors in 2016, placing seventh, and has gone 92-23 the last three seasons. Both his college win total (tied for ninth) and winning percentage (80.0, 14th) would rank among the top 15 in NCSU history. "It feels like the kid's been here the whole time — his personality, the way he trains, his style of wrestling," Popo- lizio said. "It's an easy transition, and he's improved tremendously just in the short amount of time he's been here." There is still plenty of talent for the Newcomer To Watch Central Michigan transfer Justin Oliver, a 149-pound fifth-year senior, provides not only an- other who will compete for a national title but also leadership ability. Oliver has been seeded among the NCAA's top 10 each of the last three seasons, and with better training partners in a successful environment, it's hard to count him out. He placed seventh nation - ally as a redshirt freshman, then fell one win shy of All-America honors the last two seasons. ■ By The Numbers 6 Of 10 starters were ranked among the top 20 na- tionally at their weight class by FloWrestling. Three were listed in All-America position (top eight) — No. 3 133-pounder Tariq Wilson, No. 2 157-pounder Hayden Hidlay and No. 7 149-pounder Justin Oliver. 125-pounder Sean Fausz and 184-pounder Nick Reenan both checked in at No. 9, while 174-pounder Daniel Bullard opens at No. 18. 9th Is where NCSU ranked as a team in FloWres- tling's preseason rankings, while it checked in at No. 11 per Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine (W.I.N.). ACC rival Virginia Tech is just behind in both — No. 11 per Flo and No. 12 by W.I.N. 25-15 Was the ledger NC State's nine quali- fiers posted at the NCAA Champion- ships last year — and nine losses came in overtime. Oliver went 3-2 for Central Michigan with a one-point loss to eventual third-place finisher Matt Kolodzik of Princeton, the highest returning placer at the weight. Les Merritt CPA-CFP NCSU Graduate Certified Public Accountant Certified Financial Planner Your CPA! les@lesmerrittcpa-cfp.com (919) 269-8553 1014 N. Arendell Avenue Zebulon, NC 27597 You worked your way through NCSU, one of America's great universities. Why then, would you take your professional or personal taxes to someone who graduated from Taxmart U? TEAM MARY EDNA WILLIAMS Helping Wolfpackers Move For Over 30 Years Mary Edna Williams Class of 1978 • Broker 919-880-0071 maryednaw@remax.net www.maryednawilliams.com Each office independently owned and operated