RALEIGH, N.C. (theACC.com) – Cheered on by an enthusiastic home fan base, NC State placed eight wrestlers in the finals and claimed four individual gold medals to capture the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship title for the fifth consecutive year on Sunday night in Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum.
An event record crowd of 3,834 looked on as the Wolfpack became only the second wrestling program to capture at least five consecutive ACC titles and the first since former conference member Maryland won 20 in a row from 1954 through 1973.
This year’s league wrestling championship is the 20th overall for NC State, the most among current ACC programs, and the sixth overall under current head coach Pat Popolizio.
NC State finished with 101.5 points, the most by an ACC wrestling champion since the Wolfpack’s 2007 team won with 103.5. Virginia Tech placed second with 78 points, while Pitt took third with 60. Fourth-place North Carolina (37 points) took fourth place, followed by Virginia (35) and Duke (14).
NC State’s Kai Orine was selected as the Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler in a vote of the six head coaches. Orine, who entered as the No. 3 seed at 133 pounds, posted two of his three wins by fall, including a pin of top-seed Mickey Phillippi of Pitt in the title round (7:44).
The nationally 14th-ranked Orine also scored a 4-3 decision over No. 2 seed Sam Latona of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Latona entered the championship ranked No. 6 in the nation by InterMat, and Phillippi was ranked No. 10.
Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis (174), NC State’s Trent Hidlay (184) and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi (197) and Cole Matthews (141) were all repeat champions from last season. Lewis prevailed in a hard-fought tie-breaker versus NC State’s Alex Faison, while Hidlay took a 7-2 decision from North Carolina’s Gavin Kane. Bonaccorsi was a 2-1 winner over the Wolfpack’s Issac Trumble, and Matthews edged NC State’s Ryan Jack, 2-1.
Hidlay and Bonaccorsi are now three-time ACC champions in their respective weight classes. Lewis also owns a combined three gold medals at 165 and 174, while North Carolina’s nationally second-ranked Austin O’Connor – who remained unbeaten with a 6-5 decision over Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian at 157 – owns a combined three ACC titles at 149 and 157 pounds.
In addition to determining league champions, this year’s ACC Wrestling Championship filled the conference’s 33 automatic NCAA berths. The ACC is hopeful of landing additional at-large spots in the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 16-19 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Please see below for the results of Sunday night’s championship matches. The winner and runner-up in each weight class earned 2023 All-ACC honors.
125 – Jacob Trombley (NCSU) SV-1 over Eddie Ventresca (VT), 3-1
133 – Kai Orine (NCSU) fall over Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 7:44
*141 – Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. Ryan Jack (NCSU), 4-2
149 – Caleb Henson (VT) dec. Jackson Arrington (NCSU), 4-2
157 – Austin O’Connor (UNC) dec. Bryce Andonian (VT), 6-5
165 – Justin McCoy (UVA) dec. Connor Brady (VT), 3-2
* 174 – Mekhi Lewis (VT) TB over Alex Faison (NCSU), 2-1 (2)
* 184 – Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Gavin Kane (UNC), 7-2
*197 – Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Isaac Trumble (NCSU), 2-1
285 – Owen Trephan (NCSU) dec. Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), 7-2
*Repeat ACC champion
MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER
Kai Orine, NC State (133)
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. NC State 101.5
2. Virginia Tech 78.0
3. Pitt 60.0
4. North Carolina 37.0
5. Virginia 35.0
6. Duke 14.0
ACC Brackets
https://theacc.co/23WRbrackets
Live Results
https://theacc.co/23WRESTlive
ACC Wrestling Release
https://theacc.co/38gJTsd