CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Five-time NCAA/NWCA All-American and NCAA runner-up Trent Hidlay of NC State has been named the 2023-24 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year and headlines the All-ACC Wrestling Academic Team announced on Monday.
Hidlay, a redshirt senior from Lewistown, Pennsylvania, reached the NCAA Championship finals this year for the second time in his career, finishing runner-up at 197 pounds and earning All-American honors for the fifth time (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) in his illustrious career at NC State.
A four-time ACC Champion, Hidlay won his fourth gold medal at 197 pounds at the 2024 ACC Wrestling Championship. Hidlay was a three-time champion at 184 pounds in 2021, 2022, and 2023. With his fourth ACC championship, Hidlay joined an elite company of ACC wrestlers as four-time conference champions, joining only 10 other grapplers. He also became just one of six wrestlers in ACC history to be four-time champions while wrestling in at least two different weight classes.
Hidlay, who will compete at the U.S Olympic Trials this month, helped to lead the Wolfpack to their sixth consecutive ACC title and the 21st overall for NC State, the most among current ACC programs, and the seventh overall under head coach Pat Popolizio. NC State finished with 116.0 points, the most by an ACC wrestling champion since Virginia totaled 124 points on its way to the championship in 1974.
He is an eight-time member of the Dean's List, a four-time NWCA Scholar-Athlete All-American selection, and now a two-time ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award winner having earned the honor first in 2022. He is also a CoSIDA Academic All-American, a five-time member of the ACC Honor Roll, a five-time member of the All-ACC Academic Team and was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma - Honor Society for Scholar-Athletes. A three-time Top 10 Scholar-Athlete at NC State, Hidlay was also a 2022 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship winner and named the 2022-23 Chi Alpha Sigma Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Named to the All-ACC Wrestling Academic Team for the fifth consecutive year, Hidlay is working on his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Picking up his 100th career win in the dual match versus No. 13 Virginia Tech on Feb. 23, Hidlay went 28-1 overall on the season and finished his career with 106 wins. He also leaves NC State ranked third in program history in career winning percentage.
A total of 36 student-athletes earned selection to the 2023-24 All-ACC Wrestling Academic Team, with each of the league’s six programs boasting multiple selections.
Academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. In addition, student-athletes must have competed in at least 50 percent of their team’s matches on the season.
2023-24 ACC Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Trent Hidlay, NC State
2023-24 All-ACC Wrestling Academic Team
Name, School, Academic Major
Raymond Adams, Duke, Undecided
Logan Agin **, Duke, Evolutionary Anthropology
Connor Barket, Duke, Computer Science
Conor Becker **, Duke, Economics
Kwasi Bonsu, Duke, Undecided
Gaetano Console, Duke, Biology
Logan Ferrero **, Duke, Psychology
Jarred Papcsy **, Duke, Master of Liberal Arts
Jack Wimmer, Duke, Evolutionary Anthropology
Gavin Kane **, North Carolina, Management and Society
Cade Lautt, North Carolina, Management and Society
Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina, Business Administration
Spencer Moore, North Carolina, Statistics and Analytics
Jayden Scott, North Carolina, Management and Society
Jackson Arrington **, NC State, Sport Management
Jakob Camacho **, NC State, Master of Economics
Alex Faison, NC State, Leadership and Volunteer Management Graduate Certificate
Derek Fields **, NC State, Sport Management
Trent Hidlay *****, NC State, Master of Business Administration
Ed Scott **, NC State, Business Administration
Owen Trephan **, NC State, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
Luca Augustine **, Pitt, Biological Sciences
Jared Keslar, Pitt, Law, Criminal Justice, and Society
Vincent Santaniello, Pitt, Arts & Sciences – Undeclared
Finn Solomon, Pitt, Law, Criminal Justice, and Society
Ryan Catka, Virginia, Sociology
Michael Gioffre, Virginia, Youth and Social Innovation
Nick Hamilton, Virginia, Commerce
Justin McCoy *****, Virginia, Master of Education in Kinesiology
Kyle Montaperto, Virginia, Kinesiology
Nick Sanko, Virginia, Arts & Sciences
Connor Brady ****, Virginia Tech, Management
Tom Crook **, Virginia Tech, Finance
Sam Latona ****, Virginia Tech, Management
Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, Human Development
Clayton Ulrey **, Virginia Tech, Networking and Cybersecurity
** - two-time honoree
*** - three-time honoree
**** - four-time honoree
***** - five-time honoree