North Carolina State’s Jakob Camacho (125) drives against Virginia’s Patrick McCormick in Friday night’s ACC match. (Photo courtesy North Carolina State Wrestling)
Two Danbury High graduates were in the starting lineup on Friday night for No. 4 North Carolina State as the Wolfpack opened their Atlantic Coast Conference season against Virginia.
Redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho remained undefeated (4-0) with a victory at 125 pounds while freshman Ryan Jack made his varsity debut at 133 as the Wolfpack won seven of 10 matches in a 23-9 ACC victory over Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.
The Wolfpack (3-0) extended their dual meet winning streak to 20, the longest current streak in the nation.
“That dual meet was a lot more competitive than the final score indicated,” Virginia coach Steve Garland said. “Most of the bouts were straight up dog fights – even the ones we lost. Our guys fought. Our guys competed. We’re proud of our team, but the difference is NC State was finding a way to bite down and get those wins.”
Camacho, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation in his weight class, dominated in his 16-7 win over Patrick McCormick. Camacho had three takedowns in the first period to grab a quick 6-2 lead. He had another takedown in the second period as he extended his lead to 9-2. A takedown in the waning seconds of the bout gave him a nine-point margin of victory and an extra bonus team point for the Wolfpack.
Jack (5-1) got a challenging assignment in his dual meet debut with the Wolfpack when he faced No. 13 Louis Hayes at 133 pounds. Hayes led 5-3 after one period thanks to a pair of first period takedowns while Jack had one. Hayes extended his lead to 8-4 after two periods and won the bout, 11-6 to get the Cavaliers on the board.
Jack is in a competitive weight class at North Carolina State. He is battling for time on the mat with Jarrett Trombley, who qualified for the NCAA tournament a year ago.
The two teams also had other wrestlers compete in individual matches after the dual meet to get in some additional competition.
Danbury freshman A.J. Kovacs (157) fell to 2-2 on the year with an 11-7 loss to Virginia’s Nic Sansone.
North Carolina State returns to action next Friday night when they host No. 12 Pittsburgh at Reynolds Gymnasium.
Matthews starts for Sharks
BINGHAMTON, N.Y., Jan. 14 – Freshman Devin Matthews of Winsted was in the starting lineup for the Long Island University wrestling team when the Sharks wrested their first dual meet of the season on Thursday night.
Matthews (133) dropped a 6-4 decision to Binghamton’s Anthony Sobotker as Binghamton beat Long Island, 32-6. Matthews (1-3) used a strong second period to tie the match at 4-4 but Sobotker was able to get an impressive takedown in the final minute and ride out Matthews to secure the victory.
Winsted’s Kyle Matthews (149) didn’t compete against Binghamton on Thursday but is 0-4 in matches against wrestlers from Virginia Military Institute, Bucknell and Army earlier in the month. The Matthews brothers wrestled at Gilbert School.
The Sharks (0-1, 0-1 EIWA) return to action when they travel to Sacred Heart (0-1) on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest at the Pitt Center in Fairfield.
North Carolina match postponed
CHAPEL HILL, Jan. 15, 2021 – No. 13 North Carolina’s wrestling match against Virginia Tech at Carmichael Arena has been postponed because of COVID-related protocols within Carolina’s team. The teams will work to reschedule at a later date. Foran’s Gino Esposito (149) is on the roster for the Tar Heels but is behind Austin O’Connor, who is ranked No. 1 in the country.
N.C. State 23, Virginia 9
At Charlottesville, Va.
125: #6 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) major dec. Patrick McCormick; 16-7
133: #13 Louis Hayes (UVA) dec. Ryan Jack; 11-6
141: #10 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Brian Courtney; 8-6
149: Ed Scott (NCSU) major dec. Denton Spencer; 13-1
157: #2 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #16 Justin McCoy; 6-3
165: #19 Jake Keating (UVA) dec. #10 Thomas Bullard; 4-3
174: #12 Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. Vic Marcelli; 3-1
184: #4 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Michael Battista; 4-0
197: #3 Jay Aiello (NCSU) dec. Nick Reenan; 2-0
285: #17 Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. #19 Quinn Miller; 2-0
Records: North Carolina State 3-0, 1-0 ACC; Virginia 1-1, 0-1 ACC
Other matches: 157: Nic Sansone (Virginia) dec. A.J. Kovack (NCSU), 11-7
Binghamton 32, Long Island University 6
At Binghamton, N.Y.
174: Jacob Nolan (BU) dec. James Langan, 9-0.
184: #4 Lou DePrez (BU) pin T.J. Franden, 3:54.
197: Sam DePrez (BU) dec. Dan Shafran, 8-1
285: Tim Nagosky (LIU) dec. Cory Day, 3-2.
125: Micah Roes (BU) dec. Bryce Cockrel, 8-0.
133: Anthony Sobotker (BU) dec. Devin Matthews, 6-4
141: Zack Trampe (BU) dec. Drew Witham, 5-4.
149: Michael Zarif (BU) dec. Chris Gomez, 7-6.
157: Rhise Royster (LIU) dec. Alex Strashinsky, 8-5.
165: Brevin Cassella (BU) forfeit.
Records: Long Island 0-1, o-1 EIWA; Binghamton 2-0, 1-0 EIWA
