North Carolina State won the final five bouts of the evening to beat Virginia Tech Friday night to win the ACC regular season title. (Photo courtesy North Carolina State athletics)
Wins from former Danbury High wrestlers Jakob Camacho and Ryan Jack in two of the final three matches helped No. 8 North Carolina State beat No. 13 Virginia Tech, 20-12, and win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship.
The Wolfpack (16-2, 5-0 ACC) ran the table in the ACC this season with five consecutive wins to win the regular season crown for the third straight season and the sixth time in the last seven years.
Wolfpack captain Trent Hidley earned his 100th collegiate win in the victory in front of a sold-out Reynolds Coliseum.
The match began at 149 pounds and the visiting Hokies had a 12-11 lead when Camacho (125 pounds) hit the mat and he upset No. 3 ranked Cooper Flynn, 5-1 to put North Carolina State in front for the first time in this match, 14-12, with two matches remaining.
It was Camacho’s sixth straight win and his third consecutive dual meet victory. He is now 13-4 on the year.
Kai Orine’s gritty 2-1 decision over No. 13 Sam Latona (133) of Virginia Tech seemed to secure the Wolfpack’s title by extending the team score to 17-12. All that was left was for Jack (141) to not let his opponent win by a major decision or more, which was a simple task for him.
Jack, who is ranked fourth in the country by Intermat, improved to 16-3 with a 7-3 win over Virginia Tech’s Tom Crook, who ranked No. 15 in the country, to give the Wolfpack a 20-12 victory.
The match began with No. 2 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech (149) beating No. 3 Jackson Arrington, 3-1. It was the first time Arrington wrestled someone and lost this season. His previous defeats came from medical forfeits at Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas back in December.
North Carolina State’s Ed Scott (157) tied the match at 3-3 with his 12-7 win over Rafael Hipolito.
The Wolfpack would go on to drop the next three bouts, two of which were upsets, and give Virginia Tech a daunting 12-3 lead at the midway point of the match.
The comeback began with Hidlay, who went out in style. His technical fall victory, and the only bonus point win of the night for either team, sparked the energy of the Pack, who would not drop another bout for the rest of the night. With his 18-3 win over No. 26 Andy Smith, he got his 100th career win on his senior night, the 65th bonus point win of those 100.
The heavyweight clash carried the flame for the Wolfpack when Owen Trephan won 4-1 and cut the Virginia Tech lead to one, 12-11, setting the stage for Camacho, Jack and Orine.
The Wolfpack return to action on Sunday, March 10 when they travel to North Carolina for the 2024 ACC Tournament with NCAA championship bids on the line.
CAMACHO UPSETS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/FdA7nXH4aE
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle) February 24, 2024
No. 8 NC State 20, No. 13 Virginia Tech 12
At Raleigh, N.C.
149: #2 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. #3 Jackson Arrington (NCSU), 4-1
157: #12 Ed Scott (NCSU) dec. Rafael Hipolito (VT), 12-7
165: #22 Connor Brady (VT) dec. #12 Derek Fields (NCSU), 4-2
174: #2 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. #30 Alex Faison (NCSU), 9-2
184: #24 TJ Stewart (VT) dec. #7 Dylan Fishback (NCSU), 7-2
197: #2 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) tech. fall #26 Andy Smith (VT), 18-3
HWT: #15 Owen Trephan (NCSU) dec. Jimmy Mullen (VT), 4-1
125: #14 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) dec. #3 Cooper Flynn (VT), 5-1
133: #4 Kai Orine (NCSU) dec. #13 Sam Latona (VT), 2-1
141: #4 Ryan Jack (NCSU) dec. #15 Tom Crook (VT), 7-3
*Rankings based on InterMat at time of dual
Records: North Carolina State 16-2, 5-0 ACC; Virginia Tech 9-4, 4-1 ACC
