NC State
ACC Championships
Gwiazdowski Repeats as ACC Champion; 3 Qualify for NCAAs
3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Led by Nick Gwiazdowski repeating as ACC Champion, the NC State wrestling team had three individuals earn NCAA automatic bids thanks to their performances at the 2015 ACC Championship Sunday in Pittsburgh.
• Nick Gwiazdowski - NCAA Qualifier - 1st place at 285 pounds
Coming in as the ACC's most dominate wrestler (pinning all five of his opponents in duals this year), the defending NCAA Champion at 285 pounds did not disappoint. After a first round bye, Gwiazdowski made short work of Virginia's Patrick Gillen getting the pin at 2:29. In the championship, Gwiazdowski scored a 14-3 major decision over Pittsburgh's Ryan Solomon for his second conference title. For the 34th time in NC State history, a Pack wrestler won an ACC title in back-to-back years, the first time since Darrion Caldwell in 2008 and 2009.
• Kevin Jack - NCAA Qualifier - 4th place at 141 pounds
Entering as third seed, the freshman pinned Ben Ross of Pittsburgh in 3:20 to grab a spot in the semifinals, but fell to UNC's Joey Ward 6-1 and had to earn his NCAA bid in the wrestlebacks. Jack had no problem punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships, as he earned a 15-0 tech fall win over Duke's Evan Botwin to earn the bid. In the third place match, Jack fell to UVA's Joe Spisak 9-7 to conclude his day.
• Pete Renda - NCAA Qualifier - 5th place at 174 pounds
The loaded 174-pound weight class was awarded five NCAA bids, and Renda qualified for the second straight year. Renda fell to UNC's John Staudenmayer (3-0) and Virginia Tech's Zach Epperly (4-2) to start the day. But in his winner takes all bout for an NCAA bid, the Pack's sophomore came away with a 6-0 decision over Duke's Trey Adamson.
The ACC was allocated varying NCAA automatic qualifying spots in each weight class by the NCAA last week. In addition to those automatic berths, NC State will be hoping to land some at-large bids to be announced on Wednesday.
As a team, the Pack placed sixth overall with 31 points. Virginia won the team title with 85.5 points, followed by Pittsburgh (71), Virginia Tech (59.5), North Carolina (42), Duke (44), and NC State.
Up Next: The Pack has already secured three NCAA allocations based on today's results. On Wednesday, the NCAA will announce the at-large bids for the 2015 NCAA Championships which will be helped March 19-21 in St. Louis.
125 - Joe DeAngelo (1-2)
Semifinal - Nick Herrmann (Virginia) won in tie breaker - 1 over Joe DeAngelo (NC State) (TB-1 12-9)
Cons. Semi - Joe DeAngelo (NC State) won by tech fall over Thayer Atkins (Duke) (TF-1.5 6:47 (21-5))
3rd Place Match - Dom Forys (Pittsburgh) won in sudden victory - 1 over Joe DeAngelo (NC State) (SV-1 11-7)
133 - Bryce Meredith (1-2)
Quarterfinal - Bryce Meredith (NC State) won by decision over Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh) (Dec 6-2)
Semifinal - George DiCamillo (Virginia) won by major decision over Bryce Meredith (NC State) (MD 15-3)
Cons. Semi - Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech) won by decision over Bryce Meredith (NC State) (Dec 6-4)
141 - Kevin Jack (2-2) - NCAA Qualifier
Quarterfinal - Kevin Jack (NC State) won by fall over Ben Ross (Pittsburgh) (Fall 3:21)
Semifinal - Joseph Ward (North Carolina) won by decision over Kevin Jack (NC State) (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Semi - Kevin Jack (NC State) won by tech fall over Evan Botwin (Duke) (TF-1.5 7:00 (15-0))
3rd Place Match - Joseph Spisak (Virginia) won by decision over Kevin Jack (NC State) (Dec 9-7)
149 - Sam Speno (0-2)
Quarterfinal - Christian Barber (North Carolina) won by decision over Sam Speno (NC State) (Dec 5-2)
Cons. Semi - Marcus Cain (Duke) won by major decision over Sam Speno (NC State) (MD 10-0)
157 - Chad Pyke (0-2)
Quarterfinal - Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) won by decision over Chad Pyke (NC State) (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Semi - Ronnie Garbinsky (Pittsburgh) won by decision over Chad Pyke (NC State) (Dec 2-1)
165 - Max Rohskopf (1-2)
Quarterfinal - Max Rohskopf (NC State) won by decision over Jake Faust (Duke) (Dec 3-0)
Semifinal - Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) won by fall over Max Rohskopf (NC State) (Fall 5:52)
Cons. Semi - Troy Reaghard (Pittsburgh) won by decision over Max Rohskopf (NC State) (Dec 4-3)
174 - Pete Renda (1-2) - NCAA Qualifier
Quarterfinal - John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) won by decision over Pete Renda (NC State) (Dec 3-0)
Cons. Semi - Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) won in sudden victory - 1 over Pete Renda (NC State) (SV-1 4-2)
5th Place Match - Pete Renda (NC State) won by decision over Trey Adamson (Duke) (Dec 6-0)
184 - Nicky Hall (1-2)
Quarterfinal - Nicky Hall (NC State) won by major decision over Antavian Leary (Virginia Tech) (MD 11-2)
Semifinal - Jacob Kasper (Duke) won by decision over Nicky Hall (NC State) (Dec 6-4)
Cons. Semi - Scott Marmoll (North Carolina) won by decision over Nicky Hall (NC State) (Dec 3-1)
197 - Michael Boykin (1-2)
Quarterfinal - Michael Boykin (NC State) won by decision over Chip Ness (North Carolina) (Dec 4-2)
Semifinal - Conner Hartmann (Duke) won by decision over Michael Boykin (NC State) (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Semi - Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) won by decision over Michael Boykin (NC State) (Dec 4-1)
285 - Nick Gwiazdowski (2-0) - NCAA Qualifier
Semifinal - Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) won by fall 2:29 over Patrick Gillen (Virginia) Fall 2:29
1st Place Match - Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) won by major decision over Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) (MD 14-3)
Congrats to @PackWrestle Renda, Jack and 2015 ACC Hwt Champion Gwiazdowski for clinching NCAA Championship berths! pic.twitter.com/ILfpPSJuVS
-- NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) March 9, 2015
