Top-5 Battle in Italy: #5 @PackWrestle Faces #3 Oklahoma State Friday

LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 7 – Preview Italy & Oklahoma St. Dual
LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 8 – On Location from Naples, Italy
READ: Four freestyle matches set for Tussle for the Troops in Naples

RALEIGH, N.C. – For the first time in NCAA history, a Division 1 NCAA dual will be held outside North America when #5 NC State faces #3 Oklahoma State in Naples Italy on Friday. The dual, dubbed "Tussle for the Troops" will take place from the Naples Naval base, and is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. GMT/1:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed by FloWrestling.

	#5 NC State (10-0) vs. #3 Oklahoma State (5-0)
Date	Friday, Jan. 5
Time	1:30 p.m. (ET)
Location	Naples, Italy
Venue	Naples Naval Base
Streaming	FloWrestling
Live Scoring	TrackWrestling
Social Media	@PackWrestle

Quick Takedowns
• NC State is 14-3 against ranked foes over the last three seasons, 2-0 this season (27-13 vs. #19 Oklahoma and 29-3 at #12 Nebraska). The Pack is also 7-1 in ranked matchups outside of Raleigh in that span.
• For the second straight week, NC State is ranked #5 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The Pack started the season #8.
• Dating back to the 2015-16 season, NC State has been ranked in the top-10 in each of the last 33 polls, after having not appeared in the top-10 at all since 1993.
• NC State has six wrestlers ranked in the top-20 by InterMat this week, including five in the top-8, and three in the top-4.
• NC State is 10-0 in duals this year, the second-best start in school history (21-0 in 2016), and outscoring its opponents 365-51 (36.5-5.1). The Pack has won 85 of the 100 matches (85%), with 54 (63.5% of its wins) going for bonus points.
• Over the last three seasons, NC State has won 46 of its last 49 duals.
• NC State's probable starters for Oklahoma State are a combined 67-4 (94.4%) in dual action thus far.
• Senior Kevin Jack eclipsed the 100 career win mark in the dual versus Nebraska, becoming only the fifth NC State wrestler all time to do so. He is now 18 shy of tying the all-time career record of 122.
• Although NC State returns 10 total NCAA Qualifiers, there are currently seven changes from the group that NC State sent to last year's NCAAs.
• R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay started the season unranked, but has ascended to #3 nationally after an 8-0 start and a pair of top-10 wins. He has also been named the ACC Wrestler of the Week for the last two weeks, and was named the national wrestler of the week by both FloWrestling and InterMat.

PROBABLE LINEUPS
#5 NC State Wolfpack (10-0)
125: #8 R-Jr. Sean Fausz (9-1)
133: R-Fr. Tariq Wilson (17-3)
141: #4 Sr. Kevin Jack (12-1)
149: #17 R-Sr. Beau Donahue (13-2)
157: #3 R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay (13-0)
165: R-Sr. Brian Hamann (13-3)
174: R-Fr. Daniel Bullard (11-3)
184: #3 R-Sr. Pete Renda (14-0)
197: #7 R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello (12-0)
285: R-Jr. Malik McDonald (14-2)

#3 Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-0)
125: #3 R-So. Nick Piccininni (10-1)
133: #5 R-So. Kaid Brock (13-2)
141: #3 R-Sr. Dean Heil (14-1)
149: #12 R-Jr. Geo Martinez (13-4) -OR- R-So. Boo Lewallen (17-1)
157: R-Jr. Jonce Blaylock (10-4)
165: #8 R-Jr. Chandler Rogers (10-2)
174: #10 R-Jr. Jacobe Smith (11-3)
184: R-Fr. Keegan Moore (10-3) -OR- R-So. Andrew Marsden (12-5)
197: #4 R-Jr. Preston Weigel (2-0)
285: #8 R-Jr. Derek White (11-1)

* - Team Ranking according to USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
* - Individual Rankings according to InterMat

Key Matchups
125: #8 R-Jr. Sean Fausz (9-1) vs. #3 R-So. Nick Piccininni (10-1)
The Pack's Sean Fausz will be seeing his first dual action of the season, as he competed in two tournaments during the last semester but is now back in the NC State lineup. Fausz has been ranked in the top-10 all season, and is coming off a second place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions. For Oklahoma State, R-So. Nick Piccininni is a returning All-American that took fourth at last year's NCAAs and is currently ranked #4 with a 10-1 mark.

141: #4 Sr. Kevin Jack (12-1) vs. #3 R-Sr. Dean Heil (14-1)
The preseason #1 and #2 wrestlers at 141 pounds, are both coming off one-point losses in each of their last matches to Wyoming's Bryce Meredith. Jack is a two-time top-five placer at the NCAA Championships, while Heil is the back-to-back national champion. This will be the fourth collegiate matchup between the two, with Heil holding the slight 2-1 advantage. In their freshman season in 2015, Jack won the dual matchup 7-3 in Raleigh, and Heil won at the NCAAs 12-6. The next season, Heil won in the dual 10-8 in a great matchup in Stillwater.

197: #7 R-Sr. Michael Macchiavello (12-0) vs. #4 R-Jr. Preston Weigel (2-0)
After being one win away from All-American honors last year, Macchiavello moved up a weight class to 197 pounds for his senior season. He is 12-0 on the year, winning the Reno Tournament of Champions last time out. Weigel placed sixth at last year's NCAA Championships, and just returned to the Cowboys' lineup.

Series History Against Oklahoma State
The two teams have met seven times since the 1990 season, with Oklahoma State winning six, but the Wolfpack won the last matchup. The two teams recently had a home-and-home series, with each squad winning on the road. In 2015, the Cowboys came to Reynolds to end the regular season and won in Raleigh, 20-12. But the Pack returned the favor the next year and won 19-15 in Stillwater.

NC State Probables vs. Oklahoma State in the past:
2015
141: Kevin Jack (NCSU) dec. #16 Dean Heil; 7-3
149: Beau Donahue (NCSU) dec. Davey Dolan; 9-7 (SV-1)
174: #12 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) dec. #21 Pete Renda; 5-3

2016
125: #5 Eddie Klimara (OSU) dec. Sean Fausz; 5-3 (SV-1)
141: #3 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. #1 Kevin Jack; 10-8
184: #17 Pete Renda (NCSU) dec. #15 Nolan Boyd; 9-8

Top-5 Battle in Italy: #5 @PackWrestle Faces #3 Oklahoma State Friday

Players Mentioned

Daniel Bullard

Beau Donahue

Sean Fausz

Brian Hamann

Hayden Hidlay

Kevin Jack

Michael Macchiavello

Malik McDonald

Pete Renda

Tariq Wilson

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