@PackWrestle Breakdown of 2019 ACC Championship

Saturday, March 9

Blacksburg, Va.

All Day

NC State

ACC Championships

3/8/2019 8:48:00 AM | Wrestling

2019 ACC Brackets | ACC Championship Info | 2019 NCAA Allocations
VIEW: @PackWrestle Going for ACC Gold | NC State Notes Packet
LISTEN: #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 43 – ACC Championship Preview

RALEIGH, N.C. – The postseason for the NC State wrestling team gets underway this Saturday, as the Wolfpack will travel to Blacksburg, Va., for the 2019 ACC Championship.

	2019 ACC Championship
Date	Saturday, March 9
Time	Starts 11 AM - Finals 7 PM
Location	Blacksburg, Va.
Arena	Cassell Coliseum
Tickets	$10 adults, college students & 18 & under Free
Streaming	Mat #1 & Finals Mat #2
Live Stats	TrackWrestling.com
Social Media	@PackWrestle

A six-team, one-day tournament, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each of the 10 weight classes receive a bye into the semifinals. The tournament is double elimination as well.

For the second straight season, NC State won the ACC Dual Championship going 4-1 in conference duals. The Pack received a pair of No. 1 and No. seeds, and nine of the 10 entrants were seeded third or better.

Here is a breakdown of each weight class and the top contenders:

125
NCAA bids: 2 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 2
Defending Champion: #11 R-Sr. Sean Fausz – No. 2 seed

Fausz has reached the ACC Championship Finals in each of his first three seasons, winning it last year and finishing runner-up in both 2016 and 2017. He went 2-0 at 125 pounds in ACC duals this season, outscoring those foes 18-2.

Fausz will face the winner of Virginia Tech's Prata and Duke's Campbell in the semifinals. Fausz downed Prata up in Blacksburg two weeks ago in the dual, 11-0.

The No. 1 seed is fifth-ranked Jack Mueller of Virginia. He is a perfect 15-0 since coming out of redshirt this season, 5-0 in ACC duals, and a 2017 All-American.

133
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 5
#11 R-So. Tariq Wilson – No. 2 seed

Wilson returned to action after missing six weeks in the final dual at Virginia Tech, picking up a 6-1 win over #14 Myers. Last year, Wilson placed fourth at his first trip to ACCs.

Wilson will face the winner of UNC's Harding and Duke's Leigh in the semifinals. It will be the first matchup against either wrestler for Wilson.

The No. 1 seed is fifth-ranked Micky Phillippi of Pitt. He is 17-2 on the season, 4-1 in ACC action.

141
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 6
#22 R-Sr. Jamel Morris – No. 1 seed

Morris entered the Pack's lineup in mid-January, and has won each of his last seven duals since that time. He has outscored those foes 61-5 with a pin, and has not conceded a takedown since becoming the starter. He also went 4-0 in ACC action, and will be wrestling in his first ACCs.

Morris will face the winner of Duke's Finesilver and Pitt's Bentley. Morris downed both this season, a first-period pin over Finesilver and a 3-1 OT win over Bentley.

This weight class does not feature a wrestler in the top-20 nationally, but all six from the ACC are ranked between 21-29 in the latest Coaches' Panel Rankings.

149
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 4
Gr. Justin Oliver – No. 3 seed

Three of the top-seven wrestlers nationally are in this weight class. Oliver will be competing in his first ACCs, after spending the previous three seasons at Central Michigan.

Oliver will face Pitt's Bulsak in the first round. They did not meet in the dual.

Duke's Finesilver drew the top seed, while UNC's O'Connor is second and awaits the Oliver-Bulsak winner. Finesilver sits fourth nationally, while O'Connor is fifth.

157
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 5
Defending Champion: R-So. Hayden Hidlay – No. 1 seed

For the second straight year, Hidlay went a perfect 5-0 in ACC duals and will be looking to defending his ACC title from last year. Hidlay outscored his conference foes 57-23 with three bonus point wins this season.

Hidlay will face the winner of UVA's Keating and UNC's McClure. Hidlay downed both this season via major decision in road duals, Keating 15-6 and McClure 18-6.

This weight features four ranked in the top-20.

165
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 4
R-So. Thomas Bullard – No. 3 seed

Bullard is back at ACC's after a redshirt season last year. He was 3-2 in conference action this season, both losses to the top two seeds.

Bullard will face Pitt's O'Brien in the first round. Bulled downed O'Brien in the dual matchup in Reynolds, 6-1.

Virginia Tech's Lewis drew the top seed, while Virginia's Coy is second. Lewis is ranked eighth nationally, while Coy is 19^th and awaits the Bullard-O'Brien winner.

174
NCAA bids: 3 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 5
Defending Champion (165): David McFadden
R-So. Daniel Bullard – No. 3 seed

Bullard took third last year in his first trip to ACCs, and earned an NCAA allocation. This season, he was 2-3 in conference action.

Bullard opens with UVA's Patrick in the first round. In the dual at UVA, Bullard scored a 6-4 win in the matchup.

Virginia Tech's McFadden drew the top seed, while Duke's Finesilver is second. McFadden ranks sixth nationally, while Finesilver is 14^th and awaits the Bullard-Patrick winner.

184
NCAA bids: 5 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 5
R-So. Nick Reenan – No. 3 seed

This weight features three top-10 wrestlers and four ranked in the top-15 overall. Reenan is back at the ACCs after a redshirt season last year. He went 2-2 in ACC duals, with both losses coming to top-13 wrestlers.

Reenan opens with UVa's Schany, they did not face each other in the dual.

Virginia Tech's Zavatsky drew the top seed, while Pitt's Bonaccorsi is second. Zavatsky enters third nationally, while Bonaccorsi is ninth and awaits the Reenan-Schany winner.

197
NCAA bids: 4 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 5
R-Sr. Malik McDonald – No. 3 seed

McDonald will be wrestling in his second ACCs, first since 2017. He was 2-3 in ACC action this season, with two of those losses to top-10 wrestlers.

McDonald opens with UNC's Whitman. McDonald won the matchup at UNC in the dual, 3-1, with a third period takedown.

UVA's Aiello drew the top seed, while Virginia Tech's Sleigh is second. Aiello enters seventh nationally, while Sleigh is 11^th and awaits the winner of McDonald-Whitman.

285
NCAA bids: 3 | Coaches' Panel Rankings Top-33: 3
Fr. Deonte Wilson – No. 5 seed

Wilson will be competing at his first ACCs. He earned the starting nod going 5-1 at last weekend's National Collegiate Open, and went 1-1 in ACC duals this season.

Wilson opens with UVA's Lover, the two did not face off in the dual.

UNC's Cory Daniel drew the top seed, while Pitt's Thomas is second. Daniel sits 19th nationally and awaits the Wilson-Lover winner, while Thomas is 13th.