Seven of Ten State Wrestlers Earn ACC Tourney Byes

The NC State wrestling team isn't just looking for its second straight ACC championship, it also hopes to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for NCAA competition

Brett Friedlander/SI All Wolfpack

ACC tournament wrestling seedings were announced Tuesday, with regular season champion NC State receiving byes into the semifinals in seven of the 10 weight classes.

Byes are given to wrestlers seeded either No. 1 or No. 2 in their weight class, as selected by a vote of the league's head coaches.

Hayden Hidlay at 157 points and Tariq Wilson at 141 earned top seeds at their respective weights. Hidlay's younger brother Trent at 184, twins Thomas and Daniel Bullard at 174 and 184, Jakob Camacho at 125 and heavyweight Deonte Wilson all received No. 2 seeds.

Jarrett Trombley, whose dramatic pin clinched a tight win against Virginia Tech, is the No. 3 seed at 133 while A.J. Leitten is seeded third at 149. Tyrie Houghton rounds out the lineup as the No. 6 seed at 197.

The Wolfpack finished the regular season undefeated, going 15-0 overall (5-0 ACC).

The ACC championships are scheduled for Sunday at Pittsburgh. 

First-round matches begin at 11 a.m. Semifinals are set for 1 p.m., followed by the consolation semifinals at 3:30 p.m. and the consolation finals at 5 p.m. Championship matches begin at 7 p.m., followed by the awards presentation.

ACC Network and ACC Network Extra plan nearly 10 hours of live coverage from 11 a.m. through 9 p.m. ACC Network Extra will stream early and consolations rounds, with 7 p.m. set for live linear broadcast on ACC Network.

The host Panthers have the most No. 1 seeds with three, followed by State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech with two each while Virginia Tech has the remaining top seed.

In addition to setting its sights on adding a second straight conference tournament championship to the regular season title it has already earned, coach Pat Popolizio's team is looking to qualify for the upcoming NCAA championships.

"Winning the ACC tournament is a big stepping stone, getting you ready for the NCAA tournament," Hayden Hidlay told GoPack.com. "We've got to make a statement. We've got to put together two years in a row as ACC champs."

The ACC has been awarded 35 automatic berths, the second-highest total in league history, and is hopeful of earning several more at-large selections to the national tournament, which will be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

ACC tournament brackets for each weight class can be found by clicking here.