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On the day before Thanksgiving, the NC State coaching staff received a verbal commitment from California state champion Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy, CA). Zepeda is currently ranked ninth overall in the Class of 2025 by MatScouts. With Zepeda’s commitment fresh on the minds of wrestling fans, it seemed like an appropriate time to revisit NC State’s history of signing top-tier recruits under Pat Popolizio. During Popolizio’s time in Raleigh (2012 - present), the Wolfpack have been a frequent threat for the top spot in national recruiting rankings. While the 2023 class was ranked 18th, the previous two were noted in the top-five. Early in his tenure (2016), Popolizio and staff signed the top class in the nation. So, how does one receive such an honor for their recruiting class? It depends. For the most part, NC State hasn’t always signed top-ten recruits, but they have banked on the next tier of recruits. They’ve also been able to identify recruits that others have missed and turned them into national contenders (Mike Macchiavello, Kevin Jack, and Tariq Wilson). Another trademark of NC State’s recruiting classes has been large quantities of signees. Some power programs only get a couple of signees per year; however, they ranked very highly (Ohio State, typically). NC State has done a little of both. The title of this article uses the word “elite.” What exactly is an “elite” recruit? It’s hard to say and the number can vary from year to year. One crop of recruits could be much deeper than one of its predecessors. For the intents and purposes of this article, we’ll say that top-30 in your graduating class constitutes “elite.” Should Zepeda maintain (or improve) upon his current standing in the Class of 2025 and sign with the Pack, it would make him the 13th top-30 recruit to sign with the team since Popolizio’s arrival. Below are those 13 wrestlers, separated by their respective recruiting classes. The number next to their name is their overall ranking in the graduating class by MatScouts/InterMat. Class of 2023 #24 Koy Buesgens (New Prague, Minnesota) Class of 2022 #6 Dylan Fishback (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) Because of the existing talent on the Wolfpack roster in the upperweights, Fishback was able to redshirt in 2022-23 and amassed a solid 15-6 record. This year he’s been the guy at 184 lbs and has responded with a 6-0 start to his career. In his last two matches, Fishback has earned wins over returning national qualifiers. #13 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, Georgia) As a true freshman, Singleton was inserted into the NC State lineup at 165 lbs relatively late in the game. With only three duals remaining in the conference dual season, Singleton went 2-1 with a win over Virginia Tech’s Connor Brady. He’d later finish fourth in the conference, which wasn’t high enough for an automatic berth to Tulsa. With only a small body of work at 165 lbs, Singleton wasn’t selected as an at-large. After the collegiate season, Singleton earned a spot on the U20 freestyle team and returned from the World Championships with a bronze medal. He’s now competed at U20 World's in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. #28 Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills, Pennsylvania) A starter at 149 lbs from day one, Jackson Arrington amassed a 23-9 record as a true freshman for NC State. In the postseason, Arrington was an ACC finalist and advanced to the NCAA bloodround before his elimination. As a sophomore, Arrington appears to have taken the next step and has benefited from the new rules change. In six bouts, he’s scored six tech falls. To keep with the synergy of the number six, that’s Arrington’s current national ranking. Class of 2021 #23 Joey Milano (Spring-Ford, PA) Milano had a promising redshirt year that saw him go 25-6 at 184 lbs. He was expected to be in the mix as a starter last season at 174 lbs. During the first three weeks of the year, he suffered three losses and gave way to Alex Faison. Milano transferred to Purdue in the offseason but is not currently listed on the Boilermakers roster. #30 Stevo Poulin (Shenandehowa, NY) 125 lbs is generally regarded as the hardest weight class to fill which makes sense because we’re discussing 19-23-year-old young men that are still growing, in some instances. That being said, NC State has had some good 125’s come through their doors lately. Current #3 Jakob Camacho and 2022 ACC champion Jarrett Trombley are both still on the Wolfpack roster. Stevo Poulin was in the mix for NC State, compiling a 6-0 record during his redshirt season. He later moved on to Northern Colorado, where he won the Big 12, earned the sixth seed at nationals in 2023, and advanced to the bloodround. Class of 2020 #17 Ryan Jack (Danbury, CT) Older brother Kevin Jack stormed onto the scene and took the nation by surprise as a true freshman All-American, on his way to earning All-American honors three times. Because of Kevin’s success, Ryan wasn’t quite as “under the radar” and has been a consistent cog in the NC State machine. In both of his years as a starter, the younger Jack has made the ACC finals. He’s still seeking his first NCAA podium finish, as he went 1-2 last year after earning the number five seed. #18 Ed Scott (Dubois, PA) Ed Scott got the call right away and was NC State’s starter at 149 lbs as a true freshman. He responded with a 6-6 season and was unable to qualify for nationals. Since that point, Scott has moved up to 157 lbs and thrived. During his two full seasons at the weight, Scott has combined to go 50-13 with a fifth-place finish in 2023 in Tulsa. Last year, Scott was in a meatgrinder of an ACC weight that featured two other All-Americans. While Scott is in his fourth year as a starter for the Wolfpack, he does have an option of an additional year of eligibility due to the Covid season in 2021. #29 Isaac Trumble (Millard South, NE) The big man from Nebraska saw some action during the Covid season but ultimately did not start in the postseason for NC State. A year later, he jumped into the Wolfpack lineup and made the first of two ACC finals appearances. In both seasons, Trumble was seeded top-15 at nationals; however, he is still seeking his first All-American award. Trumble has also had great success on the freestyle circuit. This spring, Trumble made the US Open finals at 97 kgs. A few months later, Trumble mowed down the field at the U23 World Championships. He posted tech falls in three of his four bouts and 11 points was his lowest-scoring output in any single match. The U23 world championship allows Trumble to sit out the 2023-24 campaign and use an Olympic redshirt. Class of 2018 #18 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Like the aforementioned Jack brothers, Hayden Hidlay set the stage for Trent Hidlay at NC State and raised expectations from fans. It’s safe to say that Trent has proven himself worthy of any pre-collegiate hype surrounding him. Trent has gotten onto the NCAA podium three times at 184 lbs and amassed a record of 78-11. In each of the last three years, Hidlay has claimed an ACC title and a top-three seed at NCAA’s. This year, Hidlay has moved up to 197 lbs and looks as good as ever. He’s earned bonus points in every bout thus far, with his closest match being a 12-3 major decision over All-American Michael Beard. Trent has also has plenty of freestyle accolades. He has Junior and U23 World medals and recently won the Bill Farrell, locking up a spot at the Olympic Trials. #23 Jakob Camacho (Danbury, CT) Jakob Camacho has been in the NC State lineup since his freshman year and has been an All-American threat the entire time. The two-time ACC champion earned second-team NWCA All-American honors in 2020, but is still looking to actually get on the NCAA podium. Camacho took a large step in that direction with an impressive 8-5 decision over returning NCAA finalist Matt Ramos (Purdue) earlier this year at WrangleMania. That’s not even the first win of that magnitude for Camacho. Back in the 2020 ACC finals, he defeated the returning runner-up, Jack Mueller (Virginia). Class of 2016 The 2016 Class was ranked number one in the nation and helped turn NC State into a consistent top-ten program and a team trophy threat on a consistent basis. In addition to the wrestlers featured below, three other wrestlers from this group earned All-American honors (two via the NCAA and one from the NWCA). #4 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) A longtime member of the NC State squad, Nick Reenan is someone who battled through injuries during his time in Raleigh. Even so, Reenan was able to qualify for the national tournament on three occasions. In 2019, Reenan was seeded seventh at nationals, but went 1-2. That previous summer, Reenan won the World Team Trials and advanced to participate in the very first Final X event. #6 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, PA) Hayden Hidlay will go down as one of the all-time greats in the history of NC State wrestling. As a redshirt freshman, Hidlay went undefeated in the regular season and earned the top seed at the 2018 national tournament. He’d advance all the way to the finals before suffering his first loss at the hands of three-time champion Jason Nolf (Penn State). When it was all said and done, Hidlay put together a 110-11 career record. That included four ACC titles and four trips to the top-eight at the NCAA Championships; never finishing lower than fifth.

It was a light week overall with Thanksgiving Break so I’m mixing up my typical wrap-up. Just two Big 12 duals occurred on Sunday, but both had some great action and huge results. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits kicked the day off, taking on Minnesota in an exciting matchup. Starting at 125, #22 Tanner Jordan took out #6 Pat McKee for the first time with a 9-4 decision. In a wild match that had two reversals for both wrestlers, Jordan broke it open late with a tilt for back points. The Jackrabbits continued the momentum, as Derrick Cardinal beat freshman standout Tyler Wells with a 5-3 decision. Wells teched Cardinal at the Bison Open earlier this month. Unfortunately, Minnesota came back with four wins of their own, including an overtime match between ranked opponents at 157lbs. #13 Michael Blockhus took out #11 Cael Swensen with a late surge to go to overtime and took the match there. Unranked Blaine Brenner took out #19 Tanner Cook in a bout that SDSU needed to win. Cade DeVos and Tanner Sloan got wins, but no Bennett Berge meant big team points for Minnesota at 184. There was still a chance with just heavyweight remaining, but SDSU had to get a bonus as criteria was against them. Luke Rasmussen made a late push, but dropped the final match 9-7 as SDSU lost a very fun 19-13 dual. Once Clay Carlson and Bennett Berge are consistently in the lineup, the Jackrabbits are only going to be more dangerous. Iowa-Iowa State was one of the most hyped duals of the season, and it lived up to it. Iowa took the dual 18-14 and six of the ten matches. Iowa State had some great moments early, but surprisingly struggled at the upper weights. #8 Kysen Terukina lost to #17 Drake Ayala, but #19 Evan Frost got Iowa State on the board with a shocking win over #8 Brody Teske. Frost not only scored the only takedown, but hit a tilt for back points to cap it. The two teams continued to split matches, as Iowa won 141 and 157 while Iowa State won 149 and 165. #19 Anthony Echemendia was razor close to taking out #1 Real Woods, with a controversial “no challenge” from Iowa State on a potential takedown. In overtime, Woods shot quickly and converted a takedown for the close win. #14 Casey Swiderski took out #9 Victor Voinovich, where Iowa State again won the takedown battle. Then at 157 #2 Jared Franek and true freshman #18 Cody Chittum went to the wire, with Iowa State again just barely running out of time on a takedown attempt. #2 David Carr demolished #5 Mikey Caliendo with a 16-4 major that included three takedowns. Weight bumps were discussed for both teams coming into the dual, and Iowa was the team to follow through. They bumped up #14 Patrick Kennedy, a 165lber last season, to take on #21 MJ Gaitan. Kennedy built an early 12-4 lead going into the third, but Gaitan scored three takedowns of his own. Down one with riding time, Gaitan stayed on top and ended up dropping a 14-13 match. Afterwards, Coach Dresser admitted that it was a coaching mistake, and they should have had him cut a gassed Kennedy to try and get one more takedown, although time was against him. With Kennedy at 174, true freshman Gabe Arnold bumped up to 184. Despite getting a top 12 win at 174 against Oregon State, Arnold got a top eight win while up a weight. He scored an early takedown on #6 Will Feldkamp and didn’t have to do much else. Feldkamp was looking for offense from overhooks and Arnold did a smart job wrestling positionally to not give anything up outside of escapes. At 197, Iowa State needed #24 Julien Broderson to take out #22 Zach Glazier to stay in the dual. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Glazier scored the only takedowns of the match to clinch the dual. #7 Yonger Bastida scored a 17-6 major decision to end the dual on a less sour note for Iowa State. Overall the Big 12 teams went 0-2 against the Big 10. However, South Dakota State looked really solid and should be able to look even better once their lineup is healthy. Iowa State had a number of chances, but also seemed to have luck against them. Weird calls, late timing, and a lack of production at the upperweights really hurt a team that could still turn into a trophy contender in March. The upcoming week has much more competition, as many Big 12 teams are headed to the stacked Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. #21 Air Force, #16 Northern Iowa, #9 Oklahoma State, #11 Iowa State, #13 South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and Wyoming will all compete in Vegas. #3 Missouri takes on #12 Oklahoma in Columbia, MO. The Sooners then head to Morgantown for a dual against #26 West Virginia. North Dakota State stays at home to wrestle Virginia. Northern Colorado has the Cougar Clash tournament listed for December 2nd. California Baptist doesn’t compete this week. All-in-all two great duals that didn’t go the conference’s way, but a chance to really make a statement in a ridiculously stacked Cliff Keen. Add in some solid conference and non-conference duals, and December is looking to start the month strong.