2024 ACC Wrestling Championship Preview
2024 ACC Wrestling Championship Preview
Before the 2024 ACC Wrestling Championships go down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, check out our preview for all ten weight classes.
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The 2024 ACC Wrestling Championships take place this weekend at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Here's everything you need to know before action gets underway.
125 Pounds (2 allocations)
Seeds
1. #10 Jakob Camacho, NC State
2. #7 Cooper Flynn, Virginia Tech
3. #27 Spencer Moore, North Carolina
4. Kyle Montaperto, Virginia
5. Logan Agin, Duke
6. #28 Colton Camacho, Pitt
Top seeded Jakob Camacho qualified for NCAAs three times before redshirting last season. He's a two-time ACC champ and the lone previous NCAA qualifier in this bracket. He has at least one victory over every opponent in the field and is a combined 7-0 against this group in college. He'll be the favorite to win.
Cooper Flynn is the other wrestler projected by seed to auto-qualify for the NCAA Championships. He started the season in Olympic redshirt but suited up for the Hokies in December after All-American Eddie Ventresca's season was cut short due to injury. He'll need to beat Either Spencer Moore or Colton Camacho in the semis to qualify for NCAAs. He's 2-0 against Moore but split with Colton Camacho. Most recently, he beat Camacho 3-2 in the VT vs Pitt dual, but last season, Camacho pinned him in the first period during the Hokies dual against the Panthers.
133 Pounds (3 allocations)
Seeds
1. #5 Kai Orine, NC State
2. #22 Marlon Yarbrough II, Virginia
3. #13 Sam Latona, Virginia Tech
4. #23 Vincent Santaniello, Pitt
5. Jace Palmer, North Carolina
6. Raymond Adams, Duke
NC State's Kai Orine and Virginia Tech's Sam Latona are the two All-Americans at this weight, and their rivalry already includes four previous meetings. They each have two victories with Orine taking their most recent showdown in their dual last month.
A Latona vs Orine rematch isn't guaranteed. Virginia's Marlon Yarbrough majored Latona when the two met at the beginning of February. Latona would need to beat both Duke's Raymond Adams and Latona in order to earn a potential rematch with Orine.
Orine also has a ranked potential opponent in Vincent Santaniello of Pitt on his half of the bracket, but he majored Santaniello 10-1 in their only meeting, so he's the heavy favorite to make the finals.
Despite having four wrestlers ranked in the top 25, this weight only earned 3 autmatic qualifiers for NCAAs which means at least one tough hombre will need to rely on an at large bid.
141 Pounds (3 allocations)
Seeds
1. #12 Cole Matthews, Pitt
2. #4 Ryan Jack, NC State
3. #13 Tom Crook, Virginia Tech
4. #6 Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina
5. Jack Gioffre, Virginia
6. Christian Colman, Duke
141 lbs is deep. This could shake out any number of ways. The top half of the bracket has All-Americans Cole Matthews and Lachlan McNeil along with California state champ Jack Gioffre. McNeil and Giofre's meeting will be the first between the two. McNeil will be favored to win and meet Matthews in the semis. While McNeil is ranked ahead of Matthews, the Pitt Panther is undefeated against McNeill in their two previous meetings. Matthews has lacked consistency this season outside of conference competition, but he's the returning ACC champ and is undefeated against conference opponents this year.
The bottom half of the bracket has 3x NCAA qualifier Ryan Jack awaiting the winner of #13 Tom Crook and Duke's Christian Colman. Crook will be favored in the quarters, and Jack, who is 3-0 against Crook, will be favored to make the final.
NC State fans will likely be rooting for McNeil to make the finals opposite Jack as the NC State junior is 4-1 against McNeil but 0-5 against Matthews. The consolation bracket will be important at 141 lbs as there are three automatic qualifying spots but four wrestlers ranked 13th or higher nationally.
149 Pounds (2 allocations)
Seeds
1. #2 Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech
2. #4 Jackson Arrington, NC State
3. #24 Jayden Scott, North Carolina
4. #29 Finn Solomon, Pitt
5. Michael Gioffre, Virginia
6. Jarred Papcsy, Duke
Caleb Henson and Jackson Arrington are on a collision course. Both hold top-five national rankings, and both have put together stellar seasons. When these two met in the NC State vs Virginia Tech dual, Henson took a 4-1 decision. That was the third time the Hokie had defeated Arrington in their college careers.
Before a possible Henson vs Arrington rematch, Henson will need to get past either Pitt's Finn Solomon or Virginia's Michael Gioffre while Arrington will need to best either UNC's Jayden Scott or Duke's Jarred Papcsy.
While the ACC has four ranked wrestlers at 149 lbs, only two will earn automatic qualifications for NCAAs. The rest will be holding out hope for at-large bids.
157 Pounds (2 allocations)
Seeds
1. #33 Sonny Santiago, North Carolina
2. #17 Ed Scott, NC State
3. #8 Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech
4. Jared Keslar, Pitt
5. Dylan Cedeno, Virginia
6. Logan Ferrero, Duke
All-Americans Ed Scott and Bryce Andonian are on the same side of the bracket at this weight because North Carolina's Sonny Santiago notched a sudden-victory win over Scott in the UNC vs NC State dual this season. Santiago also beat Jared Keslar, his likely semifinal opponent, 11-4, so he's in a strong position to make the finals.
Andonian and Scott have a long history. VT's Andonian beat Scott the first four times they wrestled, but Scott has won their last two meetings including a fall at NCAAs last year and a major decision this season at CKLV. Andonian hasn't wrestled a match since January 7, so his health is in question. If he's healthy, expect fireworks in the semifinals at 157 lbs because both Andonian and Scott are quick to fire big attacks.
Only two wrestlers will automatically qualify for NCAAs at this weight, and with Andonian and Scott on the same side of the bracket, one of those All-Americans will be looking for an at-large bid.
165 Pounds (2 allocations)
Seeds
1. #17 Derek Fields, NC State
2. #15 Holden Heller, Pitt
3. #16 Connor Brady, Virginia Tech
4. Nick Hamilton, Virginia
5. Isaias Estrada, North Carolina
6. Gaetano Console, Duke
This is another weight class with more nationally ranked competitors than NCAA auto-qualifier spots. This season, #17 Derek Fields beat #15 Holden Heller but lost to #16 Connor Brady. Heller beat Brady but lost to Fields. Brady beat Fields but lost to Heller. If those results repeat themselves, Heller will make the finals then fall to Fields, but of course the post season is incredibly unpredictable. The top three wrestlers at this weight have separated themselves from the other three. With only two AQ spots available, one of these highly ranked athletes will need an at large bid to get to Kansas City.
174 Pounds (4 allocations)
Seeds
1. #2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
2. #17 Justin McCoy, Virginia * (at 165 pounds)
3. #21 Tyler Eischens, North Carolina
4. Alex Faison, NC State
5. #19 Luca Augustine, Pitt
6. Jake Wimmer, Duke
2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis is 6-0 against this field and a heavy favorite to win his 4th ACC title. He'll see either Alex Faison of NC State or Luca Augustine of Pitt in the semifinals. Faison is currently 3-0 against Augustine with three ultra-competitive match victories. He'll look to move that record to 4-0 in the quarterfinals while Augustine will attempt to turn the tides.
Virginia's Justin McCoy is looking to qualify for NCAAs for a 5th time after two appearances at both 157 lbs and 165 lbs. To make the ACC finals, he'll need to get past either Duke's Jake Wimmer or UNC's Tyler Eischens. McCoy beat Eischens 6-4 in a dual this season but has yet to face Wimmer.
The top five seeds at 174 lbs have previously qualified for NCAAs, but only four will automatically qualify this year. Someone will be waiting for an at-large berth.
184 Pounds (4 allocations)
Seeds
1. #10 Thomas Stewart, Jr., Virginia Tech
2. #16 Reece Heller, Pitt
3. #11 Dylan Fishback, NC State
4. #20 Gavin Kane, North Carolina
5. Ethan Weatherspoon, Virginia
6. Conor Becker, Duke
Virginia Tech's TJ Stewart has only wrestled 10 matches so far this season, but he's made the most of his opportunity with victories over both 2nd seeded Reece Heller and 3rd seeded Dylan Fishback. One of his losses was his potential semifinals opponent Gavin Kane, North Carolina's 2023 All-American, in a dual this January. Should Stewart avenge that loss, he'll expect to see either Heller or Fishback in the finals.
Pitt NCAA qualifier Heller beat Fishback by a point earlier this season which gives him the second seed in this tournament despite the fact that Fishback's solid resume has him ranked five spots ahead of Heller in the national rankings.
Four wrestlers will automatically qualify for NCAAs at this weight, so there's room for Stewart, Heller, Fishback, and Kane in Kansas City. Weatherspoon and Becker could look to shake that up.
197 Pounds (4 allocations)
Seeds
1. #2 Trent Hidlay, NC State
2. #26 Andy Smith, Virginia Tech
3. #20 Max Shaw, North Carolina
4. #15 Mac Stout, Pitt
5. Krystian Kinsey, Virginia
6. Kwasi Bonsu, Duke
NCAA finalist and three-time All-American Trent Hidlay is a massive favorite to win this bracket. He's undefeated on the season with an 86.36% bonus rate. This season he has teched everyone in this bracket other than Kinsey who he majored 18-4. Hidlay will be expected to win in dominant fashion.
VT's Andy Smith holds the second seed due to his 4-2 victory over UNC's Max Shaw in January. He'll look to repeat that effort for the Hokies, but Shaw will look to find his 2021 form in which he defeated Smith twice.
Pitt's Mac Stout is the second highest ranked wrestler in this bracket, but he sits at the #4 seed due to his loss to Shaw this season. This bracket will send 4 wrestlers to Kansas City for NCAAs, and the four nationally ranked wrestlers are the most likely to take those spots.
285 Pounds (2 allocations)
Seeds
1. #13 Owen Trephan, NC State
2. #19 Hunter Catka, Virginia Tech
3. #32 Ryan Catka, Virginia
4. #12 Dayton Pitzer, Pitt
5. Connor Barket, Duke
6. Cade Lautt, North Carolina
Heavyweight could get wild. Four ranked wrestlers will vie for 2 automatic qualifying spots, and the 12th ranked wrestler in the nation is the #4 seed. Trephan and Pitzer are the two highest ranked wrestlers in this weight. They're expected to meet in the semis as long as Duke's Conner Barket doesn't shake things up. Their lone previous meeting ended in a sudden-victory win for Trephan.
On the bottom side of the bracket, Catka brothers Hunter and Ryan are expected to meet in the semifinals unless UNC's Clay Lautt can knock off Ryan Catka. Hunter won the lone meeting between these brothers 8-4, so he's the favorite to make the finals. No matter what happens in Chapel Hill, two ranked wrestlers will be looking for at-large bids for NCAAs.