#2 Lou DePrez vs #13 Trent Hidlay Goes Down This Saturday
#2 Lou DePrez vs #13 Trent Hidlay Goes Down This Saturday
Junior world bronze medalist Trent Hidlay will get his first major tests this Saturday, including a matchup with #2 Lou DePrez live on Flo.
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NC State travels to New York this weekend, with their dual against Binghamton coming Saturday night live on Flo. The marquee bout will be at 184 pounds between #2 Louie DePrez and #13 Trent Hidlay.
Watch #9 NC State at #24 Binghamton LIVE on Flo
Saturday November 23 | 7:00 PM Eastern
Hidlay took over the starting spot at 184 pounds for NC State this season and is a popular pick to place for the Wolfpack multiple times over the next few years. This match will answer several questions about just how good Trent Hidlay will be this year.
#2 Lou Deprez vs. #13 Trent Hidlay: Who you picking?
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) November 21, 2019
#2 Lou DePrez, Binghamton
Last Season
DePrez had a solid redshirt freshman year, going 33-7 overall and making the bloodround at the national championships. With the two guys who beat him at NCAAs (Drew Foster and Ryan Preisch) gone, most expect to see DePrez high on the podium come March.
Offseason
While Hidlay might have had the more memorable offseason, don’t ignore DePrez’s. The Binghamton sophomore took third at U23 Trials, avenging a 3-2 loss to Hunter Bolen from earlier in the year. In 2018, he was our Junior world teamer at 86kg.
So Far This Year
Deprez is 5-0 with a tech and two majors so far. He jumped from #10 to #2 when he beat then second-ranked Ben Darmstadt of Cornell 7-2 in the finals of the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open.
#13 Trent Hidlay, NC State
Last Season
Competing unattached and at 174lbs last year, Hidlay went 24-2. His sole losses were to two-time All-American Joe Smith 4-2 and three-time All-American David McFadden 3-2 at the Southern Scuffle.
Offseason
As good as Hidlay’s redshirt season was, his offseason got even better when he made the Junior world team by winning a bracket that included Zachary Braunagel, Abe Assad, and Gavin Hoffman. Hidlay would then go on to win a bronze medal in Tallinn, Estonia.
So Far This Year
Although he hasn’t faced the toughest of competition yet, Hidlay is 4-0 with two majors and two pins.
Match Notes
In an unusual move, NC State is wrestling Cornell in Ithaca, NY, at 1 PM EST and then driving an hour southwest to take on Binghamton in Vestal, NY at 7 PM. This means that Hidlay will wrestle #3 Darmstadt earlier in the day. This will be a gauge to see if/how well Hidlay can go with Deprez and the rest of this year’s top 184-pounders.
Hidlay basically lives in an underhook from neutral. I expect him to at least get to it throughout the match, but it will be interesting to see if he can use it effectively on someone who holds good position like Deprez. Also keep an eye on if Deprez’s solid top game comes into play at all, as it did when they met several years ago as high schoolers.
Hidlay showed last year that he's on the level with the top guys in the country, but can he beat them this year? If Hidlay does win, and especially if he has himself a Saturday and beats Darmstadt as well, he’s obviously the real deal and will make his way into a top-three spot in the rankings.