Were released by FloWrestling today. They finally got the NC State lineup correct (in the past, I think they've been listing Reenan as 184 still), but here's where each projected starter checked in within the league (note: I still think 149 is up in the air, there will be a ton of guys competing for time there … a usual):
125 — R-Fr. Jakob Camacho 2nd
Behind UVA Sr. Jack Mueller, who made the NCAA finals last year. Tough to argue with this ranking.
133 — R-Fr. Jarrett Trombley 4th
This will be a volatile weight within the ACC next year, led by Pitt's Micky Phillippi, who made the blood round last year. Trombley had a solid performance this offseason at the Junior World Team Trials, but the weight class is pretty loaded and Trombley doesn't have the resume to right now be listed ahead of No. 3 Louie Hayes, who was about .500 last year and pretty bad by the end of the year — but was a round of 12 guy at NCAAs two years ago (though at 125).
141 — R-Jr. Tariq Wilson 1st
I've heard and said for a long time now that Wilson is going 141, but I'll say this — he's huge right now. HUGE. At the World Team Trials in Raleigh, I saw him standing next to former NCSU All-American Tommy Gantt, one of the country's best 70-kg wrestlers — which is 154 pounds — and I thought they looked almost the same size. But looks don't always match up with the scale.
Anyway, if Wilson is at 141, he's the ACC favorite by a mile … and a top-5ish guy nationally. If Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis moves up, I'd call Tariq a darkhorse national title contender.
149 — R-Fr. Matt Grippi 4th
You could throw five names out here for NC State next year. You may see five different guys start at the weight, so who knows what will happen. The top 3 in the ACC is pretty solid with a bunch of NCAA qualifiers and guys who even won a few matches at nationals — but it's really UNC's Austin O'Connor (third at NCAAs last year) and everybody else.
157 — R-Jr. Hayden Hidlay 1st
Similarly, it's Hayden and everybody else here. Hidlay will be everybody's preseason No. 1 nationally after the top three placers from last year graduated.
165 — R-Jr. Thomas Bullard 2nd
Again, one dominant guy — defending NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis — and everybody else. The Pack needs Bullard to establish himself as a clear No. 2 at this weight within the league and a top-10ish guy nationally.
174 — R-Jr. Daniel Bullard 2nd
The trend continues here with VT's David McFadden, a three-time All-American, and everybody else. You could say the same about Daniel that I said about Thomas. It's time for these guys to preform like the top recruits they were out of high school.
184 — R-Fr. Trent Hidlay 3rd
Some may feel this is low, but I can't wait to see this weight class in action. I thought Trent looked great at the World Team Trials in May in Raleigh, but Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi seemingly came out of nowhere to make the blood round at NCAAs as a redshirt freshman and VT's Hunter Bolen was an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman before redshirting last year (when he went 12-1 with a lone loss to Penn State All-American Rasheed Shakur).
So this weight will have a trio of young studs in it. There were a pile of seniors among the top NCAA finishers at 184 last year (looking at Flo's final rankings, six of the top eight were seniors), so it's clearing out and this trio of guys could make noise nationally. It's going to be fireworks and I am pumped to see how Hidlay stacks up against Bonaccorsi and Bolen.
197 — R-Jr. Nick Reenan 1st
Reenan wrestle with a torn ACL most of last year, but is expected back for the season. UVA's Jay Aiello is solid, but if Reenan is healthy he's a monster favorite here.
HWT — So. Deonte Wilson 3rd
I was encouraged by the Wilson that showed up at the ACC Championships last year. If he can continue to build off that performance, he can climb higher. However, getting past preseason No. 1 Demetrius Thomas might be a tall order — at least next year.
Of course, the thing everybody wants to know is what this means for the team as a whole. Flo's scoring rubric for the conference shakes out with a close race between NC State and VT, like always, with the Pack holding an 81-78.5 edge in team points.
I'm sure a lot will change between now and next March, but that's how things stand currently: https://www.flowrestling.org/rankings/6519709-acc-rankings-2019-20/31925-acc-team-rankings
125 — R-Fr. Jakob Camacho 2nd
Behind UVA Sr. Jack Mueller, who made the NCAA finals last year. Tough to argue with this ranking.
133 — R-Fr. Jarrett Trombley 4th
This will be a volatile weight within the ACC next year, led by Pitt's Micky Phillippi, who made the blood round last year. Trombley had a solid performance this offseason at the Junior World Team Trials, but the weight class is pretty loaded and Trombley doesn't have the resume to right now be listed ahead of No. 3 Louie Hayes, who was about .500 last year and pretty bad by the end of the year — but was a round of 12 guy at NCAAs two years ago (though at 125).
141 — R-Jr. Tariq Wilson 1st
I've heard and said for a long time now that Wilson is going 141, but I'll say this — he's huge right now. HUGE. At the World Team Trials in Raleigh, I saw him standing next to former NCSU All-American Tommy Gantt, one of the country's best 70-kg wrestlers — which is 154 pounds — and I thought they looked almost the same size. But looks don't always match up with the scale.
Anyway, if Wilson is at 141, he's the ACC favorite by a mile … and a top-5ish guy nationally. If Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis moves up, I'd call Tariq a darkhorse national title contender.
149 — R-Fr. Matt Grippi 4th
You could throw five names out here for NC State next year. You may see five different guys start at the weight, so who knows what will happen. The top 3 in the ACC is pretty solid with a bunch of NCAA qualifiers and guys who even won a few matches at nationals — but it's really UNC's Austin O'Connor (third at NCAAs last year) and everybody else.
157 — R-Jr. Hayden Hidlay 1st
Similarly, it's Hayden and everybody else here. Hidlay will be everybody's preseason No. 1 nationally after the top three placers from last year graduated.
165 — R-Jr. Thomas Bullard 2nd
Again, one dominant guy — defending NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis — and everybody else. The Pack needs Bullard to establish himself as a clear No. 2 at this weight within the league and a top-10ish guy nationally.
174 — R-Jr. Daniel Bullard 2nd
The trend continues here with VT's David McFadden, a three-time All-American, and everybody else. You could say the same about Daniel that I said about Thomas. It's time for these guys to preform like the top recruits they were out of high school.
184 — R-Fr. Trent Hidlay 3rd
Some may feel this is low, but I can't wait to see this weight class in action. I thought Trent looked great at the World Team Trials in May in Raleigh, but Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi seemingly came out of nowhere to make the blood round at NCAAs as a redshirt freshman and VT's Hunter Bolen was an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman before redshirting last year (when he went 12-1 with a lone loss to Penn State All-American Rasheed Shakur).
So this weight will have a trio of young studs in it. There were a pile of seniors among the top NCAA finishers at 184 last year (looking at Flo's final rankings, six of the top eight were seniors), so it's clearing out and this trio of guys could make noise nationally. It's going to be fireworks and I am pumped to see how Hidlay stacks up against Bonaccorsi and Bolen.
197 — R-Jr. Nick Reenan 1st
Reenan wrestle with a torn ACL most of last year, but is expected back for the season. UVA's Jay Aiello is solid, but if Reenan is healthy he's a monster favorite here.
HWT — So. Deonte Wilson 3rd
I was encouraged by the Wilson that showed up at the ACC Championships last year. If he can continue to build off that performance, he can climb higher. However, getting past preseason No. 1 Demetrius Thomas might be a tall order — at least next year.
Of course, the thing everybody wants to know is what this means for the team as a whole. Flo's scoring rubric for the conference shakes out with a close race between NC State and VT, like always, with the Pack holding an 81-78.5 edge in team points.
I'm sure a lot will change between now and next March, but that's how things stand currently: https://www.flowrestling.org/rankings/6519709-acc-rankings-2019-20/31925-acc-team-rankings
