Ninth-ranked NC State will begin its conference wrestling schedule by hosting the Virginia Cavaliers on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. The dual meet, which marks the Wolfpack’s first competition of 2026, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
The event will feature several ranked matchups according to InterMat’s December 9, 2025 rankings. Among the highlighted bouts are #1 Vincent Robinson or Brad Yokum facing Rocco Hayes at 125 pounds, #8 Ryan Jack against Gable Porter at 141 pounds, and #2 Isaac Trumble taking on Brenan Morgan in the heavyweight division.
A win for NC State would mark several milestones: it would be the program’s 802nd all-time victory, head coach Pat Popolizio’s 267th career win and his 186th with NC State, as well as the team’s 42nd win over Virginia since records began in 1955.
Friday’s matchup is the 74th meeting between NC State and Virginia. The Wolfpack last faced the Cavaliers in Charlottesville in 2025, securing a decisive 32-4 victory. NC State has not lost to Virginia since 2014 and has outscored them by a wide margin over their past eleven encounters.
Key wrestlers for NC State include freshman Will Denny (#16 at 165 lbs), who entered national rankings after an upset over No. 5 Ryder Downey of UNI; redshirt-sophomore Koy Buesgens (#5 at 149 lbs), who started his season with ten straight wins; and sixth-year veteran Isaac Trumble (#2 heavyweight), who returned from injury to secure multiple bonus-point victories including a notable win over Ohio State’s No.3 Nick Feldman.
The Wolfpack began this season ranked in the top ten of NWCA preseason polls for at least nine consecutive years dating back to the 2017-18 season. Nine wrestlers are currently nationally ranked by InterMat, five within their respective top tens—led by Vincent Robinson holding the number one spot at 125 pounds following his national championship run last year.
NC State’s roster features seven NCAA qualifiers, one national champion, and four All-Americans.
Within the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), five teams are currently ranked among the nation’s top twenty-five: Virginia Tech (No.7), NC State (No.9), North Carolina (No.13), Pittsburgh (No.14), and Stanford (No.24). Of these programs, only NC State has more than one wrestler ranked in InterMat’s top five per weight class—a distinction that includes Robinson (#1/125 lbs.), Buesgens (#5/149 lbs.), Singleton (#5/174 lbs.), and Trumble (#2/Hwt).
NC State aims to reclaim sole possession of the ACC title this season after sharing regular-season honors with Virginia Tech and North Carolina last year but finishing third at championships. Previously, they held an unbroken streak of six ACC titles from 2019 through 2024.