Ninth-ranked NC State wrestling will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. The dual meet is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Covelli Center and will be streamed live on the B1G+ network.
The event marks the seventh meeting between NC State and Ohio State in program history. Their most recent encounter was at the 2024 Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Nashville, where NC State narrowly lost by a score of 20-21. To date, NC State has not secured a victory over Ohio State.
NC State enters this matchup with a season record that began in 1955 and currently stands at 797 wins, 490 losses, and 22 ties. A win on Friday would represent the program’s 798th all-time victory. It would also mark head coach Pat Popolizio’s 263rd career win and his 182nd as head coach of NC State.
The probable matchups feature several highly ranked wrestlers according to InterMat’s December rankings. Vincent Robinson, ranked No. 1 at 125 lbs following his national championship season, leads a group of eight ranked wrestlers from NC State, five of whom are in the top ten nationally for their weight classes. Freshman Will Denny quickly entered the rankings at No. 19 after an upset win over Ryder Downey of UNI at the National Duals Invitational.
NC State’s roster includes seven NCAA qualifiers, one national champion, and four All-Americans. The team started this season ranked in the NWCA preseason top ten for at least nine consecutive years dating back to the 2017-18 season.
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), Pittsburgh (No. 16), North Carolina (No. 22), and Stanford (No. 23). There are seven ACC schools with wrestling programs overall.
Last season, NC State shared regular-season ACC honors with Virginia Tech and North Carolina but finished third at the conference tournament after holding or sharing the title for six straight seasons from 2019 through 2024.
Coach Popolizio commented on what a win would mean: “Be the first win over the Buckeyes (0-5-1).”
The dual meet can be watched online via B1G+, with commentary provided by Ryan Mitchell and Jonathon Matthes.