The lights were shining bright on the mat Friday night as the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute hosted the Wolfpack. But when the lights fell, so did the Pack.
N.C. State traveled to Virginia for two showdowns, as it faced off with VMI and its first ACC opponent of the season, Virginia. While State won the first match against a tough VMI team, it lost momentum and subsequently the dual match to the Cavaliers.
“Before we got to VMI, coach [Carter] Jordan got us really hyped up for the match,” redshirt junior Darrius Little said. “He basically said that this match was a big deal for him because of the family history that he has there. His father is in the hall of fame and it meant a lot to him that we got the win.”
Going into the weekend, coach Carter Jordan made his team well aware of what type of environment they would be wrestling in when they faced the Keydets. But one wrestler, redshirt junior Colton Palmer, said he was shocked when he walked into the VMI gym, also known as the “Thunderdome.”
“The VMI gym is a real intense atmosphere,” Palmer said. “The Keydets are right on top of the mat the entire time. They have a spotlight on the mat while you’re wrestling, so to get a win in that type of place feels great.”
State lost its first two matches by decisions, but the next five matches clinched the win for the Pack, 23-15. Each match was won by the Pack, as Little (19-6) won by a major decision, freshman Matt Neirem (8-2) and Palmer (22-8) pinned their opponents. Sophomore Colin Genthert (11-5) and junior Quinton Godley (17-9) ended the scoring for the Pack with decisions of their own.
The win was not an easy one for the Pack, as they split the actual match wins in the dual match. The main reason State won the match was due to the decisiveness of the wins it did earn. Jordan said that he was really impressed with the way that the team wrestled over the weekend.
“We wrestled really hard this weekend,” Jordan said. “The environment at VMI was epic, and I feel like we went in there showed them what N.C. State wrestling is like. Matt Neirem, Darrius Little, Quinton Godley and Colton Palmer beat both of their opponents this weekend and really stepped up for the team.”
The team was not able to keep up the wins in Charlottesville, VA, when the Pack faced off with the Cavs. While four of the wrestlers did win both days, the wins were not quite as obvious. Jordan said the dual match was a lot closer than the final score of 26-12 would appear and he had very high praise for one wrestler in particular.
“Quinton Godley pumped our team up this weekend with a huge win over the No. 18 ranked wrestler in his weight class,” Jordan said. “Even though he beat the guy 2-1, it wasn’t even close. He dominated the match.”
Though the team as a whole was not able to pick up a win in its first ACC dual match of the year, some of the wrestlers feel that their wins will help them out in March, when they compete for the ACC Championship.
“I was really happy to get a big ACC victory this weekend,” Palmer said. “I think that I have been progressing well, and to get a win like that to pick the team up is always great. It’s also a huge to win in the conference so that my seeding will be better during the ACC championships.”
State returns home this Saturday for a doubleheader at Reynolds Coliseum against Campbell University and Ohio University at 4 and 7 pm, respectively. Palmer says that he can’t wait to get back home and wrestle in Reynolds.
“It’s always awesome when we come back home to wrestle,” Palmer said. “The intensity during practice is elevated and everyone is going to be hyped up for this weekend. I’m looking forward to this weekend, because I really feel like we can get some big wins.”
