Previewing No. 8 NC State wrestling vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech in ACC Friday night dual

The undisputed kings of ACC Wrestling over the past decade meet once again on the mat, as No. 8 NC State hosts No. 7 Virginia Tech Friday night inside Reynolds coliseum.

The dual will be the first televised match on the ACC Network this year.

The winner will more than likely claim the 2026 ACC Dual Championship. You must go back to 2014 to find the last time neither NC State nor Virginia Tech had the best regular season record in the ACC (Pitt).

In the post season, either NC State (7) or Virginia Tech (3) have won the last 10 ACC Championships dating back to 2015 (Virginia).

NC State has not dropped a home conference dual since 2019 vs. Pitt (18-16). With the win over UNC last week, the Pack has won 18 home ACC duals in a row.

The Pack has also won 31 of the last 34 ACC duals overall dating back to the 2019-20 season. The lone losses in that stretch were all road duals at Virginia Tech (2021, 2023 and last year).

This will be the second meeting of the year for the two programs, as they faced off in a non-conference dual back in November at the National Duals. The Hokies easily won that day, 25-9, winning seven of the 10 bouts. As it appears, there will be six rematches from that dual (125, 141, 149, 165, 174, 184).

Here is a glimpse of the 10 potential matches:

125: No. 5 Vince Robinson vs. No. 3 R-Sr. Eddie Ventresca (13-2)

The national champion’s achilles heel. Ventresca has won all three previous meetings between the pair, all three with identical 4-1 scores. He took wins in the dual and in the ACC final last year, and earlier this year when the teams met at the National Duals. Robinson has never gotten a takedown in their matchups. Ventresca’s lone two losses this year were both to No. 9 Jore Volk of Minnesota back in mid-November (3-1 and 4-2).

133: No. 33 Zach Redding vs. No. 7 Fr. Aaron Seidel (9-0)

A veteran vs. a hot-shot rookie. It appears Redding has taken over the position for the Pack, but they could also throw in Troy Hohman based on this matchup. Redding is coming off his best match of the season, an 8-2 win over No. 18 Ethan Oakley of UNC. VT has made a change in their lineup at this weight, as it was announced No. 11 Dillon Campbell was lost for the season. But the Hokies probably improved the weight with the addition of Seidel, the No. 10 overall recruit in the freshman class. This past weekend, he scored a 12-0 major decision over No. 7 Tyler Know of Stanford, a 2025 All-American. He is undefeated on the season overall, including a perfect 100% bonus rate against D1 competition.

141: No. 13 Ryan Jack vs. No. 22 R-Jr. Tom Crook (16-6)

Have any current two wrestlers faced off more than these two, this is the seventh all-time meeting between the pair. The direct opposite of 125 for the Pack though, as Jack holds a perfect 6-0 record against Crook. Both redshirted last season and didn’t face off in this dual, but Jack scored an 8-4 win over Crook earlier this year at the National Duals. Jack already has a pair of ACC losses and has not recorded a takedown in conference action yet (the first-period pin at Stanford came after a reversal). Based on matchups, could the Hokies throw out a surprise, true freshman Drew Gordan, the No. 55 overall recruit in the class.

149: No. 5 Koy Buesgens vs. No. 9 Fr. Collin Gaj (16-7)

Among the field at this weight, these two have perhaps risen higher in the national rankings from the start of the season than any other wrestlers. Buesgens lone loss was to No. 4 Ethan Stiles of Ohio State. Despite seven losses, Gaj has a very impressive resume in his true freshman season, including knocking off No. 9 Aden Valencia of Stanford last weekend. The two also met at the National Duals, Buesgens scored the only takedown and won the bout 4-1.

157: ??? vs. No. 16 Grad. Ethen Miller (8-3)

Who knows who will get the start at 157 pounds for the Pack. Since Jackson Arrington was lost for the season, the Pack has started four different wrestlers at this weight in duals, and that doesn’t include super-freshman Daniel Zepeda who was also lost for the season. The Pack could throw out R-Fr. Luca Felix or one of two true freshmen in Jason Kwaak or Brogan Tucker. Miller transferred from Maryland but missed the first part of the season with an injury. He was a three-time NCAA Qualifier with the Terps, including the #10 seed last year.

165: No. 13 Will Denny vs. No. 12 Fr. Ryan Burton (19-5)

Battle of two true freshmen might highlight this dual. Burton was the No. 14 overall recruit in the class, while Denny was No. 16. They did not have a history as high school opponents, as Burton was always a weight class above. So, has Denny grown into 165 pounds or is Burton cutting too much for the weight class? The two met at the National Duals, Burton scoring a 15-7 major decision. Maybe there is a chance that Virginia Tech could send out NCAA Qualifier Mac Church here instead?

174: No. 6 Matty Singelton vs. No. 31 R-Jr. Sergio Desiante (15-9)

Desiante is in his first season at Virginia Tech after transferring from Chattanooga where he spent three seasons. Last year he went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships. At the National Duals, Singleton controlled the bout for a 7-1 win.

184: Don Cates vs. No. 32 Grad. Jaden Bullock (12-10)

Back-to-back transfers in the lineup for Virginia Tech as Bullock came over from Michigan for his final season. Bullock scored the lone takedown of the match and won 4-1 at the National Duals earlier this year.

197: No. 25 Patrick Brophy vs. No. 16 R-So. Sonny Sasso (15-5)

Two first-year starters in the ACC. The two faced off last year while Brophy was at The Citadel and Sasso was a back-up at Virginia Tech. Brophy took a 12-6 decision at the Southern Scuffle. Sasso is a bonus point threat, especially with his ability to pin opponents.

285: No. 2 Isaac Trumble vs. No. 16 R-So. Jimmy Mullen (17-4)

Both have won ACC duals for their teams this year in the final bout. Trumble scored a pin for the Pack to down UVA, while Mullen’s pin versus Stanford won their dual last weekend. This will be the third meeting between the pair, with Trumble leading 2-0. Last year in the dual, it was a tight 5-3 win, that is the bout Trumble first sustained his knee injury. When both were redshirting during the 2024 season, they met at the Midlands with Trumble claiming a 12-4 major decision.

How will this dual go?

On paper, the Pack does not match up as well against Virginia Tech as they did against the Tar Heels. Against UNC, their three worse wrestlers faced three of the Pack’s top wrestlers, resulting in two bonus point wins. 

Looking at the probables, Virginia Tech will be favored in more bouts. Of course, an upset or two will happen, but this could be a course to victory for the Pack.

Wins at: 125, 141, 149, 165, 174 and 285 (18 team points). That leaves Virginia Tech a heavy favorite for bonus at 133 and decisions at 157, 184, 197 (13 team points). Even with bonus at 157 and 197, if NC State gets six wins they could come out on top.

If the teams split 5-5, it appears Virginia Tech has the advantage for bonus point potential in more bouts.