RALEIGH, N.C. — Black and Gold Intrasquad? Check. App State Individual Quad? Check.
With two season-opening events under their belt, the Mountaineers move on to another "first" of the 2020-21 season with their first dual Friday night. App State's showdown with No. 4 NC State (1-0) can be seen on ACC Network Extra starting at 7 p.m. Live scoring will also be available at TrackWrestling.
Friday's competition will be held in Reynolds Coliseum with no tickets being sold, and wrestlers from the two teams will also compete again Saturday in round-robin matches in nearby Carmichael Gymnasium.
The 2020-21 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies.
The visit to Raleigh serves as the only non-conference dual currently on App State's schedule. The Mountaineers' probable lineup includes six returning starters, with
Codi Russell moving down from 133 pounds to 125 and
Sean Carter switching from 125 to 133. App State's other returning starters this season are
Jonathan Millner (149),
Will Formato (165),
Thomas Flitz (174) and
Julian Gorring (184).
Russell and Millner each won decisions in App State's 24-12 loss last season to the Wolfpack, which opened its 2020-21 dual schedule last week with a 42-0 shutout of Gardner-Webb.
While Millner, Flitz, Russell, Formato and Carter all have top-32 rankings from at least one of the major wrestling sites, NC State has seven projected starters with a top-20 national ranking: Jakob Camacho (No. 7 at 125), Jarrett Trombley (No. 16 at 133), Tariq Wilson (No. 10 at 141), Hayden Hidlay (No. 2 at 157), Thomas Bullard (No. 7 at 165), Daniel Bullard (No. 10 at 174) and Deonte Wilson (No. 18).
Here's a closer look at each weight class:
125 pounds
Russell went 3-0 with two major decisions and one tech fall last weekend in his debut at his lower weight, and the seventh-ranked Camacho is the reigning ACC champion at 125.
133 pounds
Carter went 1-1 last weekend and had an early takedown in a loss to 14th-ranked Louie Hayes from Virginia, while the 16th-ranked Trombley was an NCAA qualifier last year.
141 pounds
Anthony Brito is in position to make his first career dual start with a career record of 37-18 early in his junior season, and the 10th-ranked Tariq Wilson made two NCAA appearances at 133 before qualifying at 141 last season.
149 pounds
Millner, who is waiting to make his season debut, went 31-4 last season as a first-year starter. NC State freshman Ed Scott was a top-50 recruit nationally.
157 pounds
App State junior
Cody Bond could make his first career dual start after going 2-2 last weekend. The second-ranked Hidlay is a three-time All-American.
165 pounds
Formato's overtime win against 2020 NCAA qualifier Dazjon Casto served as an opening-weekend highlight for App State, while seventh-ranked Thomas Bullard is expected to make his season debut after missing the Gardner-Webb dual.
174 pounds
Flitz and Daniel Bullard are top-20 wrestlers who met three times last year — Flitz won an 8-6 decision at the Wolfpack Open before Bullard won 5-4 in a head-to-head dual matchup and 4-1 at the Southern Scuffle.
184 pounds
Gorring, who went 20-16 as a true freshman, is set to face Jacob Ferreira (9-10 last year at three different weights) with Trent Hidlay expected to be sidelined following an appendectomy.
197 pounds
NC State's Nick Reenan, who has battled injuries throughout his career, had a dramatic 4-3 win in Varsity Gym last season against
Paul Carson, who is sidelined by an injury. App State's
Mason Fiscella has 10 pins among his 22 career wins, including a 2-0 dual record last year at 184.
285 pounds
Tim Warren, a junior with six career wins, is likely to make his first career dual start against Deonte Wilson, an NCAA qualifier in 2020.
