Editor’s note: NC State junior Nick Gwiazdowski became the first wrestler in Wolfpack history to win back-to-back NCAA titles on Saturday night in St. Louis. Read full coverage and see pictures on GoPack.com.
Nick Gwiazdowski knows what it’s like to be chased. As the defending NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion, he’s been taking the best shot of every opponent he’s faced this season.
And he’s perfectly defended his title, with a 30-0 record this season. Thursday, however, begins the real test, as Gwiazdowski and four of his teammates begin competition in the three-day NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.
Gwiazdowski has beaten 16 of the other opponents in his bracket and is the top seed in the 285-pound class.
Last year, Gwiazdowski defeated two-time defending champion Tony Nelson of Minnesota to win the heavyweight title as a sophomore, becoming the sixth wrestler in Wolfpack history to win an NCAA Championship.
Now, he has to overcome being everybody’s target as he wrestles through the bracket, just like Nelson did last year.
“There’s definitely pressure,” Gwiazdowski says. “I don’t want that to be me.”
This time around, Gwiazdowski has the chance to do something no other NC State product and only two other ACC wrestlers have done: win multiple titles. The last ACC wrestler to do it was in 1995, when UNC’s T.J. Jaworsky won his third consecutive title.
“I talked about that a lot to guys I trained with over the summer,” Gwiazdowski says. “I talked about what motivated them. There are a lot of things that motivate me, primarily getting that feeling of being on top again.
“There’s nothing like it.”
He knows it won’t be easy. Last year, as a sophomore in his first season at NC State, Gwiazdowski was relatively unknown going into the NCAA Championships before he made it to the finals. He had competed as a freshman when he attended Binghamton (N.Y) University, finishing eighth. But he sat out a year when he transferred to NC State when head coach Pat Popolizio took over the Wolfpack wrestling program.
“It’s a tall order for him [to repeat as national champion], but if there is anyone who is prepared to do this, it’s him,” Popolizio says. “He’s had guys targeting him and scouting him all year. He’s been getting everyone’s best shot. I don’t think he will have any surprises out there.”
And while Gwiazdowski is quiet on the mats, he likes the opportunity to shine in big events.
“The bigger the stage the better he performs,” the coach says. “You saw him do that last year.”
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