Popolizio Just Getting Started
by Robert Palatsky
Pat Popolizio led the NC State wrestling team to a fourth place finish in the NCAA Wrestling championships. Popolizio is from my hometown of Niskayuna New York and was a 1996 NYS state champion who went on to wrestle for legendary Oklahoma State head coach, John Smith.
As a Niskayuna native myself, it is so cool to see a former Silver Warrior like Popolizio having success in a sport like wrestling which doesn’t get a ton of attention, but I personally find fascinating.
Pat can claim two CAA coach of the Year awards while coaching at SUNY Binghamton, my dad’s alma mater, before taking over at NC State. Pat coached Nick Gwiazdowski to two NCAA Championships as well as three other NCAA All Americans before this year. In 2016, Popolizio was named the NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year.
This year was monumental as his wolf pack finished second in the ACC Championships and claimed four All-Americans including the 197lb champion Michael Machiavello.
In addition, Popolizio returns NCAA runner up, Hayden Hidley who was undefeated until losing in the NCAA Finals to Jason Nolf from NCAA team champions, Penn State. Surprise NCAA third place finisher Tariq Wilson returns next year for his sophomore campaign and two time NCAA qualifier,Sean Fausz returns for his senior season.
I can’t wait to see what Popolizio’s team does next year. He turned around a bad Binghamton wrestling program, then took over ACC runner-up NC State. The former wrestler’s team has inherited their coach’s tenacity and watching this team next season should be a heck of a ride.
