Eighth-ranked NC State wrestling will travel to Duke on Friday for its final road dual and conference match of the season. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Fans can attend for free, and the dual will be streamed on ACCN Extra with live scoring available.
The probable match-ups feature several ranked wrestlers from both teams. Notably, NC State’s lineup includes #13 Ryan Jack (141 lbs), #8 Koy Buesgens (149 lbs), #10 Will Denny (165 lbs), #23 Aidan Wallace (174 lbs), and #2 Isaac Trumble (285 lbs). Individual rankings are based on InterMat as of February 10, 2026.
A win against Duke would mark the 806th victory in program history for NC State, improve head coach Pat Popolizio’s career record to 272 wins, give him his 191st win at NC State, and extend the Wolfpack’s record over Duke to 59 wins.
Friday’s contest marks the 72nd meeting between NC State and Duke. The last encounter took place in January 2025 in Raleigh, where NC State won decisively with a score of 47-0. The Wolfpack has not lost to Duke since 2015.
Several individual wrestlers have made notable achievements this season. Sixth-year heavyweight Isaac Trumble returned from a knee injury suffered at last year’s NCAA tournament and has won eight matches by bonus points out of twelve total matches, including four victories over ranked opponents such as No. 3 Nick Feldman of Ohio State. Redshirt-sophomore Koy Buesgens started his season with ten straight wins and currently holds an 18-2 record with three top-10 victories. Freshman Will Denny is on a twelve-match winning streak that includes upsets over highly ranked competitors like No. 5 Ryder Downey of UNI and No. 11 Paddy Gallagher of Ohio State. Redshirt-junior Matty Singleton has compiled a record of thirteen wins and two losses—all against ranked opponents—while redshirt-sophomore Vincent Robinson seeks to defend his national title after finishing last season as champion; he currently holds an eleven-win season.
NC State began the current campaign ranked in the top ten nationally according to NWCA preseason rankings, continuing a streak that dates back at least nine seasons. Seven team members are individually ranked by InterMat within their weight classes; five are among the nation’s top ten, led by Isaac Trumble at No. 2 for heavyweight following his All-American performance last year.
The Wolfpack roster features seven NCAA qualifiers, one national champion, and four All-Americans.
Within the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), five teams are currently ranked among the national top twenty-five: Virginia Tech (#6), NC State (#8), Pittsburgh (#12), North Carolina (#13), and Stanford (#23). Last season, NC State shared regular-season honors with Virginia Tech and North Carolina but finished third at the championship tournament after holding the ACC trophy for six consecutive years from 2019 through 2024.
NC State is also unique among ACC programs this year for having more than one wrestler ranked in InterMat’s top five per weight class—Vincent Robinson (#5) at 125 pounds and Isaac Trumble (#2) at heavyweight—contributing to a group of thirteen ACC wrestlers found in InterMat’s national top ten rankings this season.
