James Hackney
All Time Record vs: 16-0-1
After back to back weeks of competing on opposite sides of the country, the Cowboys return home for a conference dual against Northern Colorado (UNC). They have a 9-1 dual record, but that includes wins over five non division one teams. This is likely one of their strongest teams with _ ranked wrestlers, including a #1 overall in Andrew Alirez.
For the Cowboys they’ve been able to get wins in their past two duals, but haven’t looked their best against much lower ranked teams. Wrestlers like Mastrogiovanni, Young, and even Plott to some extent have struggled. This dual could end up looking similar if the team wrestles like they have lately.
125lbs: #21 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (13-5) vs #17 Stevo Poulin (18-3)
Mastrogiovanni in his last two matches has a win over a returning All-American and a loss to an unranked wrestler. With that, it’s hard to know which Mastro will show up in a match like this. Poulin is a redshirt freshman for UNC after redshirting at NC State. His three losses all came at the Scuffle to ranked opponents. Mastro should have the advantage as far as size and length goes.
Poulin is an active wrestler who has good speed and strong defense. He is not a huge threat on top with turns, but can ride which Masatro has struggled with. If I was predicting this match before the Columbia loss, I’d go Mastro. However after not being able to put up a point in that match I’m taking Poulin.
Prediction: Poulin Dec. Mastrogiovanni (OSU 0 UNC 3)
