As good of a college wrestling career that Tariq Wilson has had, there is one thing that the N.C. State redshirt senior hasn’t accomplished — winning an ACC championship. He will have his opportunity on Sunday when the Wolfpack hosts the conference tournament inside James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum on their campus in Raleigh.

N.C. State is the two-time defending ACC champs.

Seeded No. 1 at 141, Wilson (7-0) has defeated four of the other five entrants in his weight class. He is ranked No. 8 nationally and was only one of two ACC wrestlers to go 5-0 this season against conference competition.

A three-time national tournament qualifier, Wilson is a two-time ACC runnerup (2019-20) after going 2-2 as a freshman in 2018.

Wilson stunned the nation as an unseeded freshman when he advanced to the championship semifinals at 133 pounds before bowing in overtime to top-seeded Daniel Gross of South Dakota State, who was the eventual titlist. Along the way, Wilson knocked off the fourth- and fifth-seeds. After losing in the semifinals, he bounced back with a 17-8 major decision over Ohio State’s third-seeded Anthony Pletcher to finish with the bronze medal.

The Wolfpack standout received a first-round bye and will meet the winner of No. 4 Cole Matthews (Pitt) and Sam Hillegas (Va. Tech). Wilson outlasted Matthews 7-5 in a tiebreaker while earning a 5-1 decision over Hillegas. He has also defeated second-seeded Zach Sherman (North Carolina) 9-6 and No. 3 Brian Courtney (Virginia) 8-6. He didn’t wrestle against Duke’s Patrick Rowland.

Wilson is currently ranked No. 8 by the NWCA.

The championship finals will be televised on the ACC Network, starting at 7 p.m.

High School Sectionals

Just a reminder to fans that Division II and Division III sectional tournament action begins Saturday at four sites across Eastern Ohio.

D-II schools will converge on Steubenville and Claymont high schools, while D-III events are at Barnesville and Sandy Valley high schools.

At all four sites, action will be broken down into two sessions. Session I, which will begin at 9 a.m., will include weight classes from 106 pounds through 145. The, after each gymnasium is properly sanitized, Session II, which starts at 1 p.m., includes weight classes 152 to 285.

The top 4 placers in each weight class advance to district competition on March 5-6.

NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional

West Liberty is the odds-on favorite to win Saturday’s event inside Tiffin University’s Heminger Center. The Hilltoppers are ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 6 nationally in TheOpenMat.com Top 25 and No. 8 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25.

Seven Black-and-Gold grapplers are nationally ranked, as well, with junior All-American Cole Laya (125) and senior All-Americans Tyler Warner (133) and Connor Craig (184) are all top-ranked in the region. Laya (10-1) is fifth in both national polls, while Warner (4-0) is fourth and Craig (8-0) second. Warner and Craig won D-II titles while competing for then-Wheeling Jesuit two years ago.

Senior Logan Kemp (197) and sophomore Francesco Borsellino (285) are both No. 2 in the region. Kemp (11-1), a two-time national qualifier, checks in at fifth in TheOpenMat.com poll and ninth on the NWCA ladder, while Borsellino (9-0) is 10th and 11th, respectively.

Senior Christian Rivera (157), junior Chase Morgan (165) and redshirt freshmen Ty McGeary (174) and Alec Cook (149) are all ranked fifth in the region. McGeary (9-2) and Morgan (10-2) are each 15th in TheOpenMat.com poll, while Rivera (6-3) and Cook (4-2) aren’t ranked.

Junior Marcus Jean-Baptiste (141) is sixth in the region. He is 6-2.

The seeds and brackets will be released sometime tonight. The top 4 placers in each weight class advance to the national tournament in St. Louis at the Enterprise Center on March 12-13.

WVU Update

The Mountaineers have four nationally ranked individuals in redshirt junior Noah Adams (197); redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan (133); true freshman Peyton Hall (165); and redshirt junior Killian Cardinale (125).

Adams (10-2) is ranked No. 7 by Intermat and FloWrestling and No. 9 by TheOpenMat.com.

Sullivan (7-2) is No. 11 in FloWrestling, No. 19 by TheOpenMat.com and 20th by Intermat.

Hall (10-2), an Oak Glen product, is No. 22 by TheOpenMat.com and 24th by FloWrestling.

Cardinale (7-3) is 25th in TheOpenMat.com poll.

The Mountaineers travel to Tulsa, Okla., for the Big 12 Championships on March 6-7. Action starts noon on March 6 and concludes with the finals at 6 p.m. on March 7. The title tilts will be televised live on ESPN2.

MAC Tournament

Cleveland State’s Anthony Rice (174) is seeded seventh as the Mid-American Conference Tournament begins today inside the Cure Insurance Arena on the campus of Rider University in Trenton, N.J.

Rice, a Steubenville product, is 3-4 on the season for the Vikings.

Other schools competing include Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Clarion, Edinboro, George Mason, Kent State, Lock Haven, Missouri, North Illinois, Ohio University, SIU-Edwardsville and Western Michigan.