If Kevin Jack was a baseball player, he’d probably be an ace reliever brought in from the bullpen to preserve a close win in the bottom of the ninth. Even though he’s a wrestler, he still proved to be an effective closer for NC State on Monday. Taking the mat in the final bout of the night, with his team clinging to a three-point lead against rival North Carolina, Jack scored a dominating 10-4 victory against Joey Ward in a battle of the second- and third-ranked 141-pound wrestlers in the nation. His 21st straight win gave the Wolfpack a 19-11 dual match victory in Chapel Hill. Jack (23-1) jumped out early on Ward (20-3) with a first period takedown. He added an escape and a second takedown in the second period before finishing off the match with a two-point near fall in the final 30 seconds. In doing so, he put an exclamation point on a late surge that saw State win three of the final three matches to improve to 9-1 on the season (2-0 ACC). The ninth-ranked Wolfpack led 9-8 after the first six bouts when heavyweight Mike Kosoy outlasted UNC’s Cory Daniel 5-3 with a takedown in overtime. Sean Faust, wrestling at 125 for the first time this season, then scored a 12-3 major decision to put State within reach of the victory. But the Tar Heels’ Nicholas Lirette prevented the clincher by beating Jamal Morris 8-7 at 133 to set up the dramatic finale at 141. Other winners for the Wolfpack were Sam Speno at 149, Brian Hamann at 165 and Nicky Hall at 184. Earning the points for UNC (5-5, 0-2) were Joey Moon at 157, Ethan Ramos at 174 and Daniel Chaid at 197.#9 NC State 19, North Carolina 11149: #11 Sam Speno (NCSU) dec. #32 Troy Heilmann; 6-3 – 3-0157: #25 Joey Moon (UNC) dec. #28 Thomas Bullard; 6-5 – 3-3165: #24 Brian Hamann (NCSU) dec. Devin Kane; 8-2 – 6-3174: #6 Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. #30 Nick Reenan; 11-4 – 6-6184: Nicky Hall (NCSU) dec. Anderson Pope; 5-0 – 9-6197: #32 Daniel Chaid (UNC) dec. #10 Michael Macchiavello; 3-1 (SV1) – 9-8 (UNC deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct)285: #21 Mike Kosoy (NCSU) dec. #30 Cory Daniel; 5-3 (TB2) – 12-8125: Sean Faust (NCSU) major dec. James Szymanski; 12-3 – 16-8133: Nicholas Lirette (UNC) dec. #14 Jamal Morris; 8-7 – 16-11141: #2 Kevin Jack (NCSU) dec. #3 Joey Ward; 10-4 – 19-11
