NCAA DIV. I WRESTLING
Gwiazdowski and Dieringer gunning for third NCAA titles
by Richard Immel Eight past NCAA champions return to the Division I fold for what promises to be a thrilling 2015-16 college season that will culminate with the NCAA Championships inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on March 17-19. Headlining the 2016 class of contenders are Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State, both of whom are targeting a third NCAA individual title in their senior campaigns.
Dieringer is a three-time NCAA All-American for the Cowboys, placing third as a freshman before winning back-to-back NCAA titles over the next two seasons. He wrestled his first two years in the orange and black at 157 pounds before elevating in weight class to 165 pounds last season. For the second straight year, he will be the man to beat at 165 pounds. “The thing at 157 was I was just too big. It was more like I was wrestling at practice to lose weight and not focus on getting better,” Dieringer said. “Statistically I was way more dominant last year than I was at 157. I’m just going to keep aiming for that, just going out there and dominating, and if I do that I will wrestle to get better.”
Dieringer is looking to join a long list of wrestlers with at least three NCAA championships for Oklahoma State, the winningest program in NCAA wrestling history. A title in 2016 would make Dieringer the 16th Cowboy to achieve such a feat and the first to do so since Jake Rosholt in 2006.
“I try not to think about it too much. I don’t want to get in over my head, but if I win out I will be number two behind Coach Smith on the [Oklahoma State] wins list. I have to go out there and dominate like I haven’t before. There are a lot of things that can happen this year, but we just have to make it all happen in the room,” said Dieringer. A three-time NCAA All-American himself, Gwiazdowski is one of the most dynamic heavyweight wrestlers ever to come through the NCAA ranks. A third NCAA title would cement his legacy as one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time, joining Jimmy Jackson of Oklahoma State (1976-78) and Carlton Haselrig of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (1987-89) as the only heavy- weights to accomplish this monumental achievement. “It’s a big motivator for me. I want to be known as the best
ever, but at the same time I can’t get ahead of myself,” Gwiazdowski said. “If you think ahead like that it may not hap- pen for me, so then what? It’s a process and understanding that process and knowing I’ll be there at the end. As long as I’m there and I wrestle then I have a shot a becoming one of the best ever.”
Gwiazdowski placed eighth as a true freshman at the NCAA Championships for Binghamton before transferring to North Carolina State prior to his sophomore year. After an extremely successful redshirt campaign during his first year in Raleigh, N.C. Gwiazdowski stormed to two NCAA titles for the Wolfpack. “My weight class in previous years was great. I don’t look at it as a shallow weight class this year because, if I do, then that is
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Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State and Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State have already won two NCAA titles each. Photos by Austin Bernard and John Sachs.
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