One of the top stories of the college season has been the emergence of NC State freshman Vince Robinson and his ascent up the national rankings at 125 pounds.

The Chicago native was coming off a redshirt season in which he was limited to just one tournament and one dual.

Throughout the preseason, he was thrown into competition at the weight against three-time ACC champion Jakob Camacho, who was coming back for his seventh season. But after the second weekend of action this season, Robinson's bright future for the Pack was clear.

Robinson went to the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in mid-November and came home with a perfect 3-0 mark with all his wins against ranked foes (#16, #19 and #13). For his efforts he was named ACC Wrestler of the Week and inserted into the Pack’s starting lineup.

“He has done a phenomenal job, jumping right into our lineup,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “He had some really good wins right away.

“He has been a great spark for NC State, and he is doing all the right things, like making weight and taking care of school.”

That hot streak to the season has continued as NC State heads into ACC duals from here on out until March.

Robinson has not taken a loss this year when he has stepped out onto the mat, his two blemishes in the win/loss column came after he had to injury default out of the Cliff Keen Invite and missed a month of action.

His return to action was his best win of the season, a 7-3 decision over then-#2 Troy Spratley in the dual at Oklahoma State Monday night. Robinson scored takedowns in both the first and third periods, and only conceded three escape points in front of 8,212 fans in the hostile environment of Gallagher-Iba Arean.

“What I like about him is he is very offensive, and when you wrestle like that, you win a lot of matches when you continue to attack and me aggressive,” Popolizio said. “He is going to continue to let things fly.

“He has a great personality, and he loves the limelight and competition.”

Robinson will get his shot in the limelight in what might be the deepest weight class in the ACC this season. With Robinson leading the way, sitting third in the country, three other conference foes are ranked in the top 18, with another pair in the top 12. And that doesn’t include Nico Provo from Stanford who was preseason top-10 but has yet to take the mat this year.

“It’s a phenomenal success story and I’m excited as the season goes on to see what he is capable of doing,” Popolizio said. “Vince has to keep going out there and be who he is.

“He has been one of the most entertaining wrestlers that we have had. He needs to continue to be focused and keep growing. He has been a really good leader for this team already.”

Redshirt Report

During the offseason, NC State made the difficult decision to redshirt not only a pair of returning ACC champions but a pair of wrestlers who would have started the season ranked in the top-five in their weight class. 

Both Ryan Jack and Jackson Arrington are out of the lineup this year for NC State, but both recently competed in an open tournament, the Franklin & Marshall Open.

After competing at 149 pounds his first two years, Arrington has been up at 157 pounds for his redshirt season, and is penciled in to take over that spot in NC State’s lineup next year with the graduation of Ed Scott.

Last weekend, Arrington took top honors at the Franklin & Marshall Open, ending his run with a pin over Ohio State All-American Sammy Sasso (Arrington held a 20-6 lead at the time of the fall). He went 6-0 overall with a fall, four tech falls and a decision, outscoring foes 98-19.

After earning All-American honors last year, Jack is staying at 141 pounds and that will be his intended weight next year in his final season of eligibility. He scored three bonus point wins last weekend.

“It’s tough sitting those two guys on the bench, but we have already seen the development they have made, I know they are going to be in a great spot to elevate us as a program,” Popolizio said. “They have put in a lot of work and time, they will be ready to compete for a national title.”

In addition to Arrington and Jack, four top-100 recruits are on the path to redshirting this season as freshmen: Louie Gill, Draegen Orine, Jaydon Robinson and Latrell Schafer.

Gill has seen the most action of the newcomers, filling in at 125 pounds when Robinson missed recent action in two of the last three duals. He sits at 7-3 on the year, and won both of those recent duals — reversing an earlier loss to Cornell’s Marcello Milani with a takedown in OT (5-2), and earning his first ACC win over Duke’s Ethan Grimminger (18-1 tech fall).

“(Louie) has really helped us elevate that weight class,” Popolizio said. “He is pushing guys in the room. He is very competitive, and as we have seen, can step in at any time.”

Draegen Orine, the younger brother of Kai Orine, was in competition for the starting job at 133 pounds as the season opened with Kai up at 141 pounds. He went 5-3 during the first semester and 2-2 this past weekend at the Franklin & Marshall Open.

Jaydon Robinson is the younger brother of Vince Robinson, and has gone 3-1 at 141 pounds thus far. Schafer wrestled the first semester at 165 pounds, going 4-3. Last weekend he made the move down to 157 pounds for the Franklin & Marshall Open, and captured fifth place with a 5-1 record.