March 3, 2001

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NC State's Zach Breitenbach defeated Clint Osborn of North Carolina, 8-2, at 197 pounds to clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling championship for the Wolfpack Saturday evening at UNC's Carmichael Auditorium.

The ACC contested its wrestling championship concurrently with the Colonial Athletic Association and the Southern Conference in Mat Jam, the first event of its kind in collegiate wrestling. Breitenbach's victory provided the winning margin for the Wolfpack in a tightly contested race with Virginia. The Wolfpack finished with 78.5 points, 5.5 more than the Cavaliers. North Carolina was third with 68 points.

Host North Carolina had three champions, including JohnMark Bentley at 149 pounds, Corey Bell at 174 pounds and Matt Kenny at heavyweight. Bell became the third four-time ACC champion in Carolina history. Bentley and Kenny won ACC titles for the third time. The only other four-time ACC champions for UNC were Al Palacio (1983, 1985-87 at 118) and Justin Harty (1994-97 at heavyweight).

Bentley was named the ACC's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

The title is the 11th for NC State, all under current head coach Bob Guzzo. It was State's first ACC wrestling crown since 1996, breaking a four-year run by North Carolina. The Pack placed a league-high six wrestlers in the finals. Pierre Pryor won his second title at 157 with an 8-0 major decision over Virginia's Don Carlo-Clauss. George Cintron (125), Pryor and Breitenbach won individual titles for the champions. The Pack added three second-place and two third-place finishes.

Virginia had two champions, Greg Francesca at 165 and Jimi Massey at 184. The Cavaliers also had three second-place.

The victory capped a week for Breitenbach in which he was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded a Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship by the ACC.

In the Southern Conference Tournament, Appalachian State placed nine wrestlers in the finals en route to its fifth league title, its first since 1996. The Mountaineers had a commanding 26.5-point lead heading into the finals, then won the first three championship bouts at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. Appalachian State totaled 113.5 points, and beat runnerup Chattanooga by 36.5 points. Rich Caisse (125), Travis Drake (133), Jeremy Hart (141), P.J. Boccia (157) and Mark Fee (165) won individual weight classes for the Mountaineers. Hart was named the Southern Conference's Most Outstanding Wrestler. The Mountaineers had five firsts, four seconds and a third-place showing in the 10 weight divisions.

George Mason won the Colonial Athletic Association for the fifth time in its history and the first time since 1997. The Patriots placed seven wrestlers in the finals and won championships in five of the first seven weight classes. George Mason's Sean Early beat Jesse Pearce of Old Dominion, 6-5, with a takedown with just three seconds remaining in the match. In the next weight class, the Patriots' Tony Howard beat Denis Alampieu of American in double overtime, 4-4.

Matt Hunckler (133), Donnie DeFillipis (141), Early (157), Howard (165) and Brent Lancaster (heavyweight) won titles for the Patriots.

American University's 149-pounder Mark Hoffer was named Colonial Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Finals

125- George Cintron (NC State) decisions Tommy Hoang (Duke) 3-1

133- Brandon York (Maryland) decisions Joe Alexander (Virginia) 2-0

141- Mark Mansueto (Maryland) decisions Orafeo Brown (NC State) 5-1

149- JohnMark Bentley (North Carolina) decisions Tommy Davis (NC State) 4-1

157- Pierre Pryor (NC State) major decisions Don Carlo-Clauss (Virginia) 8-0

165- Greg Francesca (Virginia) decisions Tim Marcantonio (Duke) 9-2

174- Corey Bell (North Carolina) decisions Dustin Kawa (NC State) 6-5

184- Jimi Massey (Virginia) decisions Jake Stewart (Maryland) 9-6

197- Zach Breitenbach (NC State) decisions Clint Osborn (North Carolina) 8-2

HWT- Matt Kenny (North Carolina) wins by technical fall vs. Josh Etu (Virginia) 19-3

ACC Team Standings

1. NC State 78.5

2. Virginia 73

3. North Carolina 68

4. Maryland 52.5

5. Duke 34