NC State’s Popolizio, Robinson and Trumble carrying momentum into final weeks of the season

WATCH: Full interview with Vince Robinson, Pat Popolizio and Isaac Trumble

The NC State wrestling team, under the leadership of head coach Pat Popolizio, is experiencing an impressive season in 2024-25. Coach Popolizio has cultivated a culture of excellence, resilience, and discipline that has pushed the team to ongoing success.

At 125 pounds, redshirt freshman Vince Robinson, ranked at No. 2, has quickly made a name for himself on the mat. Isaac Trumble, ranked No. 4 at 285 pounds, has contributed significantly to the team's success this season. Trumble is a 2023 U23 World Champion, 2024 Olympic Team Trials runner-up and Senior National Team member.

As the postseason approaches, expectations are high for NC State. The team is building on the momentum they have generated throughout the season under Coach Popolizio's strategic guidance.

Q: Let’s talk about the team this season. You’re 10-1 right now, and you have two more matchups before the ACC championships and the NCAA Championships. What were the expectations entering the season and how do you think it’s going so far?

Coach Popolizio: I think the expectations always stay the same here, and that is to win as much as we possibly can. There were a lot of changes with our lineup from last year to this year. Some of it was due to graduation, some of it was guys redshirting this year, some were because of injuries and weight changes. As we finished last year, we were looking at it like ‘Hey, we got a lot of really good guys returning but electing to red shirt’, and Isaac going up to heavyweight kind of shifted our line up a little bit. I've been impressed with the response from the current lineup and having a lot of new faces in there, I think the standard remains the same. The guys have been staying the course with the culture of our program, which has helped us in the long term. In the short term, these guys are improving week to week, and we've had some pretty big wins as far as the dual meet team. Every week someone seems to be stepping up.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the additions to the coaching staff and how the staff has changed from last season?  

Coach Popolizio: It started with Coach Hall getting promoted to becoming the head coach of Utah Valley, which was a great opportunity for him. Anytime you lose someone that's been here for a long time, it's some big shoes to fill, so we knew we needed to get someone that had a lot of experience. That's exactly what Coach Esposito has. He's coached at the highest level, World champions, Olympic champions and National champions. He's brought a really good element and skill set to the room. He's a great recruiter, and if you anyone knows Zack, he's very personable. We didn't miss the beat when it came to personnel, and I think that's been a really big factor to keep things moving in the right direction.

Q: You mentioned lineup changes from last season to this season. What influenced those changes and what were the deciding factors?

Coach Popolizio: Jackson Arrington and Ryan Jack were both ACC Champs. Both had a pretty good NCAA tournament. Jackson fell short of his goals, but with Ryan Jack punching through and becoming an All-American, we really felt like if those guys had a year to develop, they could put themselves in position to win an NCAA title. Having that year to really focus on training in the long term, for this program would help put another guy in that position. As you return guys from this year, and you add those two guys to next year, it could be very fruitful in the long term. But in the short term, we have to throw some guys in there that aren't as experienced. And again, I'm excited to see new guys step up every week, with some of the wins we were able to get in dual meets this year. It's been pretty impressive. We've had a pretty tough schedule. So, beating teams that we were able to so far is a testament to the guys that are buying in and continuing to work and improve.

Q: What's the culture like in that room every day?

Coach Popolizio: I think we’ve got a group of guys that are really committed to being as good as they possibly can at the college level. A lot of them are zoned in to make World and Olympic teams and want to win an NCAA title. When you have that in your room, you're going to showcase the talent. But there's a lot more that goes into it than just the skill set. I think that's what we're seeing right now, guys that truly believe they can win a national title are going to do all the right things on and off the mat. That gets contagious within a program, and it's been able to keep us at the level we're at and sustained where we don't have big dips. You want to see consistency every year, and I think that's something we're doing right now.

Q: Your team has two more matchups this season with Stanford and Virginia Tech, what's your approach going into those next two duals?

Coach Popolizio: Get better at what we can control. We've had a pretty demanding schedule, making weight and competing every weekend, but having a weekend off to get guys feeling really good and focused on some technical things is important. When you're not zoned in on a weekend of competition, sometimes you can get some good skills set in, and I think that's something we're doing. We’ve got two duals left, and I know these guys are eager and hungry to want to finish on top, so it'll be good momentum going into the postseason. We just have to control what's in our hands and get better at wrestling.

Q: Let's talk about your last dual against North Carolina. It came down to the last few matches, so how was the dual overall and describe how the ending went for your team?

Coach Popolizio: Well, it didn't start all that great. So sometimes in dual meets, momentum can be a factor. We ended up losing 133, 141 and 149. On the scoreboard, momentum was shifting away from us. Then, we have the leadership of Ed Scott and his experience. He was able to get a win, and it started chipping away from there. But the luxury of where we started, left us two of the better guys in our lineup to finish at the end, and we knew if we could get some matches in our favor that we would be in position with two of the best closers on our team. Especially at heavyweight, knowing that Isaac can go out and score bonus points, and you know Vinnie's as cool as a cucumber when he's in competition. He likes the limelight. I felt really good on the bench. Knowing after Isaac got a pin, I felt like we were in the driver's seat. Vinnie definitely likes when the pressure's on and the lights, and there's people cheering, and that's exactly what it came down to. He showed that he was ready for that moment.

Q: Thank you, Coach. What do you guys think about the dual? Can you share a little bit about what you were thinking at the time, and mindset going into your matches individually?

Isaac Trumble: I think North Carolina has done a great job of improving, not just the wrestling, but they've done a good job of getting more fans into the arena. The first year I was there, there weren’t many people in the stands, and there were a lot more NC State fans there. This year it was kind of swapped that there were still a lot of NC State fans, but there had been a big improvement on how many North Carolina fans were there. It did feel like we're in a little hostile environment only being 30 minutes away from our school. It was nice to have our fans there. I didn't feel too much pressure on the match, like I went out and I gave up two silly takedowns, and I knew that most heavyweights gas tanks aren’t very good, and I knew that if I kept pushing the pace I'd be able to get a pin towards the end of the match. I kept pushing the pace after the first two takedowns, and I kind of calmed down a little bit and kind of got into a groove. It opened up sooner than I expected, and I was able to lock that up for the team.

Vince Robinson: Going into that final match, I was very excited. I was a little worried before the match, but once I saw Fishback get the major, that was kind of like our going point. Obviously, I knew I had Isaac right behind me, and I knew we were back to back. So, I tell Isaac, we’re like Tom and Jerry, or Batman and Robin, we go back to back. I knew Isaac was going to go out there and get bonus points, and once he got the pin, I told Pat “this is what I live for”. I'm going to go out there and do what I do best, and I was very excited. It was my first rivalry duel as well, and all the fans were there, and that's what I like to do. I like to perform under pressure when it matters most.

Q: Both of you guys have had a pretty good season so far. Can you summarize it in a couple of words? What you were thinking going into the season, and how it's happened so far, and how your season's going as a whole?

Vince Robinson: I think the main thing for us as a team is just improvement. Throughout the season, we had a lot of improvement with people who we had to fill in the lineup. We don't have Jackson Arrington or Ryan Jack, the people that filled in those spots. They ended up stepping up as the season went on, and I think that was pretty good for us and me. For myself, I think going to the season, it was just a lot more confidence. Just believing in myself and believing in my skills and what I could do, because I know I put in a lot of work throughout the summer, and this is my red shirt season. Going into the season for me, it was just to show everybody what I can do, and that's what I've been showing. I'm very excited for the postseason.

Isaac Trumble: Yeah, I'll piggyback off that. I was going to say for myself, I'd also say improvement. I was talking with Zack Esposito yesterday, and I was telling him I'll go back and watch some of my matches from early in the year, and I'll just feel kind of gross because I know that I've improved so much from there. I'll rewatch the matches from beginning of the season and now, and how I'm wrestling now. I feel like I've just improved a lot, and it's all the commitment that we've put in as a team, and all of the time in the room. The effort that we put in and the effort the coaches put into us, it shows that’s paying off towards the end of the year like we planned.

Q: What are you most looking forward to coming up with the next two duals and then the ACC championships? And then the NCAA tournament?

Vince Robinson: Just fine tuning things all around. I feel like I am the best in the country on my feet, but just fine tuning, my mat wrestling and other areas in my game. I'm very excited for nationals. I'm ready for it.

Isaac Trumble: Yeah, I'm ready too. I'm ready for that last tournament and what that has in store for me. But until then, there are a few things we still have to improve on. I think I can work on my defense a little bit more and just keep working offense continuously every day, and then keep trying to build that gas tank so when it gets to that third period, if I'm down by a point or two, I have that gas tank to go back and push the pace and get that final takedown to win the match.

Q: What are your mindsets heading into big duals? Every match is a big match for you guys, and you want to win. What goes through your mind as you're getting ready to step on the mat?

Vince Robinson: For me personally, I approach the match as if I'm going against anyone. It doesn't matter who it is. It could be anybody from number one in the country to number 33. I don't care. I approach every match like he's the number one guy in the country, because that's what I want to be. I want to end up at the top. I feel like they're in my way, and I have to get them out of my way. That's my approach—just going for points. Since I was a kid, my dad always told me to go light up the scoreboard before I go out there, so I do what I can to light up that scoreboard. It's been a good season so far.

Isaac Trumble: I've been watching a lot of WWE recently, and in every match there's always a good guy and a bad guy – a heel. When we're in a home duel, I was thinking of myself as a good guy, and the heel is always trying to take me down and beat me in front of my home crowd. When I'm in an opponent's gym, it's the opposite. I'm the heel, and I beat my opponent in front of their crowd. That’s the way I’ve been looking at it before each dual, and I like to picture myself as a WWE wrestler. I picture who I am in this match, who would I be like, what song I’m walking out to, what does that guy do? Then contributing that into my wrestling, like what can I go do on my opponent, I’m going to do an outside step, I’m going to do a sweep, because that’s my signature thing. Every WWE wrestler has their signature finisher, and I’m going to have my signature finisher and get a pin.

Q: Coach spoke a bit about the culture in the room. Could you guys share more on the culture in the NC State wrestling room?

Vince Robinson: That's one of the reasons why I came here. It only took me one visit and that was just because of the culture and consistency. I knew that coming this school would not only improve my wrestling but also help me become a better man overall. The culture in the wrestling room, I think it's a vibe. Especially me and Isaac, it's definitely a vibe. It's a lot of different personalities, and if you’re there, you're just you. It's easier to see than to explain.

Isaac Trumble: The culture is what sold me on the program here, and when I was getting recruited in high school, I knew I couldn't afford school wherever I'd go, so I either had to get a full ride scholarship, or I’d have to do something else to have to pay for it. I did ROTC here because I knew that this is the best fit for me to be a good person and a good human after college. It set me on the right foot forward, coming out of college. It’s held up to that since I got here. Up to now, we've kept that same culture. It's good when you have leaders like Nick Gwiazdowski, Kevin Jack, Tommy Gantt, or Trent Hidlay, who have all gone through this, and they've been a part of the culture from when Pat first got here. They still hold that same culture that they had back then, and we hold it up now, so it's easy to keep the culture moving in the right direction.

Vince Robinson: Just to add on to that, all the trips that we go on this season, they always tell me old stories about Pat, and that gets me excited. When they tell me about how Pat is and how he never changed. I'll be seeing some changes in Pat some days, and I think Pat’s definitely been giving a good vibe.

Isaac Trumble: Yeah. Pat's changed a little bit. He's turning into a dad.

Coach Popolizio: Yeah. Well, between Vinnie and chasing him around and keeping them in check I get a little distracted.

Q: Isaac, you made the move to heavyweight this season. What went into that decision, what adjustments did you have to make, and how has it been so far?

Isaac Trumble: There weren't many adjustments. I wrestled at heavyweight in high school, which is nothing like heavyweight in college. But I felt like I was a bigger 197-pounder, and I was cutting weight, and I always feel like it caught up to me towards the end of the season because I wasn't cutting weight right. I was always waiting until the last day to get my weight down. But I kind of decided after the Olympic Team Trials, getting second at 97 kilos, I’m doing better if I'm not cutting weight. I decided, after 3 years of making 197, that I was going to do what's best for me and go up to heavyweight. It's worked out good for me, and it's worked out good for the team now, too. With Nick Gwiazdowski being in the room, he has really helped out a lot. He's got a lighter, heavyweight feel, and he helps me with stuff that worked for him. Then we fine tune it to where it works for me at the same time, so it's been nice to have him in the room.

Q: One final message about how you guys are going to end the season. What can we expect to see from NC State at the end of the year?

Vince Robinson: Finishers. I feel like the last couple of years at the NCAA tournament we didn’t get what we wanted, and I think it’s about just going to the tournament and finishing. I think that's what gets me most excited. I've been watching these guys since even before I committed, but even just watching the years before that, we didn't perform the way we wanted to perform at the tournament. I think finishing is the biggest thing for me and as a team. I think just finishing the tournament in a good standing as a team, and then obviously just finishing on top, for myself as well.

Isaac Trumble: I'd say the one thing I'm going to work on for the rest of the season is consistently getting better at wrestling every day, and trying to get better in different positions. Also, consistency with my conditioning, and trying to really take it up one more notch right before the end of the season, that way I can push the pace and be ready to go hopefully only five matches, but if I have to go nine matches to get a medal, I'll do it. So to be ready to go for whatever it takes to get on the podium.

Coach Popolizio: These guys touched on it. From a coaching perspective, it’s to make sure these guys have no regrets when it comes to the end of the year. Both sides to work on, and making sure our athletes are ready, mentally and physically. As a team, we get what we show up and compete for, and I think that's been something we are striving for right now. Coach Esposito's been helping with some new training techniques and some conditioning, so we'll be ready. Week to week it's improving. There's still six weeks of competition on our schedule, and that's six weeks to get better. That's a lot of time if you really put it in perspective, so we have to take it one day at a time and just keep getting better.