Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Although N.C. State avenged an early season dual meet loss and bested the Terrapin wrestling team in Saturday's ACC championship, three Terp wrestlers will carry on coach Pat Santoro's goal of winning NCAA championships.

Eight Terps placed in the top three of their weight class, and senior Jason Kiessling (165 pounds) and freshman Mike Letts (175 pounds) earned NCAA bids with ACC individual titles. Redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor (197 pounds), who placed second in the tournament, received one of the ACC's four wildcard bids to the NCAA championships.

The Terps' second-place team finish in the ACC championship is the best since 1990. N.C. State placed eight wrestlers in the finals, and five won championships as the Wolfpack beat the Terps in the overall score by 36 points.

Keissling won the ACC title with a closely contested 3-2 decision over Virginia Tech's Eric Decker. Kiessling's three points came on a late takedown in the first period and an escape in the second. This is the second time Kiessling has beat Decker this season by a 3-2 score.

Freshman Mike Letts notched four takedowns in his 10-4 decision over N.C. State's Rick Brownlee.

Taylor, the only Terp to receive a wildcard bid, finished the season third on the team in wins and tied for best in dual-meet victories with 18.

Taylor nearly upended N.C. State's Ryan Goodman, taking the match into overtime with a last-second escape, but he eventually fell 6-4 in the extra period.

Contact reporter Robert Klemko at rklemkodbk@gmail.com.

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