NC United
A stronger wrestling community, built together
NC United brings North Carolina wrestling together to create more opportunities for athletes, strengthen the programs and people who support them, and preserve the history of the sport in our state.
We are building a community that develops better people, not only better wrestlers — and gives them a way to return and do the same for the next generation.
163
College commitments tracked
418
Athlete profiles
39
College coaches on the platform
Our vision
Build the community around the athlete
No wrestler develops alone. Athletes are shaped by their families, coaches, teammates, clubs, schools, officials and the opportunities available to them.
NC United works to strengthen that entire environment. We connect people and programs, expand access to high-level training and competition, create pathways to college and national opportunities, preserve the history of North Carolina wrestling, and help athletes carry what the sport built in them into the rest of their lives.
Competition matters, but it is not the final measure. Wrestling teaches discipline, resilience, patience and how to lose without quitting. Those qualities are worth as much in a career, a family and a community as they are during a season.
What we do
Create opportunity on the mat
Tournament of Champions
An invitational bringing the best wrestlers in the state together in elite eight-person brackets, with the field selected and announced weight class by weight class.
NC United Blue
Our invitation-only elite training program at UNC, bringing accomplished North Carolina wrestlers into the same room for high-level practices, sparring and live wrestling. Wrestlers may also attend individual Blue practices on a drop-in basis.
NC United National Team
Our national competition team, bringing selected North Carolina wrestlers together to compete at national duals, including NHSCA and AAU events.
What we preserve
North Carolina wrestling's historical record
North Carolina wrestling deserves a record that is complete, accurate and accessible.
We preserve and make available the history of the sport in our state — including college commitments, class rankings, state and national results, and records going back decades.
The record connects today's wrestlers to the people, programs and achievements that came before them. It recognizes those who built the sport and ensures that the history of North Carolina wrestling is not lost.
The historical record, rankings, athlete profiles, club map, NC United app and Data Dawg are free and open to everyone in the North Carolina wrestling community.
Beyond competition
Build pathways that last
A wrestling career ends. What the sport builds in someone does not.
The NC United Network carries that forward by connecting wrestlers to internships, jobs, mentors and each other — whether they are pursuing nursing, the trades, teaching, technology, business or another path.
Athletes and mentors never pay. Companies fund the Network through employer partnerships because a wrestler who has spent ten years learning how to work is worth finding.
The Network is still early. We soft-launched it this year and have already placed our first athletes in internships. We would rather say that plainly than describe it as more than it is — yet.
Scholarships and fundraising
Putting money back into wrestlers
We raise money for one reason: to put it back into North Carolina wrestlers. Every dollar funds training, competition and the resources we keep free for everyone.
The Caden Perry Scholarship
Awarded to a North Carolina wrestler in Caden's memory, on the belief that the future is bright for those who refuse to quit. One question, answered in writing or on video — no application fee, no production values required.
The Spartan Challenge
Our annual fundraiser with Spartan Race, in Fayetteville each spring. Supporters race or give, and the money goes to a named wrestler's training fund or the pool that supports all of them.
Read about the scholarship · Join the Spartan Challenge · Give to NC United
Our role
We add to what your program already gives
NC United exists to give North Carolina wrestlers more — more exposure to the college coaches recruiting them, more high-level competition, more training partners, and more ways to be seen. Everything we run is additional to what an athlete already has.
NC United isn't a club. We are the layer around them: the statewide events, pathways and connections that no single program can build alone, available to every wrestler in the state regardless of where they train.
Blue supplements an athlete's home training through invitation-only membership and individual drop-in practices. The National Team comes together for specific national duals. A wrestler keeps their school and club program exactly as it is, and their coach stays their coach.
Our role is to strengthen the environment around every program, expand opportunity statewide, connect athletes to college and national pathways, support families and coaches, and reinforce the structures that benefit every wrestler in North Carolina.
How we work
Our commitments
Center the athlete
Every program, partnership and decision is judged by whether it strengthens the growth and long-term advancement of North Carolina wrestlers.
Expand access
Training, facilities, education and visibility help determine who gets to progress. We work to put those opportunities within reach of more wrestlers in more parts of the state.
Unite the community
Athletes, coaches, families, officials, clubs, schools, colleges and partners elevate the sport when they move in alignment.
Build lasting infrastructure
Coaches, referees, regional training centers, facilities, events and accessible information form the environment in which athletes grow. Strong infrastructure benefits every program and outlasts any single season.
The reinvestment loop
What wrestling builds should come back around
Athletes who rise through this community return to it as mentors, coaches, referees, employers and leaders.
That return is not simply a positive outcome we hope for. It is the engine.
Every wrestler who comes back strengthens the environment for the next one. Our success will ultimately be measured not only by championships and college commitments, but by the people who return and what they build for those who follow.
It starts with you — represent yourself and your family first. Then your team and your club. Beyond state lines, we represent North Carolina.#RaiseUp
The founders
Who runs it
NC United was founded by three people whose wrestling paths took them in different directions — and who ultimately came back to serve the same community.
Colton Palmer
Founder
284 career wins — a national record at the time
Colton started wrestling at five in Durham, following his older brothers. He won an NHSCA national championship in eighth grade, captured two state championships for Riverside High School — including one during a 61-0 season — and finished with more high school wins than any wrestler in North Carolina history.
He was a four-year letterwinner and co-captain at NC State. Today, Colton works in enterprise strategy, coaches on a volunteer basis and serves on the board of North Carolina USA Wrestling.
Michael Macchiavello
Founder
NCAA Division I national champion and United States National Team member
Michael grew up in Union County and did not begin wrestling until he was fourteen. He won a state championship before becoming the NCAA Division I champion at 197 pounds for NC State — only the second North Carolina-born wrestler ever to win an NCAA wrestling title.
Michael represented Team USA for five years and served on USA Wrestling's Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Athlete Advisory Committee. He now coaches collegiately at West Point.
Matt Hickey
Founder
Technology founder and CEO with more than 25 years of experience building companies
Matt was the youngest of five wrestling brothers on Long Island. He joined the Long Island Century Club with more than 100 high school wins, placed second in the New York state championships and wrestled at Hofstra before completing his degree at NC State.
He has spent his career founding and leading technology companies, including venture-backed cybersecurity and artificial intelligence businesses, several of which were acquired.
Matt lives in Raleigh with his wife, Lisa, and their three children. He has watched his sons progress through North Carolina wrestling from elementary school to Division I.
Get involved
Where you come in
None of this works without the people already invested in North Carolina wrestling. Whatever brought you to this page, there is a way to become part of it.
Back the mission
NC Wrestling United is a 501(c)(3), and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Contributions support Blue practices, the National Team, scholarships and the public resources we keep free for the entire community.
Give to NC United →Hire a wrestler
Companies fund the NC United Network, allowing athletes and mentors to participate without charge. If your company hires interns or full-time employees, you can help create the opportunities that make the Network work.
Talk to us about the Network →Add your club
Every wrestling club in North Carolina belongs on our map, whether or not it participates in an NC United program. Send us your information and we will add it.
Put your club on the map →Come train
View the calendar for upcoming Blue practices, camps, tournaments and other opportunities across the state.
See what's coming up →The organization
The details
We are NC United. Our legal name is NC Wrestling United Inc., a North Carolina 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our federal Tax ID is 99-3757238. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
RecruitNC is the platform behind NC United. It began as our recruiting tool and now powers the resources, information and programs available throughout this site.
Have a question, a correction or a wrestler we have missed? Get in touch or email info@ncwrestlingunited.com.
How we collect and manage athlete information is explained in our privacy policy.