UNC Wrestling took a trip to Roanoke, Va., for the Hokie Open this Sunday. North Carolina had several wrestlers place.
What happened?
24 Tar Heels made the trip, and nine of those placed somewhere in the top 6 of their respective weight classes.
This was an open, so the performances are more focused on each individual.The top wrestlers were well distributed across different weights, but two classes in particular had multiple top finishers.
The 133-pound weight class had two in Zachary Sherman and James Szymanski. Szymanski finished fifth, but ended on three straight victories after being on the losing end early in the day. Sherman had a very strong day, finishing third. He won his first three matches, including an 18-3 win over Duke wrestler Josh Copeland. Sherman also finished the day with a win.
The 174-pound class also had two top wrestlers with Ethan Ramos and Devin Kane. Ramos took his first three matches before losing his fourth, though came back for a tough-fought 6-4 win in his final match. Kane finished 5-2 on the day, including knocking out a fellow Tar Heel in Adis Radoncic
Who stood out?
A.C. Headlee was the champion of the 141 class. The redshirt sophomore started this season in the best way possible. Headlee went undefeated in five matches on the day. His semifinal and final matches both ended 3-2, and Headlee showed an extreme amount of composure to pull both of them out.
Troy Heilmann was the other Tar Heel champ, as he took home the 149 class crown. The redshirt senior also went undefeated in five matches. Like Headlee, Heilmann grinded out two massive wins. He won his semifinal 3-2, and his final 2-1.
