The No. 24 North Carolina wrestling team flew south this winter to Deerfield Beach, Fla., and spent its break facing off against some of the top talent in the country at the South Beach Duals.
Head coach Coleman Scott has never shied away from heavy competition, so UNC ended its year in signature fashion — with two of its four opponents for the weekend being ranked in the top ten. UNC won three of four duals and improved its overall record to 5-4.
Friday vs. No. 8 Minnesota: win, 26-15
This win marked the Tar Heel’s first top-10 victory under Scott, with UNC getting pins from A.C. Headlee in the 141-pound bout and Danny Chaid in the 197-pound bout.
The Tar Heels also had three individual ranked wins in the match: Headlee took down No. 10 Tommy Thorn, Kennedy Monday beat out No. 12 Jake Short at 157 and No. 19 Zach Sherman won the 133 match over No. 8 Mitchell McKee.
The deciding win came from Chaid, whose pin put the Tar Heels up 22-16 with one match to go.
Friday vs. No. 4 Missouri: loss, 27-9
Although UNC only had three individual wins in its loss against the Tigers, there was one big highlight: Chaid’s 2-1 win over No. 2 Willie Miklus.
Overall, Missouri dominated the dual, winning seven straight matches after an early 125 win from UNC’s James Szymanski. UNC’s third win came in the final match, with Corey Daniels winning the 285 match, 10-4.
