The No. 17 North Carolina wrestling team competed at the Southeast Open in Roanoke, Virginia, and saw several wrestlers capture podium finishes on Sunday. This event was a chance for head coach Coleman Scott to see what his team can do in its first competitive setting of the year.
What happened?
The Tar Heels’ best performance came from redshirt junior Andrew Gunning, who won the 285-pound division.
On his way to the heavyweight title, the 285-pound wrestler in the country defeated Rodrigo Diaz of Missouri by a 5-4 decision, Grayson Walthall of UT-Chattanooga by a 3-2 decision and Brandon Ngati of West Virginia in the championship match by a 3-1 decision.
Gunning, who backed up one of UNC’s best wrestlers last season in Cory Daniel, showed that he has learned a lot during his time behind Daniel.
North Carolina also had impressive performances from redshirt sophomore Zach Sherman and redshirt junior Kennedy Monday in the 141 and 165-pound weight classes, respectively. Both finished as the runner-up in each of their brackets.
Monday easily won his first two matches before having to face Quentin Perez of Campbell in the championship bout. Monday scored a late takedown against Perez but was pinned in the waning seconds of the match.
For Sherman, the road wasn’t as easy. He needed to win four matches in order to reach the finals but lost a tight one to Joshua Heil of of Campbell by a 5-4 decision.
The Tar Heels saw four other wrestlers place in the Southeast Open. Redshirt senior A.C. Headlee and redshirt sophomore Jaime Hernandez each made it to the semifinals in the 157 and 133-pound tournaments, respectively.
