University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Open NCAA Championships Thursday
March 18, 2015 | Wrestling
The North Carolina wrestling team will send five qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., with competition set to begin Thursday. Returning qualifiers Christian Barber (2014), John Michael Staudenmayer (2013, 2014) and Joey Ward (2013) will be joined by first-timers Troy Heilmann and Ethan Ramos. Ward (No. 12 at 141) and Ramos (No. 15 at 165) are seeded in their respective weight classes.
Thursday Matchups
133 Pounds
Troy Heilmann (21-12)
Pigtail Round: Ian Nickell, Cal State Bakersfield (23-9)
First Round: Winner vs. No. 4 Johnni DiJulius, Ohio State (28-6)
141 Pounds
#12 Joey Ward (27-6)
First Round: Mike Pongracz, Chattanooga (19-15)
Second Round: No. 5 Josh Dziewa, Iowa (27-7)/Kevin Jack, NC State (27-8)
149 Pounds
Christian Barber (12-9)
Pigtail Round: Clayton Ream, North Dakota State (24-11)
First Round: Winner vs. No. 1 Drake Houdashelt, Missouri (32-1)
165 Pounds
#15 Ethan Ramos (28-8)
First Round: Seth Thomas, Oregon State (25-13)
Second Round: No. 2 Michael Moreno, Iowa State (22-3)/Austin Wilson, Nebraska (16-14)
174 Pounds
John Michael Staudenmayer (23-13)
First Round: No. 14 Andy McCulley, Wyoming (29-8)
Second Round: No. 3 Michael Evans, Iowa (27-2)/Ethan Smith, Utah Valley (14-12)/Nathan Jackson, Indiana (27-11)
Every round of the NCAA Championships will be shown live on the ESPN family of networks.
Players Mentioned
