University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA Championships
Ramos Advances To NCAA Quarters
March 20, 2015 | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS --- Redshirt freshman Ethan Ramos advanced to the championship draw quarterfinals to lead North Carolina on day one of the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday at Scottrade Center. Ramos pinned Oregon State's Seth Thomas in the opening round before topping Nebraska's Austin Wilson to move within one win of All-America status. The Tar Heels stand in a tie for 21st place with 7.5 points after one day of competition.
Ramos opened Thursday against Oregon State's Thomas in the round of 32 and quickly established himself as a threat for the podium. After falling behind 2-1 after one period, the Hawthorne, New Jersey, native got a takedown and a three-point near fall to take a 6-3 lead after two period. Ramos was on the verge of a tech fall when he pinned Thomas with 17 seconds remaining in the bout.
Wilson upset No. 2 seed Michael Moreno of Iowa State in the first round to give Ramos a big opportunity to move into the championshp quarterfinals. The two wrestlers failed to score in the opening period before Ramos got a reversal to take a 2-1 lead after two. Ramos then took down Wilson and added two back points in the final period to seal a 6-3 victory. The UNC redshirt freshman will face No. 7 Pierce Harger of Northwestern in Friday's quarterfinals.
No. 12 Joey Ward opened his day with a 4-0 win over Chattanooga's Mike Pongracz at 141 pounds. Ward then faced NC State's Kevin Jack in the round of 16, with Jack scoring a 6-5 upset win. Ward led from the start but Jack, who had the riding time point locked up, got a late takedown to avenge his ACC Championships loss. Ward will face Illinois' Steven Rodrigues in Friday's wrestlebacks.
Tar Heels Troy Heilmann (133), Christian Barber (149) and John Michael Staudenmayer (174) were eliminated on Thursday. Heilmann defeated Duke's Mitch Finesilver in the consolation pigtail round before falling to Chattanooga's Nick Soto. Barber defeated NDSU's Clayton Ream in the 149 pigtail round before suffering a hard-fought loss to top seed Drake Houdashelt of Missouri. Pitt's Mike Racciato eliminated Barber with a 3-2 win in the wrestlebacks. Staudenmayer went 0-2 at 174 pounds with losses to No. 14 Andy McCulley of Wyoming and Nathan Jackson of Indiana.
Action resumes Friday at 10 a.m. CT. All matches can be watched live on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
Players Mentioned
