Gunning's Title Leads No. 17 North Carolina at Southeast Open

Sunday, November 3

Roanoke, Va.

All Day

North Carolina

Southeast Open

Photo by: Peyton Williams

November 3, 2019 | Wrestling

By: UNC Athletic Communications

ROANOKE, VA. --- Andrew Gunning won the Southeast Open at 285 pounds while Zach Sherman (141) and Kennedy Monday (165) earned runner-up finishes in No. 17 North Carolina's first competition of the regular season.

Other placers included third-place finishers Jaime Hernandez (133) and A.C. Headlee (157), while three more Tar Heels finished sixth in the tournament: Clay Lautt (174), Brandon Whitman (197) and Mark Chaid (285).

Gunning's path to winning the title began with a 5-4 decision over Missouri's Rodrigo Diaz, who Gunning wrestled in the Pan Am Championships over the summer. After winning, 3-2, over Tennessee-Chattanooga's Grayson Walthall, Gunning knocked off West Virginia's Brandon Ngati, 3-1, to take home the title.

Sherman won four matches during his journey to the finals – three of which he won with bonus points. He lost a tight 5-4 decision to Campbell's Joshua Heil to finish second.

For Monday, the redshirt junior picked up a pair of majors and a decision to secure a spot in the 165-pound championship, but dropped a late match to Campbell's Quentin Perez. Monday scored a takedown late, looking for the win, but was turned to his back and pinned as time expired.

Hernandez's major decision over Tennessee-Chattanooga's Wade Cummings earned him a third-place finish at 133 pounds, while Headlee's pin of Tennessee-Chattanooga's Tyler Shilson in 39 seconds led him to a third-place finish at 157 pounds.

Full final results from the Southeast Open can be found at this link.

North Carolina will return to action Friday, November 8 against Michigan in Ann Arbor. Follow UNC Wrestling on Twitter throughout the week for coverage leading up to the team's first dual of the season.