GoHeels Exclusive: Back On The Mat

By: Joe Wedra

When Austin O'Connor pulled onto the rainy campus of Cleveland State University last Saturday morning, it didn't take long for others on hand to take notice.

"There's that O'Connor kid," a fellow competitor said just seconds after he walked into Woodling Gymnasium in downtown Cleveland. O'Connor would be competing in a 30-man bracket at the tournament, his first competition of the 2019-20 season.

With a grocery bag full of trail mix granola bars and sports drinks in hand, O'Connor kept moving with his headphones over his UNC knit cap and headed into the gym – unfazed, almost like he didn't even hear it.

Maybe he didn't react because he's already used to the wrestling world's glare at every competition. That, or the fact that it was only 6:15 a.m. and he wouldn't weigh in for another hour.

Either way, it was a fitting start to the day.

O'Connor looked every bit the part of national title contender, picking up three pins and two more major decisions to win the tournament. The 6:15 recognition certainly wasn't the last time the redshirt sophomore's name was dropped around the gym on Saturday, and for good reason.

Austin O'Connor is back – and the wrestling community is on alert.

Following up NCAA Tournament dominance

Last season, the Lockport, Illinois, native wrapped up his redshirt freshman season with a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships, UNC's highest finish by a freshman in program history. Last March, between the ACC Championships and NCAAs, he knocked off five opponents ranked inside the top-15.

With last season alone, he's already secured his place amongst Carolina's top performers in program history. But his first full campaign in Carolina Blue was merely a start – and for O'Connor, third place was just the jumping off point.

"That was just the start for me," O'Connor said. "I walked out of there feeling pretty good about myself but that was just the beginning. I have a clear goal in mind and leaving nationals finishing third isn't it. Last year was a good start but that's it. I want the title."

Perhaps the most impressive storyline from O'Connor's run through the tournament was defeating Duke's Mitch Finesilver twice after losing to the Blue Devil twice during the season.

He says the wins over Finesilver served as a statement – one that he doesn't mind putting the target on his back.

"My coaches did a great job of getting me prepared for Finesilver," O'Connor said. "I wasn't going to lose to him again going into that tournament. I worked hard to make sure that didn't happen, and it didn't… I don't mind the pressure of all of those challenges. I want the chance to be great and everything like that gives me the opportunity to be great."

Strides as a leader

If anyone has been able to see O'Connor's growth as a leader both on and off the mat, it's been sophomore Brandon Whitman.

Carolina's starter at 197 pounds recently moved in with O'Connor at the start of the season, a shift that UNC coaches thought would be best for both athletes. The thought was simple – have two competitors spend time around each other off the mat to improve even the smallest details of their lifestyle and wrestling.

Now, over the past few weeks, they've formed a bond with one goal – be ready for March. Trips to the grocery store to meal prep are now commonplace. The house recently acquired a meat smoker, which has already cooked a whole smoked turkey, a pork shoulder and smoked tuna.

For Whitman, seeing O'Connor lead has been a kick-start to his development.

"Austin is a great example for an ideal leader on our team," Whitman said. "He's had a high level of success that our teammates look up to. Seeing how he trains motivates us. We want to be better ourselves, and that makes us all better."

Locked in on Little Rock

Ahead of O'Connor's first dual meet appearance of the year at Little Rock (7:30 p.m. ET on Friday), plenty around the country have shifted their attention to the Midlands Championships, where the unanimous number one at 149 pounds will compete against some of the country's best – some of whom will be in the same bracket in just a few months in Minneapolis.

But for now, O'Connor and the UNC coaching staff have all eyes pointed to Little Rock. It's a one-match-at-a-time mentality for the entire group, even with the allure of Midlands on the horizon.

"He's ready to go, so there's no need to focus on anything too crazy right now," head coach Coleman Scott said. "Austin is a fighter. He's going to go out and perform no matter the situation. There's no need to begin keying in on Midlands. We're all about this dual in Arkansas right now.

"He's going to show up, scrap, and hopefully get us a win so we can go ahead and begin preparing for the trip."

For O'Connor, it's one more step on the journey.

He'll take the mat in Arkansas on Friday and take an early morning flight out of Little Rock Saturday morning to head home for the Christmas break. Then, it's back to Chapel Hill on the 26th to prepare for Midlands.

The sprint to Nationals has begun. And from here on out, there's one thing in mind.

"I want to be a champion. I want to win a title for UNC and be on top of that podium," O'Connor said. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing now than train every day to do that. We have a lot of good things going on in Chapel Hill right now and we have the team to have a great year. I want to be a part of that and be ready when the team needs me in March."

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Austin O'Connor

Brandon Whitman

Related Videos