Tar Heels Finish Midlands With Top-10 Team Finish

Monday, December 30

Hoffman Estates, Ill.

All Day

North Carolina

Midlands Championships

December 30, 2019 | Wrestling

By: UNC Athletic Communications

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. --- Austin O'Connor was the runner-up at 149 pounds and Zach Sherman took third at 141 pounds as the Tar Heels wrapped up a 10th place team finish at the 2019 Midlands Championships. Kennedy Monday also took home a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds.

O'Connor defeated Iowa's Vincent Turk in the morning session, 3-1, courtesy of a takedown at the edge in sudden victory. The score was reviewed, but O'Connor was awarded the points and a spot in the night's finals. There, the Tar Heel redshirt sophomore dropped an 8-4 decision to another Hawkeye, No. 3 Pat Lugo.

Sherman made a run through the back side of the tournament, all the way to Session IV's finals to take third place at 141. He knocked off Ohio's No. 17 Shakur Laney in sudden victory in the morning session and finished his night with a convincing 3-2 win over Illinois' Dylan Duncan.

Monday began his day with a 9-6 decision over in-state foe No. 16 Quentin Perez of Campbell. After dropping his next match, Monday wasted no time securing a pin over Northern Illinois' Izzak Olejnik, needing just 28 seconds to win via fall and take home seventh place at 165.

Wrestling unattached, Joe Heilmann (133 pounds) took home an eighth-place finish. His day was capped by a late 3-1 decision over Penn's Carmen Ferrante.

The Tar Heels will wrestle next at the Army Duals in West Point, New York on Saturday, January 4^.

Session III Results

Jaime Hernandez, 133 pounds

Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern) tech fall Jaime Hernandez (UNC), 16-0

Zach Sherman, 141 pounds

Zach Sherman (UNC) dec. Doug Zapf (Penn), 2-1
Zach Sherman (UNC) dec. Salvatore Profaci (American), 3-1 (SV1)
Zach Sherman dec. Shakur Laney (Ohio), 6-4 (SV1)
Zach Sherman (UNC) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 3-2

Austin O'Connor, 149 pounds

Austin O'Connor (UNC) dec. Vincent Turk (Iowa), 3-1 (SV1)
Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. Austin O'Connor (UNC), 8-4

A.C. Headlee, 157 pounds

Cade Devos (SDSU) dec. A.C. Headlee (UNC), 6-3

Kennedy Monday, 165 pounds

Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. Quentin Perez (Campbell), 9-6
Danny Braunagel (Illinois) dec. Kennedy Monday (UNC), 3-1 (SV)
Kennedy Monday pinned Izzak Olejnik (NIU), 0:28

Clay Lautt, 174 pounds

Tyler Morland (Northwestern) dec. Clay Lautt (UNC), 8-4

Brandon Whitman, 197 pounds

Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Brandon Whitman, 6-5