University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, March 22
Pittsburgh, Pa.
All Day
North Carolina
vs
NCAA Championships
Austin O'Connor (Larry Slater)
Ness, O'Connor Earn All-America Honors Friday
March 23, 2019 | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH --- Chip Ness and Austin O'Connor advanced to the national semifinals to earn All-America honors Friday as North Carolina finished day two of the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in 19th place in the team race at PPG Paints Arena.
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For the second year in a row, the Tar Heels will have two wrestlers finish in the top eight at their respective weight classes. Last year, it happened for the first time since 1995.
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O'Connor started the fireworks in his fifth meeting of the year with third-seeded Mitch Finesilver of Duke. After seven minutes of cagey action, the match went to overtime tied at 1. Early in the sudden victory period, O'Conoor got to a leg and finished on the edge of the mat, securing a 3-1 win to become Carolina's first All-American on Friday.
Ness worked his way into the top eight in his first match of the day against 10th-seeded Sam Colbray of Iowa State. In sudden victory, Ness was able to fight in a scramble and collect a takedown with less than 10 seconds to go to pick up his second straight win over a higher-seeded opponent.
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"These are two guys we have leaned on all year," head coach Coleman Scott said. "We ask big things from them and they gave it to us. That's twice for Chip and hopefully the first of many for Austin. Having a redshirt freshman do what he did is a sign that he's going to be around this tournament for a while."
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Both O'Connor and Ness lost their matches in the semifinals – O'Connor to second-seeded Micah Jordan of Ohio State (7-4) and Ness to sixth-seeded Drew Foster of Northern Iowa (7-4).
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Devin Kane made a run all the way to the round of 12, the only No. 33 seed of the tournament to do so. He finished his tournament 4-2, picking up a massive 5-2 upset in the consolation bracket over Oklahoma State's No. 7 Jacobe Smith before falling in the blood round to Lehigh's Jordan Kutler.
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"We believe in Devin," Scott said. "We believe in his abilities and we have full confidence that he's extremely talented. He shined when the lights got bright and that's what you ask for from a guy like that. He brought the excitement. He brought what he needed to and picked up valuable points for our team. It's something we're all proud of."
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O'Connor and Ness will wrestle in placement matches Saturday for the chance to take third place. At 149, O'Connor will have No. 4 Brock Mauller of Missouri. At 184, Ness will battle No. 8 Ryan Preisch of Lehigh, who won a 4-1 match in the two teams' dual earlier in the year.
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For the second year in a row, the Tar Heels will have two wrestlers finish in the top eight at their respective weight classes. Last year, it happened for the first time since 1995.
Â
O'Connor started the fireworks in his fifth meeting of the year with third-seeded Mitch Finesilver of Duke. After seven minutes of cagey action, the match went to overtime tied at 1. Early in the sudden victory period, O'Conoor got to a leg and finished on the edge of the mat, securing a 3-1 win to become Carolina's first All-American on Friday.
Ness worked his way into the top eight in his first match of the day against 10th-seeded Sam Colbray of Iowa State. In sudden victory, Ness was able to fight in a scramble and collect a takedown with less than 10 seconds to go to pick up his second straight win over a higher-seeded opponent.
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"These are two guys we have leaned on all year," head coach Coleman Scott said. "We ask big things from them and they gave it to us. That's twice for Chip and hopefully the first of many for Austin. Having a redshirt freshman do what he did is a sign that he's going to be around this tournament for a while."
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Both O'Connor and Ness lost their matches in the semifinals – O'Connor to second-seeded Micah Jordan of Ohio State (7-4) and Ness to sixth-seeded Drew Foster of Northern Iowa (7-4).
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Devin Kane made a run all the way to the round of 12, the only No. 33 seed of the tournament to do so. He finished his tournament 4-2, picking up a massive 5-2 upset in the consolation bracket over Oklahoma State's No. 7 Jacobe Smith before falling in the blood round to Lehigh's Jordan Kutler.
Â
"We believe in Devin," Scott said. "We believe in his abilities and we have full confidence that he's extremely talented. He shined when the lights got bright and that's what you ask for from a guy like that. He brought the excitement. He brought what he needed to and picked up valuable points for our team. It's something we're all proud of."
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O'Connor and Ness will wrestle in placement matches Saturday for the chance to take third place. At 149, O'Connor will have No. 4 Brock Mauller of Missouri. At 184, Ness will battle No. 8 Ryan Preisch of Lehigh, who won a 4-1 match in the two teams' dual earlier in the year.
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Players Mentioned
Tuesday, July 14
Tuesday, June 23
Sunday, June 21
Sunday, June 21