O'Connor, Ness Lead Carolina To Strong Finish At NCAAs

Saturday, March 23

Pittsburgh, Pa.

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA Championships

Austin O'Connor

Photo by: Jenna Miller/jennamillerphotos.com

March 23, 2019 | Wrestling

NCAA Final Brackets NCAA Final Team Scores

PITTSBURGH -- Austin O'Connor led the way for North Carolina on the final day of the 2019 Division I Wrestling National Championships, finishing in third place at 149 pounds. Chip Ness, the other Tar Heel All-American, finished sixth at 184 pounds. Overall, North Carolina secured a 19th-place finish, the team's highest since 1995.

O'Connor knocked off No. 4 Brock Mauller of Missouri to advance to the third-place match, where he met Duke's No. 3 Mitch Finesilver for the second time in the tournament and the sixth time on the season. The Tar Heel redshirt freshman stormed out of the gate, gathered the match's first takedown and never looked back. He had a 6-2 lead after two periods, and despite almost getting taken down at the buzzer, O'Connor held on for a 7-5 win to secure the third spot on the podium.

Ness dropped both of his matches in the medal round on Saturday – to Lehigh's Ryan Preisch and Illinois' Emory Parker – but finished sixth for his second All-American honor to wrap up his career at North Carolina.

"I'm proud of the weekend we had," head coach Coleman Scott said. "These guys fought and showed what toughness is. It's great to have Chip go out as an All-American. And seeing Austin win two matches against some of the top guys in the nation, that's a special thing. We have a bright future ahead, I promise you that."

O'Connor is just the seventh freshman All-American in North Carolina wrestling history, and the highest UNC freshman finisher.

Overall, his finish is the highest since Justin Harty placed second in 1996.