GoHeels Exclusive: Focusing On Progress

By: Joe Wedra

While spending time away from campus and at home during the country's efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, many in athletics are taking the opportunity to sit and reflect upon some of the great moments from the past year.

That's held particularly true for Austin O'Connor, Kennedy Monday and Zach Sherman, all of whom played key roles in UNC Wrestling's dominant 2019-20 season. With a down period of returning home and taking classes online, the three Tar Heel starters have been able to spend time thinking about not only the athletic accomplishments from the past season, but appreciate the team's family-oriented culture.

"Obviously a lot of us on the team are really different because we all come from different places. In the past, it seemed like there may have been different goals and not everyone was on the same page with everything, but this year the camaraderie picked up," said Sherman, a redshirt sophomore who finished the season with a 27-5 record and an ACC title at 141 pounds.

"Everyone just rallied around the common goal that we wanted to be something for people to remember," Sherman said. "I think it affected everything in a really good way."

Monday, a redshirt junior, said the news of the cancelation of the NCAA Championships came as an abrupt surprise for everybody, even with the national awareness of COVID-19 growing in the days prior.

However, Monday noted that the situation offered a time for reflection upon the year. The mission of UNC Athletics is to "educate and inspire through athletics". For those in UNC Wrestling's program, last season certainly provided plenty of moments that embodied that mission.

"I didn't find out until the middle of my workout," Monday said. "We were going like a regular practice. I looked over and guys were looking really sad, so I found out right in the middle.

"It was really sad for everybody, but I took some time to myself just to reflect on it and the season. I had some good wins, some losses, but overall, as a team, we did well. We all came together and we shocked some people this season, so that's the biggest takeaway. There's nothing to hang our heads about."

The "new normal" for UNC Wrestling has been an adjustment, just as it's been for everyone during a very unprecedented time.

Head coach Coleman Scott holds regular team Zoom meetings to check in on the entire group. It provides a time for those on the roster to feel a sense of normalcy and share about how lives are going. It offers an opportunity to update academic happenings, share tips on how everyone is staying healthy and keeping their individual communities safe, as well as a time to talk amongst the "wrestling family", something Scott values greatly.

"It's a unique time, but one we have to adapt to and make the most of," Scott said. "I enjoy those weekly Zoom calls because it allows us to not only share important information, but it helps us see each other and get back to a bit of normalcy. Nothing really replaces seeing everyone face-to-face, and when you get a chance to see everyone together on one screen, it reminds us of how closely we've grown as a team and how much we all care about each other."

Routines for Carolina's wrestlers look a bit different these days, but everyone is trying to find outlets to stay engaged and connected in many nonconventional ways.

Some have filled buckets with sand and used other household items to make family workouts.

Others have used online video games to keep up with teammates and keep competition alive.

And in many cases, student-athletes have set up Zoom calls with each other to catch up on life, school and training plans for the coming weeks.

Regardless of the method of staying engaged with one another, many have noted that this period has underscored the tight-knit community that has been built within the walls of UNC Wrestling.

"I feel like our team has gotten really close," O'Connor said. "Everyone feeds off of everything and each other. It's good having a group of guys like that around you who are pushing you to get better, whether it's in school or wrestling."

For now, the team is adjusting to the new normal.

It takes creativity and a resilient mindset, but everyone around the program is committed to staying connected and remembering the team's dominant season as motivation for the future.

"As a whole, our team has really picked up and really come together," O'Connor said. "It's a lot more fun winning as a team now. So no, the season didn't end the way we wanted it to, but we still got better as a team. We broke a lot of records, and I think that gives us somewhere to keep building from as a program."

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Kennedy Monday

Austin O'Connor

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