University of North Carolina Athletics
O'Connor Earns NCAA Finals Spot For Tar Heels, First Since 1996; Sherman Becomes All-America
March 19, 2021 | Wrestling
St. Louis --- Austin O'Connor advanced to Saturday night's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships final at 149 pounds, becoming the first Tar Heel to make the finals since 1996. At 141 pounds, Zach Sherman earned All-America honors, making it the fourth straight year that Carolina has had multiple All-Americas.
O'Connor's national finalist spot is the first such accomplishment since Justin Harty made the finals at heavyweight in the tournament in 1996.
O'Connor's day started with a 5-2 win over in-state opponent No. 7 Jonathan Millner of Appalachian State. Millner kept the bout close, but O'Connor closed out a 5-2 decision to advance to the semifinals against Missouri's No. 3 Brock Mauller.Â
Against Mauller, the Tar Heel junior went back-and-forth over the course of seven regulation minutes, wrestling a 1-1 match through the end of the third period. After no scoring in the sudden victory period, O'Connor escaped in the first 30 seconds of tiebreakers and completed a 30-second ride in the back half of the first tiebreaker to notch a 2-1 win and earn his place in the finals. He'll wrestle Ohio State's No. 1 Sammy Sasso.
Sherman dropped his first match of the day to Penn State's No. 2 Nick Lee, but was dominant late in his Round of 12 match against Oklahoma's No. 5 Dom Demas. Sherman used a ride-out in overtime tiebreakers to clinch All-American honors. He will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow.
Both Clay Lautt and Devin Kane made it to the Round of 12 before suffering losses to end their tournaments.
In the early session, Lautt made his run through the back side of the bracket with wins over No. 18 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State and No. 10 Peyton Mocco of Missouri. After defeating Plott in a convincing 6-2 match, Lautt needed just 37 seconds to lock up a cradle against Mocco and secure the first Carolina pin of the weekend. The win sent him to the Round of 12 against Nebraska's No. 4 Mikey Labriola, where he dropped an 8-4 match.
Kane also made a strong run through the wrestlebacks, the second time he made it to the Round 12 in his Tar Heel career. He opened the day with a dominant major decision win over No. 12 Nelson Brands of Iowa before scoring three takedowns in the third period against Army's No. 20 David Key to win his second match of the day, a thrilling 11-10 win to punch his ticket to the Round of 12. There, against No. 7 Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, he was pinned at the end of the first period.
Josh McClure, Kennedy Monday and Max Shaw all dropped their wrestleback matches in Friday's early session to end their tournaments. McClure and Monday both were honored at the team's Senior Night in February and took the mat for the final times in their Tar Heel careers.
Saturday's wrestling begins at 11 a.m. EST.Â
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For information including updated brackets, broadcast details and more, click here.
Stay tuned to @uncwrestling on Twitter and Instagram for full updates throughout the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Players Mentioned
