University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, MO.
North Carolina
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Jenna Miller/jennamillerphotos.com
Mission Complete: Austin O'Connor Wins 149-Pound National Championship
March 20, 2021 | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS - No. 2 Austin O'Connor reached the summit of collegiate wrestling when he beat No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 3-2 to win the 149-pound NCAA Championship under the lights of the Enterprise Center.
With the win, he becomes UNC's sixth national champion and first since T.J. Jaworsky won the title in 1995.
After a scoreless 90 seconds to begin the match, O'Connor escaped for the first point of the match.
Down 1-0, Sasso earned a quick escape seconds into the third period to tie the match. With 32 seconds remaining , O'Connor took down Sasso and claimed a 3-1 advantage.
With Sasso taking the point for riding time, O'Connor won 3-2.
O'Connor speaks after the match:
With the win, O'Connor finished the 2021 season 13-0. As a team, UNC finished 16th.
With the win, he becomes UNC's sixth national champion and first since T.J. Jaworsky won the title in 1995.
🚨 AUSTIN O'CONNOR IS A NATIONAL CHAMPION!! 🚨
— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling) March 20, 2021
No. 2 Austin O'Connor defeats No. 1 Sammy Sasso, 3-2!
O'Connor is North Carolina's first national champion since 1995 (T.J. Jaworsky).
JOB FINISHED! O'CONNOR IS THE 149-POUND NATIONAL CHAMPION!#GoHeels | #WeWantMore pic.twitter.com/Sa6ksdl6Ac
After a scoreless 90 seconds to begin the match, O'Connor escaped for the first point of the match.
Down 1-0, Sasso earned a quick escape seconds into the third period to tie the match. With 32 seconds remaining , O'Connor took down Sasso and claimed a 3-1 advantage.
With Sasso taking the point for riding time, O'Connor won 3-2.
𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍 𝐎'𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐑.
— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling) March 21, 2021
𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍.
𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑. pic.twitter.com/UEwBmUihry
O'Connor speaks after the match:
No. 2 Austin O'Connor wins 149-pounds!#NCAAWrestling x 🎥 @espn pic.twitter.com/FNHSWuEg64
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 21, 2021
With the win, O'Connor finished the 2021 season 13-0. As a team, UNC finished 16th.
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
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