University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NCAA Championships
Two Tar Heels Advance Past Second Round At NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 17, 2022 | Wrestling
DETROIT, MICH. – North Carolina advanced two competitors through the championship second round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday, earning 9.5 team points to sit at 18th place in the team standings.
The Tar Heels went 3-4 overall in the opening session, as Zach Sherman opened the tournament with a pin in the pigtail match at 149 pounds before UNC went 2-4 in the championship first round.
At 133 No. 18 Joe Heilmann nearly earned the decision but fell 4-3 to No. 15 Kai Orine of NC State thanks to riding time. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke earned some redemption in his first-round matchup at 141 pounds. He ground out a 4-3 decision over No. 18 Ryan Jack of NC State to move on to the second round. Shortly after Clarkes win No. 32 Zach Sherman would fall to No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell 9-2 in the first-round matchup.
Defending national champion No. 11 Austin O'Connor fell to The Citadel's No. 22 Dazjon Castro by way of an 8-2 sudden victory. No. 11 Clay Lautt downed Troy Fisher of Northwestern 8-1 while No. 14 Gavin Kane suffered a 9-2 defeat to Minnesota's No. 19 Isaiah Salazar.
The highlight of the day came in the second session from Kizhan Clarke at 141 pounds as he secured a sudden victory over No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Iowa to advance to the quarterfinals. It was the highest-ranked win of Clarke's career. Clay Lautt would follow with an impressive 13-4 major decision over Stanford's No. 26 Tyler Eischens to earn a spot in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
Heilmann (133) and Zach Sherman (149) would earn solid decision wins to move on to the consolation second round. O'Connor bounced back from his early loss and picked up the 5-2 decision over No. 27 Garrett Model (Wisconsin). Gavin Kane would end the Tar Heels' day and drop a 6-4 decision to No. 30 Max Lyon (Purdue).
2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 17, 2022 | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, Mich.
Session 1 (Thursday Morning)
Championship Preliminary Round
149: No. 32 Zach Sherman (UNC) over No. 33 Dashawn Farber (Lock Haven) | Fall (3:30)
Championship First Round
133: No. 15 Kai Orine (NC State) over No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) | 4-3 Dec
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 18 Ryan Jack (NC State) | 4-3 Dec
149: No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) over No. 32 Zach Sherman (UNC) | 9-2 Dec
157: No. 22 Dazjon Castro (The Citadel) over No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) | 8-2 SV1
174: No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) over No. 23 Troy Fisher (Northwestern) | 8-1 Dec
184: No. 19 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) over No. 14 Gavin Kane (UNC) | 7-2 Dec
Session 2 (Thursday Night)
Championship Second Round
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) | 4-2 SV1
174: No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) over No. 26 Tyler Eischens (Stanford) | 13-4 MD
Consolation First Round
133: No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) over No. 31 Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) | 6-2 Dec
149: No. 32 Zach Sherman (UNC) over No. 17 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) | 5-2 Dec
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 27 Garrett Model (Wisconsin) | 5-2 Dec
184: No. 30 Max Lyon (Purdue) over No. 14 Gavin Kane (UNC) | 6-4 Dec
Players Mentioned
