University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, March 18
Detroit, Mich.
All Day
North Carolina
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Jenna Miller/jennamillerphotos.com
Clarke Advances To Finals At NCAA Championships
March 19, 2022 | Wrestling
DETROIT, MICH. – Graduate student Kizhan Clarke advanced to the 141-pound finals of the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday night. Three Tar Heels earned All-America honors for Carolina. It is the first time since 1995 that UNC has had more than two All-America recipients.
In the third session, No. 15 Clarke won an exciting quarterfinal match at 141 to move on to the semifinals and clinch All-America status. The Tar Heels also came up big in the consolation bracket with big wins to move UNC up on the team scoreboard.
Clarke's win came against No. 10 Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota, as he controlled the entire match and ended it with a 3-0 decision to move to 20-3 on the year and earned his All-America honor. He has won 18 out of 20 matches this year by decision. In the 174 quarterfinals, No. 10 Clay Lautt dropped a close 4-2 decision No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech.
No. 18 Joe Heilmann picked up a 6-0 decision in the consolation second round before being knocked out of the tournament by No. 7 Lucas Byrd of Illinois in a 6-1 decision. At 149 No. 18 Anthony Artalona of Penn took a hard-fought 8-4 decision to end Zach Sherman's tournament. In the 157-consolation bracket, No. 11 Austin O'Connor battled through adversity to earn wins over No. 12 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) and No. 30 Hunter Richard (Cornell) to advance to the consolation fourth round.
In the highlight of the day, Kizhan Clarke, the 15th seeded wrestler at 141 pounds, won his semifinal matchup against Pitt's sixth-seeded Cole Matthews by ultimate tiebreaker UTB 2-2 to advance to the finals and earn the first NCAA finals appearance of his career. He'll face No. 1 Nick Lee of Penn State for the national title.
Graduate student Clay Lautt also reached the semifinals in the 174-pound bracket but dropped his match against Virginia Tech's second-seeded Mekhi Lewis. The match was tight through, but a near fall in the third period proved to be the deciding factor as he fell 11-3. In the consolation round, Lautt would later face No. 6 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State. He will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow afternoon.
No. 11 Austin O'Connor would culminate an entire week of working through pain and adversity on a high note. He edged Lehigh's No. 7 Josh Humphreys to earn All-America status for the fourth time in his illustrious career. Soon after, head coach Coleman Scott announced that O'Connor would medically forfeit to end his time at the tournament.
"Due to injury Austin O'Connor will medically forfeit out to eighth place. Austin has gone out and battled to become a four-time All-American with limited capacity successfully."
- Head Coach Coleman Scott
2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 18, 2022 | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, Mich.
Session 3 (Friday Morning)
Championship Quarterfinal Round
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 10 Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota) | 3-0 Dec
174: No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) over No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) | 4-2 Dec
Consolation Second Round
133: No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) over No. 16 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) | 6-0 Dec
149: No. 18 Anthony Artalona (Penn) over No. 32 Zach Sherman (UNC) | 8-4 Dec
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 12 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) | 4-2 Dec
Consolation Third Round
133: No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) over No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) | 6-01 Dec
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 30 Hunter Richard (Cornell) | 6-1 Dec
Session 4 (Friday Night)
Championship Semifinal Round
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) | UTB 2-2
Consolation Fourth Round
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 7 Josh Humphries (Lehigh) | 4-3 Dec
174: No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) over No. 11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) | 6-3 Dec
Consolation Fifth Round
157: No. 1 David Carr (Iowa State) over No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) | Medical Forfeit
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) over No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) |11-3 Dec
In the third session, No. 15 Clarke won an exciting quarterfinal match at 141 to move on to the semifinals and clinch All-America status. The Tar Heels also came up big in the consolation bracket with big wins to move UNC up on the team scoreboard.
Clarke's win came against No. 10 Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota, as he controlled the entire match and ended it with a 3-0 decision to move to 20-3 on the year and earned his All-America honor. He has won 18 out of 20 matches this year by decision. In the 174 quarterfinals, No. 10 Clay Lautt dropped a close 4-2 decision No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech.
No. 18 Joe Heilmann picked up a 6-0 decision in the consolation second round before being knocked out of the tournament by No. 7 Lucas Byrd of Illinois in a 6-1 decision. At 149 No. 18 Anthony Artalona of Penn took a hard-fought 8-4 decision to end Zach Sherman's tournament. In the 157-consolation bracket, No. 11 Austin O'Connor battled through adversity to earn wins over No. 12 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) and No. 30 Hunter Richard (Cornell) to advance to the consolation fourth round.
In the highlight of the day, Kizhan Clarke, the 15th seeded wrestler at 141 pounds, won his semifinal matchup against Pitt's sixth-seeded Cole Matthews by ultimate tiebreaker UTB 2-2 to advance to the finals and earn the first NCAA finals appearance of his career. He'll face No. 1 Nick Lee of Penn State for the national title.
Graduate student Clay Lautt also reached the semifinals in the 174-pound bracket but dropped his match against Virginia Tech's second-seeded Mekhi Lewis. The match was tight through, but a near fall in the third period proved to be the deciding factor as he fell 11-3. In the consolation round, Lautt would later face No. 6 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State. He will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow afternoon.
No. 11 Austin O'Connor would culminate an entire week of working through pain and adversity on a high note. He edged Lehigh's No. 7 Josh Humphreys to earn All-America status for the fourth time in his illustrious career. Soon after, head coach Coleman Scott announced that O'Connor would medically forfeit to end his time at the tournament.
"Due to injury Austin O'Connor will medically forfeit out to eighth place. Austin has gone out and battled to become a four-time All-American with limited capacity successfully."
- Head Coach Coleman Scott
2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 18, 2022 | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, Mich.
Session 3 (Friday Morning)
Championship Quarterfinal Round
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 10 Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota) | 3-0 Dec
174: No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) over No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) | 4-2 Dec
Consolation Second Round
133: No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) over No. 16 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) | 6-0 Dec
149: No. 18 Anthony Artalona (Penn) over No. 32 Zach Sherman (UNC) | 8-4 Dec
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 12 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) | 4-2 Dec
Consolation Third Round
133: No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) over No. 18 Joe Heilmann (UNC) | 6-01 Dec
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 30 Hunter Richard (Cornell) | 6-1 Dec
Session 4 (Friday Night)
Championship Semifinal Round
141: No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (UNC) over No. 6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) | UTB 2-2
Consolation Fourth Round
157: No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) over No. 7 Josh Humphries (Lehigh) | 4-3 Dec
174: No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) over No. 11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) | 6-3 Dec
Consolation Fifth Round
157: No. 1 David Carr (Iowa State) over No. 11 Austin O'Connor (UNC) | Medical Forfeit
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) over No. 10 Clay Lautt (UNC) |11-3 Dec
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
MBB: Jarin Stevenson Intro Press Conference
Tuesday, October 14
Bill Belichick Pre-Cal Press Conference - October 13, 2025
Tuesday, October 14
Carolina Insider - Interview with Jarin Stevenson (Full Segment) - October 13, 2025
Monday, October 13
UNC Volleyball: Tar Heels Rally to 4-Set Victory at Georgia Tech
Sunday, October 12