Wrestling Closes Out 2023 At Soldier Salute

CORALVILLE, IOWA - The North Carolina wrestling program closes out the calendar year this weekend, sending 15 wrestlers to compete in the two-day Soldier Salute event.

Tournament Information
Date/Time: Friday, December 29 and Saturday, December 30 - All Day
Location: Xtream Arena - Coralville, Iowa
Watch: BTN+
Results: Track Wrestling

Tournament Schedule - All times EST
Friday, December 29
Session 1: 11 AM - 3 PM
Session 2: 4:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Saturday, December 30
Session 3: Noon - 4 PM
Session 4: 6 PM - 8:30 PM

Soldier Salute History
• The Tar Heels return to Soldier Salute for the second-straight season.
• A year ago, Wil Guida (4th), Cade Tenold (5th) and Marisol Nugent (5th) all placed in the tournament for Carolina.

Previewing The Field
• The Tar Heels are one of 16 men's programs competing in the two-day event.
• Carolina joins Virginia as the two Atlantic Coast Conference teams representing at the tournament.
• In total, eight programs ranked in the top-25 of the NWCA Coaches Poll will take the mat this weekend: Missouri (No. 2), Iowa (No. 3), Iowa State (No. 5), Nebraska (No. 7), Minnesota (No. 12), South Dakota State (No. 15), Navy (No. 16) and Oregon State (No. 17).

Last Time Out
• Prior to the holiday break, Carolina split its back-to-back duals, defeating Morgan State in Carmichael Arena (36-0), before falling to Appalachian State (24-14) to close the weekend.
• Against the Bears, Carolina collected major decision victories from Gavin Kane and Max Shaw.
• Freshman Derek Guanajuato earned his first victory on the mat in Carmichael Arena with a technical fall, with Cade Lautt capping off the matchup with a second-period fall.
• The following day in Boone, Spencer Moore, Jayden Scott, Kane and Shaw picked up wins for the Tar Heels.

Tar Heels In The Polls
• Entering the weekend, five Tar Heels are ranked in the weekly InterMat Wrestling rankings:
- 125: Spencer Moore: No. 26
- 141: Lachlan McNeil: No. 5
- 149: Jayden Scott: No. 31
- 184: Gavin Kane: No. 19
- 197: Max Shaw: No. 16
• As a team, Carolina is receiving votes in the NWCA Coaches Poll.

Carolina Lineup
125: No. 26 Spencer Moore
125: Marco Tocci
133: Caden McCrary
133: Jace Palmer
141: No. 5 Lachlan McNeil
149: No. 31 Jayden Scott
149: Connor Alexander
149: Wil Guida
157: Danny Nini
157: Sonny Santiago
165: Isaias Estrada
165: Marcus Murabito
174: Tyler Eischens
184: No. 19 Gavin Kane
285: Cade Lautt

Players Mentioned

Connor Alexander

Tyler Eischens

Isaias Estrada

Derek Guanajuato

Wil Guida

Gavin Kane

Cade Lautt

Caden McCrary

Lachlan McNeil

Spencer Moore

Marcus Murabito

Danny Nini

Marisol Nugent

Jace Palmer

Sonny Santiago

Jayden Scott

Max Shaw

Cade Tenold

Marco Tocci

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