North Carolina
North Carolina placed 19th with 28.5 points and two All-Americans/eight qualifiers last season. The Tar Heels had a tough dual schedule going 12-7. Their biggest wins came against Arizona State, Lehigh and Virginia Tech. North Carolina finished 3rd behind NC State and Virginia Tech at the ACC Championships and 11th at Cliff Keen.
The Tar Heels will have at least 5 different starters this season. They lose one All-American (Ness) and two other qualifiers (Harding and Gilliland-Daniel) but get two former qualifiers back, Sherman off of redshirt and Monday from injury. North Carolina hasn’t released their 19/20 schedule yet.
125
Joey Melendez (Fr) <Montini Catholic, IL>
Melendez had a solid redshirt season going 20-4. His biggest win was a pin of NCAA qualifier Malik Heinselman (tOSU).
Last season, Joel Heilmann went 14-16 as a true freshman and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (2 allocations). He had a couple wins against NCAA qualifiers, Elijah Oliver (Indy) and Gage Curry (American).
133
Zach Sherman (So) <Blair Academy, NJ>
Sherman took a redshirt year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a true freshman in 2018. Last season he went 13-4 which included a win over last year’s starter Gary Wayne Harding and a 3rd place finish at Midlands. All of his losses were to NCAA qualifiers.
Last season, outing senior and OSU transfer Gary Wayne Harding qualified for his 3rd NCAA Championships and first as a Tar Heel. He went 27-13 and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Harding got the 18 seed at the NCAAs and went 0-2.
141
AC Headlee (Sr) <Waynesburg Central, PA>
Headlee qualified for his second NCAA Championships last season. He went 21-12 and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Headlee was the 21 seed at the NCAAs and went 1-2. <Bonus: 15.6%, RPI: .625>
149
Austin O’Connor (So) <St. Rita of Cascia, IL>
O’Connor is in the championship mix this season as he placed 3rd last season as a freshman from the 6 seed. He went 34-6 and placed second at the ACC Championships, losing to Mitch Finesilver (Duke) in the final. O’Connor avenged that loss by beating Finesilver in the 3rd place match at the NCAAs. <Bonus: 40.0%, RPI: .715>
157
Josh McClure (Jr) <Fulton, MO>
Mason Phillips (Fr) <Stanwood, WA>
McClure began last season as the 165 starter and dropped down to 157 when Monday moved up. He went 20-13 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after he did not place due to injury at the ACC Championships. McClure received the 24 seed and went 0-2. He might be going back to 165 to battle Kennedy Monday for the starting spot. <Bonus: 18.2%, RPI: .598>
Mason Phillips was a 3-time Washington state champion and 2-time Fargo Junior National Champion. He didn’t wrestle during his redshirt season (injury?).
165
Kennedy Monday (Jr) <Martin, TX>
Monday (unseeded) went to the round of 12 @157 in 2018. He had the upset of the tournament defeating #2 Joey Lavallee (Mizzu) in the first round. Monday moved up from 157 to 165 midway through last season before his season was cut short due to injury. He had a 10-5 record. Sawyer Davidson (Jr) replaced Monday as the starter and went 7-17 overall and 0-2 in the ACC Championships.
174
Clay Lautt (Jr) So <St. James Academy, KA>
Lautt had a busy redshirt season going 24-8. He had a couple of wins against NCAA qualifiers, Andrew Morgan (Camp) and Travis Stefanik (Prince).
184
Devin Kane (Sr) <Cambridge, GA>
Kane received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships last season @174 after he finished 4th at the ACC Championships (3 allocations). He was 15-13 entering the tournament and got the final spot (33 seed) in the weight class. After a pigtail win, Kane lost to Mark Hall before winning three straight in the wrestlebacks, including a big upset over (7)Jacobe Smith (OSU). Kane lost in the Round of12 to (5)Jordan Kutler (Leh). <Bonus: 20.6%, RPI: .600>
Last season, outgoing senior Chip Ness became a two-time AA after upsetting (2)Shakur Rasheed and (10)Samuel Colbray (ISU) before finishing in 6th place from the 15 seed. Ness was 22-15 overall and finished 4th at the ACC Championships (5 allocations).
197
Brandon Whitman (So) <Dundee, MI>
Whitman qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). He went 17-15 overall and 0-2 at the NCAAs from the 29 seed. <Bonus: 24.2%, RPI: .568>
Heavy
Andrew Gunning (Jr) <Liberty, PA>
Gunning went 12-6 at tournaments last season. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers.
Last season, outgoing senior Cory Gilliland-Daniel qualified for the NCAA Championships a third time. He went 22-11 overall and 0-2 at the NCAAs from the 21 seed.
New Faces
North Carolina has one top-20 (in weight class) incoming freshman:
Max Shaw <Thomas Jefferson, PA>
Shaw placed 3rd @182 in the PIAA (AAA) Championships in 2018 and 3rd @195 in 2019. He is ranked #15 at 195 by Intermat and listed @184 on the Tar Heel roster.
Edit: I missed Gabriel Tagg because he was at the OTC for the past year and not listed in the high school rankings. He could be in the mix at 133 if he doesnt redshirt.
Bonus info - What is a tar heel? Here's the answer from the UNC alumni website:
The term “tar heel” dates back to North Carolina’s early history, when the state was a leading producer of supplies for the naval industry. Workers who distilled turpentine from the sticky sap of pine trees and burned pine boughs to produce tar and pitch often went barefoot during hot summer months and undoubtedly collected tar on their heels. To call someone a “rosin heel” or “tar heel” was to imply that they worked in a lowly trade.
During the Civil War, North Carolina soldiers flipped the meaning of the term and turned an epithet into an accolade. They called themselves “tar heels” as an expression of state pride. Others adopted the term, and North Carolina became widely known as the “Tar Heel State.”
North Carolina placed 19th with 28.5 points and two All-Americans/eight qualifiers last season. The Tar Heels had a tough dual schedule going 12-7. Their biggest wins came against Arizona State, Lehigh and Virginia Tech. North Carolina finished 3rd behind NC State and Virginia Tech at the ACC Championships and 11th at Cliff Keen.
The Tar Heels will have at least 5 different starters this season. They lose one All-American (Ness) and two other qualifiers (Harding and Gilliland-Daniel) but get two former qualifiers back, Sherman off of redshirt and Monday from injury. North Carolina hasn’t released their 19/20 schedule yet.
125
Joey Melendez (Fr) <Montini Catholic, IL>
Melendez had a solid redshirt season going 20-4. His biggest win was a pin of NCAA qualifier Malik Heinselman (tOSU).
Last season, Joel Heilmann went 14-16 as a true freshman and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (2 allocations). He had a couple wins against NCAA qualifiers, Elijah Oliver (Indy) and Gage Curry (American).
133
Zach Sherman (So) <Blair Academy, NJ>
Sherman took a redshirt year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a true freshman in 2018. Last season he went 13-4 which included a win over last year’s starter Gary Wayne Harding and a 3rd place finish at Midlands. All of his losses were to NCAA qualifiers.
Last season, outing senior and OSU transfer Gary Wayne Harding qualified for his 3rd NCAA Championships and first as a Tar Heel. He went 27-13 and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Harding got the 18 seed at the NCAAs and went 0-2.
141
AC Headlee (Sr) <Waynesburg Central, PA>
Headlee qualified for his second NCAA Championships last season. He went 21-12 and placed 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Headlee was the 21 seed at the NCAAs and went 1-2. <Bonus: 15.6%, RPI: .625>
149
Austin O’Connor (So) <St. Rita of Cascia, IL>
O’Connor is in the championship mix this season as he placed 3rd last season as a freshman from the 6 seed. He went 34-6 and placed second at the ACC Championships, losing to Mitch Finesilver (Duke) in the final. O’Connor avenged that loss by beating Finesilver in the 3rd place match at the NCAAs. <Bonus: 40.0%, RPI: .715>
157
Josh McClure (Jr) <Fulton, MO>
Mason Phillips (Fr) <Stanwood, WA>
McClure began last season as the 165 starter and dropped down to 157 when Monday moved up. He went 20-13 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after he did not place due to injury at the ACC Championships. McClure received the 24 seed and went 0-2. He might be going back to 165 to battle Kennedy Monday for the starting spot. <Bonus: 18.2%, RPI: .598>
Mason Phillips was a 3-time Washington state champion and 2-time Fargo Junior National Champion. He didn’t wrestle during his redshirt season (injury?).
165
Kennedy Monday (Jr) <Martin, TX>
Monday (unseeded) went to the round of 12 @157 in 2018. He had the upset of the tournament defeating #2 Joey Lavallee (Mizzu) in the first round. Monday moved up from 157 to 165 midway through last season before his season was cut short due to injury. He had a 10-5 record. Sawyer Davidson (Jr) replaced Monday as the starter and went 7-17 overall and 0-2 in the ACC Championships.
174
Clay Lautt (Jr) So <St. James Academy, KA>
Lautt had a busy redshirt season going 24-8. He had a couple of wins against NCAA qualifiers, Andrew Morgan (Camp) and Travis Stefanik (Prince).
184
Devin Kane (Sr) <Cambridge, GA>
Kane received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships last season @174 after he finished 4th at the ACC Championships (3 allocations). He was 15-13 entering the tournament and got the final spot (33 seed) in the weight class. After a pigtail win, Kane lost to Mark Hall before winning three straight in the wrestlebacks, including a big upset over (7)Jacobe Smith (OSU). Kane lost in the Round of12 to (5)Jordan Kutler (Leh). <Bonus: 20.6%, RPI: .600>
Last season, outgoing senior Chip Ness became a two-time AA after upsetting (2)Shakur Rasheed and (10)Samuel Colbray (ISU) before finishing in 6th place from the 15 seed. Ness was 22-15 overall and finished 4th at the ACC Championships (5 allocations).
197
Brandon Whitman (So) <Dundee, MI>
Whitman qualified for the NCAA Championships by placing 4th at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). He went 17-15 overall and 0-2 at the NCAAs from the 29 seed. <Bonus: 24.2%, RPI: .568>
Heavy
Andrew Gunning (Jr) <Liberty, PA>
Gunning went 12-6 at tournaments last season. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers.
Last season, outgoing senior Cory Gilliland-Daniel qualified for the NCAA Championships a third time. He went 22-11 overall and 0-2 at the NCAAs from the 21 seed.
New Faces
North Carolina has one top-20 (in weight class) incoming freshman:
Max Shaw <Thomas Jefferson, PA>
Shaw placed 3rd @182 in the PIAA (AAA) Championships in 2018 and 3rd @195 in 2019. He is ranked #15 at 195 by Intermat and listed @184 on the Tar Heel roster.
Edit: I missed Gabriel Tagg because he was at the OTC for the past year and not listed in the high school rankings. He could be in the mix at 133 if he doesnt redshirt.
Bonus info - What is a tar heel? Here's the answer from the UNC alumni website:
The term “tar heel” dates back to North Carolina’s early history, when the state was a leading producer of supplies for the naval industry. Workers who distilled turpentine from the sticky sap of pine trees and burned pine boughs to produce tar and pitch often went barefoot during hot summer months and undoubtedly collected tar on their heels. To call someone a “rosin heel” or “tar heel” was to imply that they worked in a lowly trade.
During the Civil War, North Carolina soldiers flipped the meaning of the term and turned an epithet into an accolade. They called themselves “tar heels” as an expression of state pride. Others adopted the term, and North Carolina became widely known as the “Tar Heel State.”
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