Tournament Information
Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 15 – All Day
Location: Varsity Gym – Boone, N.C.
Live Results
Last Time Out
• The trio of Lincoln Jeep, Nadav Nafshi and Elias Navida captured titles on Nov. 1 at the Southeast Open, leading the Tar Heels to seven podium finishes.
• The freshman duo of Nafshi (174) and Jipp (197) combined for 10 wins, including six bonus-point victories, on their way to claiming their respective weight classes. Navida, a junior competing at 141 pounds, earned three consecutive decisions to secure the 141-pound title.
• In addition to Carolina’s three champions, Cameron Stinson Jr. (sixth at 125), Marco Tocci (fourth at 133), Nolan O’Boyle (sixth at 184) and Mikey Calcagno (runner-up at 197) also earned podium finishes for UNC.
New Faces, New Places
• Entering the fourth year in the Rob Koll era, the program welcomed nine new faces to the program.
• The Tar Heels welcomed two transfers, Christian Hansen (Cornell) and Brendan McCrone (Ohio State).
• Carolina’s 2026 recruiting class featured seven freshmen: Christian Alvarez (285), Ronin Gault (174), Lincoln Jeep (197), Brody Kelly (184), Lukas Littleton Mascaro (133), Nadav Nafshi (174) and Sibomana World (125).
Recapping Last Season
• The Tar Heels opened the year 6-0 in dual action, the best start to a season since 2005-06 and the fifth time in program history Carolina has won their first six duals.
• Carolina defeated No. 12 Northern Iowa on the road, their highest ranked road victory in nearly a decade.
• Individually, Bryce Hepner won the 165-pound title at the 2026 ACC Championships, Carolina’s first ACC champion during Koll’s tenure and the first 165-pound ACC champion for the program since 2009.
• UNC qualified six wrestlers for the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, including four freshmen. The four freshmen qualifiers were the most in program history for Carolina. In Cleveland, Bryce Hepner earned All-America and a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds, becoming UNC’s first 165-pound All-America since 2015.
Tar Heels In The Polls
• Entering the weekend, eight Tar Heels are ranked in the weekly InterMat Wrestling rankings:
– 125: Brendan McCrone – No. 9
– 133: Matthew Botello – No. 11
– 141: Luke Simcox – No. 12
– 157: Laird Root – No. 25
– 174: Joshua Ogunsanya – No. 16
– 184: Christian Hansen – No. 13
– 197: Robert Platt – No. 28
• As a team, Carolina is ranked No. 16 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
Carolina Lineups This Weekend
Invite:
125: No. 9 Brendan McCrone
133: No. 11 Matthew Botello, Derek Guanajuato
141: No. 12 Luke Simcox, Elias Navida
149: Nate Askew
157: No. 25 Laird Root
165: Joey Showalter
174: Collin Carrigan, Nadav Nafshi
184: Nolan O’Boyle, Aidan Schlett
197: Mikey Calcagno, Lincoln Jeep
285: Robert Platt
Open:
125: Sibomana World
133: Marco Tocci
165: Omaury Alvarez
Source: goheels.com
