North Carolina
Midlands Championships
Carolina Wrestlers Compete At Midlands
December 30, 2001 | Wrestling
Dec. 30, 2001
The UNC wrestling team finished with 15.5 points and is in 19th place after the first day of competition at the Midlands wrestling tournament hosted by Northwestern University. Iowa State leads the event with 85 points and is followed by Iowa with 81.5 points and Ohio State with 63.5 points.
Brad Byers (141 pounds) and Jimmy O'Connor (157 pounds) went 2-2 for the tournament. Byers defeated Illinois' Eric Novak 3-3 in the first round but lost to No. 3 seed Cedric Haymon of Cal. Poly, 12-5 in the second round. Byers rebounded for two wins in the consolation round before falling to Cal.-Bekersfield's Ryan Meloche, 7-3.
O'Connor decisioned Hofstra's Paul Siemon 8-1 but lost a 13-2 decision to No. 5 seed Matt Anderson of Iowa in the second round. In the consolation rounds, O'Connor defeated Chicago's Nate Lukanich 8-2 but fell to Indiana's Rocky Mantella, 6-1.
Going 1-2 for Carolina at the tournament were Chris Rodrigues (125 pounds), John Paul Igoe (133 pounds), Mike Booth (149 pounds), Dusty Heist (174 pounds), Nick Richmond (184 pounds) and Matt Kenny (Heavyweight).
Also competing for the Tar Heels was Venroy July (197 pounds).
Championship finals will take place Sunday afternoon, with the Tar Heels' final standing determined upon conclusion.
