University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
No. 14 Tar Heels Bested By No. 3 Oklahoma State
February 20, 2016 | Wrestling
STILLWATER, Okla. --- No. 3 Oklahoma State used five bonus point wins to hand No. 14 North Carolina a 33-6 setback Friday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Redshirt junior Joey Ward was a major bright spot for the Tar Heels, knocking off unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Dean Heil in sudden victory at 141 pounds. Chip Ness was also a winner for UNC, which will wrap up its regular season schedule Sunday at The Citadel.
No. 6 Eddie Klimara got the Senior Night dual started in a big way for the Cowboys, earning a second-period technical fall at 125 to give the hosts a 5-0 lead.
It was 9-0 OSU when Ward notched the best win of his redshirt junior season with an upset of the nation's No. 1 141-pounder. After a wild first period that saw some incredible action but no scoring, Ward and Heil traded escapes before needing overtime to decide it. In the first sudden victory period, Ward scored the only takedown of the match for a memorable 3-1 victory.
Oklahoma State responded in an emphatic way when No. 12 Anthony Collica pinned No. 5 Evan Henderson early in the third period. The stunning loss marked the first time Henderson had been pinned since the consolation semifinals at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
The other big upset of the night came at 174, where No. 2 Ethan Ramos suffered just his third loss of the year and second in dual action to Chandler Rogers. In a typically high-energy match, Rogers built an early lead thanks to a four-point near fall and Ramos was unable to dig out of the hole.
Ness was victorious against Oklahoma State for the second year in a row, outlasting Preston Weigel 5-3 at 197.
Carolina will now travel to Charleston, South Carolina, to take on The Citadel in the final dual of the season. The matchup with the Bulldogs is set for a 2 p.m. start.
No. 3 Oklahoma State 33, No. 14 North Carolina 6
125: No. 6 Eddie Klimara (OSU) tech fall Cody Karns (UNC), 18-2 (4:40) - OSU leads 5-0
133: Gary Wayne Harding (OSU) maj. dec. James Szymanski (UNC), 14-6 - OSU leads 9-0
141: No. 11 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. No. 1 Dean Heil (UNC), 3-1 (SV-1) - OSU leads 9-3
149: No. 12 Anthony Collica (OSU) fall No. 5 Evan Henderson (UNC), 5:35 - OSU leads 15-3
157: Ryan Blees (OSU) dec. Robert Henderson (UNC), 6-5 - OSU leads 18-3
165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) maj. dec. No. 9 John Staudenmayer (UNC), 11-1 - OSU leads 22-3
174: Chandler Rogers (OSU) dec. No. 2 Ethan Ramos (UNC), 13-8 - OSU leads 25-3
184: No. 13 Nolan Boyd (OSU) dec. No. 19 Alex Utley (UNC), 10-6 - OSU leads 28-3
197: Chip Ness (UNC) dec. Preston Weigel (OSU), 5-3 - OSU leads 28-6
285: No. 5 Austin Marsden (OSU) tech fall Cory Daniel (UNC), 16-1; 6:47 - OSU wins 33-6
Players Mentioned
