Takedown Report

GoHeels Exclusive: O’Connor Ready For Spotlight

By Joe Wedra, UNC Athletic Communications
Austin O’Connor can’t avoid the national spotlight, so it’s a good thing that the redshirt freshman isn’t afraid to embrace it fully.
Expected to lead the way for Carolina at 149 pounds this season, O’Connor enters the year with a somewhat unprecedented amount of national attention. The Lockport, Illinois, native hasn’t seen time in a Carolina wrestling regular season dual quite yet, but he’s already had his fair share of success since he’s been with the program.
This year, he not only collected a UWW Junior Freestyle national title at the U.S. Open in April, but he also went to Brazil and brought home gold at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships at 70 kg.
Needless to say, he’s earned the right to both be an expected leader in the Carolina starting lineup and a candidate to break out on the national scene. There’s a reason a deep run at NCAAs isn’t an unrealistic goal.
“We couldn’t be more excited to see Austin out on the mat,” head coach Coleman Scott said, noting his ability to step in and be a clear difference-maker. “He’s the kind of guy who fans are going to want to root for. We’re all expecting him to come in immediately, add a lot of excitement and perform at an extremely high level.”
For O’Connor, he credits his readiness to someone Tar Heel fans might be familiar with – 2018 All-American and current assistant Troy Heilmann. The two worked together throughout the entirety of last season, and O’Connor actually began the year with a win over Heilmann in the season-opening wrestle offs.  Rest of the story at https://goheels.com/news/2018/10/12/wrestling-goheels-exclusive-o-connor-ready-for-spotlight.aspx?mc_cid=1e42fc3340&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 14, 2018 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized