Takedown Report

GOHEELS EXCLUSIVE: FOCUSING ON PROGRESS

By: Joe Wedra

While spending time away from campus and at home during the country’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, many in athletics are taking the opportunity to sit and reflect upon some of the great moments from the past year.
That’s held particularly true for Austin O’Connor, Kennedy Monday and Zach Sherman, all of whom played key roles in UNC Wrestling’s dominant 2019-20 season. With a down period of returning home and taking classes online, the three Tar Heel starters have been able to spend time thinking about not only the athletic accomplishments from the past season, but appreciate the team’s family-oriented culture.
“Obviously a lot of us on the team are really different because we all come from different places. In the past, it seemed like there may have been different goals and not everyone was on the same page with everything, but this year the camaraderie picked up,” said Sherman, a redshirt sophomore who finished the season with a 27-5 record and an ACC title at 141 pounds.
“Everyone just rallied around the common goal that we wanted to be something for people to remember,” Sherman said. “I think it affected everything in a really good way.”
Monday, a redshirt junior, said the news of the cancelation of the NCAA Championships came as an abrupt surprise for everybody, even with the national awareness of COVID-19 growing in the days prior.
However, Monday noted that the situation offered a time for reflection upon the year. The mission of UNC Athletics is to “educate and inspire through athletics”. For those in UNC Wrestling’s program, last season certainly provided plenty of moments that embodied that mission.
“I didn’t find out until the middle of my workout,” Monday said. “We were going like a regular practice. I looked over and guys were looking really sad, so I found out right in the middle. “It was really sad for everybody, but I took some time to myself just to reflect on it and the season. I had some good wins, some losses, but overall, as a team, we did well. …. story at  https://goheels.com/news/2020/4/7/wrestling-goheels-exclusive-focusing-on-progress.aspx?mc_cid=9b0303e966&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 10, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized