Fall has finally arrived in Chapel Hill, which means the wrestling season will soon start. While we may still be a month or so from Carolina’s first matches, Intermat did release their preseason Division 1 rankings for every weight class. UNC is well represented, with six wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in their expected weight class. Let’s check in on the ranked Tar Heels:
Kysen Terukina (20th, 125 lbs): The senior transferred to UNC for his final year of eligibility after spending four years at Iowa
State. His last year there was difficult, as he suffered a neck injury and missed the NCAA tournament. Nonetheless, he’s a 3X NCAA qualifier that will bring some experience to the Heels.
Ethan Oakley (15th, 133 lbs): Last year was Oakley’s first as a Tar Heel after transferring from Appalachian State. He had a great year with the Heels, posting a 6-0 record in ACC duel matches. He ended up finishing third in the ACC championships and won a match in the NCAA tournament after being awarded a 12 seed. He is probably UNC’s best threat to go on a deep post-season run.
Jayden Scott (23rd, 141 lbs): The redshirt junior has spent his entire career at UNC and stepped into a starting role last year. Scott collected two wins in the ACC tournament and made the NCAA tournament as a 29 seed; he went on to pull an upset over 13th seeded Todd Carter of Gardner-Webb.
Bryce Hepner (19th, 165 lbs): A two-time state champ in high school, Hepner had an up and down career at Ohio State before transferring to UNC this year with two years of eligibility remaining. He went 13-7 in the ‘23-’24 season and finished 5-1 last year. He will be a grad transfer after finishing his degree at Ohio State.
Josh Ogunsanya (14th, 174 lbs): Ogunsanya did well in his first year at Chapel Hill after transferring from Columbia. He earned 14 wins including a win over the fourth ranked wrestler in the country at the time, Lorenzo Norman of Stanford. Ogunsanya was awarded the 21 seed at the NCAA tournament and upset 12th seeded Myles Takats of Bucknell in the opening round.
Nolan Neves (22nd, 285 lbs): A redshirt sophomore, Neves won 15 matches in his first season as a Tar Heel. He won three matches in the ACC tournament and finished third in the conference. Neves made the NCAA tournament last season and competed as the 24 seed.
Good luck to all the Tar Heel wrestlers this year!
