Veteran Tar Heels spoil Pack’s Senior Night

The Wolfpack took advantage of pins by sophomore Matt Nereim at 149 pounds and freshman Coltin Fought at 125 to make things interesting against UNC Friday night, but the veteran Tar Heels prevailed by taking six of 10 matches on the Pack's senior night. 

"I feel bad for the seniors because this group has worked really hard," coach Carter Jordan said. "We have been wrestling very well, but we didn't wrestle well tonight, top to bottom. We need all 10 pistons popping for us to win, because of the youth and inexperience that we have. We had some outstanding performances from some of our guys, and some other guys were disappointing."

Nereim's pin concluded the most entertaining match of the evening with just 14 seconds remaining in the third and final period. Nereim and Carolina's Jon Burns traded takedowns from the match's outset, before Nereim's pin abruptly ended the back-and-forth affair. 

"Quite frankly, we thought someone was getting pinned in that match, because both of them wrestle like that," Jordan said. "But at that time, at that moment, did I expect a pin with that particular technique? No. That was unbelievable. That's who [Nereim] is. If he can just turn one more corner for us, he can be as good as he wants to be."

In addition to the victories by Nereim and Fought, State won at 141 pounds, where No. 10 senior Darrius Little recorded a 8-3 decision, and at 174, a match fellow senior Quinton Godley won by a 7-1 decision. Senior 157-pounder Colton Palmer, the other senior competing for the last time at Reynolds Coliseum, fell to No. 17 Corey Mock, 5-0. 

But ultimately, the Pack's inexperience proved too much to overcome. Freshman Ben Elliott fell 11-4 to senior Brock Livorio of UNC at 133 pounds, freshman Robert O'Neill dropped a 13-3 decision to Carolina senior Thomas Ferguson at 184 pounds, and sophomore Nijel Jones fell behind early in an 8-2 loss to Tar Heel senior Kyle Kiss. Freshman heavyweight Josh Davis lost his bout 5-2 to put the Pack in an early hole after the match started at the 184-pound class. 

"I say this all the time, I'll take a .500 wrestler in his fifth year over a freshman, any day of the week," Jordan said. "I don't care how talented the freshman is. The fifth year guy that is .500 is going to beat the hell out of [the freshman], nine times out of 10. The savvy, the mat experience, all that stuff; that kind of stuff is what you just have to learn from it."