I was happy to see all the guys we have participating. I know this statement might be crazy, but I think the best way to get better at wrestling it to wrestle, especially against high level competition. Obviously was hoping all of them would have done better, but the experience should be good for all of them.
UNC Wrestling 2025-2026
- Thread starter 81Heel/M1
- Start date
It’s been 10 years since Tony Ramos joined the Carolina Wrestling program as a volunteer assistant. His contribution to the program is greatly appreciated.
UNC had 4 placers at U20 US Open, including commits (ie Jipp). Only 4 colleges had more than us. And I think 3 others had the same as us, including VT. Nice showing.
With our roster likely set, I am starting to look at what we have for next year. Transfer Brendan McCrone from tOSU is the likely starter at 125. He is currently ranked #9 by WS, and is familiar with wrestling at the highest level. One thing that sticks out to me is that he is incredibly tough on top and is capable of pinning opponents more frequently than the average wrestler. The video linked below is from February 2025, and may be his biggest college win over this kid named Lilledahl from PSU. The second period is where the fun starts.
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I love having a guy that is a strong mat wrestler, it should help our other 125 and 133 guys get better on bottom, and obviously the extra points from the pins he gets could end up being a big deal. It also makes him a threat against anyone he wrestles, he was down 6-2 in the Lilledahl (2x All-American and this years Champ) match when he got a cradle locked up and stuck him.
Christian Hansen is ranked 15th by WS, and will likely be our 184 pound starter next year. He was 20-7 prior to an injury cutting his season short. His best win was at the National Duals over #4 Zach Ryder of OK State. The video linked below is confused about who is wrestling, but I confirmed on the Cornell site that he was the one that beat Ryder. I will warn you there is a brutal crashing of heads in the first period, leading to extensive blood time and concussion protocol before he could continue wrestling.
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One more nationaal champ. Can’t get the link to work. “With an 11-1 Tech in the finals Dunia Rodriguez-Sibomana is your U20 African National Champion for the Democratic Republic of Congo at 55kg.“
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Dunia picks up the Sr African Gold at 57 kg to go with his U20 championship from last week. The Instagram links are still not working for the THWC.
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I missed Liam Hickey going into the portal, but it looks like he joined Dailey transferring to state. My assumption is that this relates to our portal acquisition and their portal loss. He has a good chance to start for them at 125, and likely would have started for us if we hadn’t picked up McCrone. I think Hickey would have been the backup at 125 next year, but Sibomana has looked good finishing up his high school career and wrestling in Africa the past few weeks.
Note that if they pass the 5 for 5 rule, freshmen redshirting will likely no longer be an issue. The immediate impact for UNC is that Askew and Levy will not be worried about counting matches for a redshirt year. While I can’t see any of the true freshmen taking a starting spot, Sibomana and Jipp have looked good in recent weeks. Notably Jipp and Platt both placed second in the U20 freestyle tournament last week at 92kg and 97kg respectively.
Note that if they pass the 5 for 5 rule, freshmen redshirting will likely no longer be an issue. The immediate impact for UNC is that Askew and Levy will not be worried about counting matches for a redshirt year. While I can’t see any of the true freshmen taking a starting spot, Sibomana and Jipp have looked good in recent weeks. Notably Jipp and Platt both placed second in the U20 freestyle tournament last week at 92kg and 97kg respectively.
Won’t speak for hw07, but this was the late football addition that is ranked the #6 high school heavyweight this past year (Flo rankings from 4/3/26). Great addition to the wrestling room, though it will be interesting to see how they split the time in the sports. With the prospect of losing him to FB completely in a few years, only 2 other hwts, and the 5 for 5 rule looming, I would say let him wrestle if he can win the spot.
For comparison sake he is our top ranked wrestler coming in this summer. Other top ranked recruits in the Flo rankings include Bickerton (#6-113), Sibomana (#10-120), Kelly (#7-175), Shafri (#9-175), Moylan (#11-215), and Jipp (#15-215). Note that Bickerton and Moylan are both juniors, and Nafshi is listed as a senior on Flo but in the 2027 class on Intermat. Also of note is that both Jipp and Moylan wrestled at 92kg (198 pounds) in the recent USA Wrestling tournament.
For comparison sake he is our top ranked wrestler coming in this summer. Other top ranked recruits in the Flo rankings include Bickerton (#6-113), Sibomana (#10-120), Kelly (#7-175), Shafri (#9-175), Moylan (#11-215), and Jipp (#15-215). Note that Bickerton and Moylan are both juniors, and Nafshi is listed as a senior on Flo but in the 2027 class on Intermat. Also of note is that both Jipp and Moylan wrestled at 92kg (198 pounds) in the recent USA Wrestling tournament.
So I went back and watched a McCrone match that came across my YouTube feed and saw him wrestling a familiar for in VT's Ventresca. From this and the Lilledahl match I think against the top level guys we are going to be frustrated by his inability to dictate the action from neutral, but going to love how dangerous he is from top and in scrambles. I also love that he seems capable of actually riding people for a whole period and dominating the match on top. He seems like he could beat anyone if he can get the right opportunity. Here is the match for reference
Nebraska added Echemendia yesterday as well as HWT (and formerly 197) Lucas Cochran who has been buried behind Mirasola, Kerkvliet, Barr, at PSU. Not sure if they (or anyone) will be able to compete with PSU but Huskers definitely look strong after adding those two and Robinson to Taylor, Minto, Van Dee, and others.
Foca, UNC assistant coach, beat Ramos, former UNC wrestler and dook assistant coach, in the Pan Am games. Both work out with the THWC.
THWC brought back 2 bronze medals and a silver from Pan Am games. Docs with the silver, while Ramos and Hanna took bronze.
That’s awesome! Didn’t expect it. No slouches in that tournament.
