STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Junior Spencer Nadolsky placed first in the heavyweight division, and four other Tar Heels claimed top-four finishes to lead the University of North Carolina wrestling team Sunday at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Open. Junior David Dashiell (197) took second, redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez (141) and sophomore Justin Dobies (184) both placed third and junior Drew Forshey (125) finished fourth.
Nadolsky went 5-0 on the day to run his season record to 19-2 and claim his first individual title at Carolina. The Holland, Mich., native opened with a pin of Paul Burser of Edinboro in 5:31 and followed with a 6-0 decision over Jeff Barker of Buffalo in the second round. Nadolsky then posted an 11-0 major decision over Joe Farina of Penn State and a 3-2 win over Virginia Tech’s Mike Faust in the semifinals. Nadolsky then followed with his second pin of the day in the final, a defeat of Navy’s Ed Prendergast in 2:35. He leads the Tar Heels with nine pins on the season.
Dashiell opened with four straight wins to reach the 197 final, where he fell to Lehigh’s Matt Cassidy, 3-1 in overtime. He posted victories over Steve Funk of Millersville (8-1), Tyler Moyer of Navy (6-1), Todd Wisman of Army (6-1) and Jeff Clemens of Michigan State (6-1) in the semifinal. Dashiell is now 14-3 this season and has posted top-five finishes in all three of the Tar Heels’ tournaments.
Ramirez, now 16-4 on the year, placed third at 125 for his third straight top-four finish. He opened with three consecutive wins and rebounded from a semifinal loss to Michigan State’s Andy Simmons with a 6-4 decision over Alex Krem of Maryland in the consolation final.
Dobies went 5-1 to place third at 184 to push his season record to 8-4. He won four straight to open the tournament and logged a 3-2 win over Navy’s Chris Pogue in the third-place bout.
One of three Tar Heels wrestling at 125, Forshey was 4-2 with one win via fall on the day to take fourth. He is now 10-3 this season. Junior Bobby Shaw also reached the seventh-place bout at 125, while freshman Dennis Drury, who was wrestling unattached, took sixth at 197 with a 3-2 record in the tourney.
Following a break for final exams, the Tar Heels return to the mat Dec. 18 at the Clarion Duals. Carolina, 3-0 in duals, will face Clarion, Drexel and Kent State in the event.
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