North Carolina wrestling heads in-state this weekend for the Mountaineer Invitational, with App State hosting the event Sunday in Boone.
The Tar Heels are coming off a strong showing at the Southeast Open on Nov. 1, where Lincoln Jipp, Nadav Nafshi and Elias Navida all won their weight classes and helped UNC finish with seven podium results. Nafshi and Jipp, both freshmen, combined for 10 wins and six bonus-point victories while taking titles at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. Navida, a junior at 141, won three straight decisions to claim his bracket.
UNC also got podium finishes from Cameron Stinson Jr., who was sixth at 125; Marco Tocci, who placed fourth at 133; Nolan O’Boyle, who finished sixth at 184; and Mikey Calcagno, who was runner-up at 197.
The Mountaineer Invitational comes in the middle of a roster reset for Carolina. The program is in its fourth year under Rob Koll and added nine new faces this season, including transfers Christian Hansen from Cornell and Brendan McCrone from Ohio State. The 2026 recruiting class brought in seven freshmen: Cristian Alvarez (285), Ronin Gault (174), Lincoln Jipp (197), Brody Kelly (184), Lukas Littleton Mascaro (133), Nadav Nafshi (174) and Dunia Sibomana (125).
Last season gave the Tar Heels plenty to build on. Carolina opened 6-0 in duals, its best start since 2005-06 and only the fifth time in school history it won its first six duals.
The Tar Heels also beat No. 12 Northern Iowa on the road, their highest-ranked road win in nearly a decade.
Individually, Bryce Hepner won the 165-pound title at the 2026 ACC Championships, giving Carolina its first ACC champion of the Koll era and its first 165-pound ACC champ since 2009. UNC then sent six wrestlers to the 2026 NCAA Championships in Cleveland, including four freshmen - the most freshman qualifiers in program history. Hepner capped that run with All-America honors and a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds, becoming UNC’s first 165-pound All-America since 2015.
Carolina enters the weekend with eight wrestlers in the latest InterMat rankings. Brendan McCrone is No. 9 at 125, Matthew Botello No. 11 at 133, Luke Simcox No. 12 at 141, Laird Root No. 25 at 157, Joshua Ogunsanya No. 16 at 174, Christian Hansen No. 13 at 184 and Robert Platt No. 28 at 197. As a team, the Tar Heels sit No. 16 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
UNC’s lineup for the invite includes McCrone at 125; Botello and Derek Guanajuato at 133; Simcox and Navida at 141; Nate Askew at 149; Root at 157; Joey Showalter at 165; Collin Carrigan and Nafshi at 174; O’Boyle and Aidan Schlett at 184; Calcagno and Jipp at 197; and Platt at 285.
In the open division, Dunia Sibomana will wrestle at 125, Tocci at 133 and Omaury Alvarez at 165.
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