2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)
Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
#35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
#34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
#33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell)
#32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton)
#31 - Max Dean (Penn State)
#30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
#29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska)
#28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
#27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
#26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)
#25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly)
#24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
#23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
#22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
#21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)
#20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State)
#19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan)
#18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
#17 - Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
#16 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
#15 - Mason Parris (Michigan)
#14 - Shane Griffith (Stanford)
#13 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State)
#12 - Carter Starocci (Penn State)
#11 - Jaydin Eierman (Iowa)
#10 - Myles Amine (Michigan)
#9 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
#8 - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
Next up is…
#7 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)
Weight: 157 lbs
Year: Senior
Career Record: 74-7
Hometown: Lockport, Illinois
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA Champ, 2x ACC Champion, 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2019 NCAA 3rd Place
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #2 at 157 lbs
Four Illinois state titles made Austin O'Connor one of the top recruits in the Class of 2017 and saw him become the highest-ranked signee for North Carolina in at least a decade. O'Connor redshirted during his initial season in Chapel Hill and responded with a 20-3 season competing unattached. His best showing came at the Midlands, where he finished seventh. At the Midlands, O'Connor's biggest win came over Minnesota's Steve Bleise, who made the NCAA Round of 12 in the previous season. O'Connor finished the season with 11 straight wins, including the Appalachian Open and the Warrior Winter Open.
In his first event officially competing for UNC, O'Connor finished third in a loaded weight class at the Hokie Open. O'Connor lost to Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 3-2, but added wins over Josh Heil (Campbell) and Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State).
A month later, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, O'Connor had his breakout tournament. He lost to Micah Jordan (Ohio State), but stormed back with wins over Heil, Brock Zacherl (Clarion), Jared Prince (Navy) and Finesilver to take third.
Post Vegas, O'Connor picked up two wins over past All-Americans by downing Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) and Justin Oliver (NC State). The only losses during that period came at the hands of Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) and Finesilver.
The ACC was loaded at 149 lbs and O'Connor had an imposing road at the conference meet. He notched another win over Oliver before, yet another, contest against Finesilver. This time it was all Finesilver, who prevailed with a 5-1 win. That runner-up finish yielded the sixth seed for O'Connor at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
In Pittsburgh, O'Connor grinded out wins over Tejon Anthony (George Mason) and Heil to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The quarters saw the conference rivals O'Connor and Finesilver clash again. This time the freshman used a takedown in sudden victory to move into the semifinals. In the semis, O'Connor suffered his second lost of the bout of the year to Jordan, 7-3.
O'Connor bounced back in style to finish in third place by downing Brock Mauller (Missouri) 4-3 and Finesilver, 7-5. That finish was the highest by a Tar Heel wrestler since Justin Harty made the NCAA finals in 1996. He also ended the year with a 3-3 record versus Finesilver.
O'Connor started the year ranked #1 in the country at 149 lbs, but he had a minor injury that sidelined him for the first month-plus in the 2019-20 season. His year got off to a good start with three falls and five bonus-point wins at the Cleveland State Open.
Two weeks later, O'Connor made the finals of the Midlands, but came up short against Pat Lugo (Iowa), 8-4. Before the Lugo match, O'Connor downed Lugo's teammates Vince Turk and Jaren Glosser.
That loss to Lugo proved to be his only one of the year. O'Connor was able to rack up bonus points in half of his 12 regular-season wins post-Midlands.
At the ACC Championships, O'Connor weathered the storm from a dangerous Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) to claim his first ACC title, 11-7. That win, coupled with a 25-1 record, was good enough for second place at the 2020 NCAA Championships.
O'Connor did not get to pursue his first NCAA title since the tournament was eventually canceled at the onset of the Covid pandemic. Other notables on O'Connor's half of the bracket included #3 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), #6 Kolodzik, #7 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), and #10 Kanen Storr (Michigan).
The 2021 season kicked off in January and didn't see O'Connor seriously tested at all during the dual season. Of his six regular-season duals, only an 11-4 win over Andonian failed to reach bonus-point territory.
O'Connor did need to dig deep in the ACC finals as Andonian jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Not phased, O'Connor chipped away at the lead and eventually claimed his second ACC crown with a 10-8 win.
For the second consecutive year, O'Connor was awarded the second seed at the NCAA Championships. Aside from a first-round major decision, O'Connor put together a series of workman-like wins to advance through the brackets. He scored a 5-2 win over eventual All-American Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) in the quarters, before surviving a battle of attrition in tiebreakers with Brock Mauller (Missouri), 2-1 in the semifinals.
The Mauller win put O'Connor into the national finals opposite Sasso, who was was also undefeated and came in as the weight classes top seed. A takedown in the third period proved to be the deciding marker for O'Connor; however, he had to fend off a near-score in the closing second by Sasso to get his hand raised after a 3-2 win.
The NCAA title for O'Connor made him the first Tar Heel wrestler to win a national title since TJ Jaworsky did so for the third time in 1995.
Strengths: O'Connor is someone whose offense has evolved and grown during his time in Chapel Hill. He is a strong handfighter and stout defensively with heavy hips and excellent balance. Offensively, O'Connor has a good double leg and is dangerous from a front headlock. Against an opponent like Andonian, he was able to counter and even score with upperbody techniques. On the mat, O'Connor is a strong rider and can add to his score with tilts, as he often ties up his opponents wrists.
2021-22 Outlook: O'Connor has moved up to a new weight class in 2021-22. Being an unbeaten national champion, you have to make the Tar Heel one of the favorites; however, the incumbent at the weight, David Carr (Iowa State), also navigated through the 2021 campaign without a loss. For now, he'll have to settle for the #2 ranking.
2021 NCAA champion Austin O'Connor (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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