Three Tar Heels Still Alive at NCAA Championships
Dashiell, Forshey and Sola continue competition Friday.
Drew Forshey won his first round match at the NCAA Championships Thursday.

Drew Forshey won his first round match at the NCAA Championships Thursday.

March 17, 2005

ST. LOUIS - Sophomores Drew Forshey and David Dashiell each posted first-round victories, and junior All-America Evan Sola dropped his first bout but scored a consolation round pin to remain alive at the 2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Thursday at the Savvis Center. Junior Garrett Atkinson went 1-2 at 165 pounds but was eliminated on day one of the three-day competition.

Forshey opened at 125 pounds with an 11-5 decision over Wisconsin's Collin Cudd before facing third-seeded Kyle Ott of Illinois in the second round. Ott posted an 8-5 win over Forshey, sending him into the consolation bracket. Forshey is now 19-8 on the season heading into his meeting with Brandon Strong of Air Force to open Friday.

Wrestling at 197 pounds, Dashiell also won his first bout an 8-2 decision over Duquesne's Jared Ricotta. Dashiell scored a pair of early takedowns and cruised to his first victory in two trips to nationals. He dropped his second round match to No. 1 seed Jon Trange of Lehigh by an 11-3 major decision. Dashiell is now 24-15 on the season.

Seeded 11th at 133 pounds, Sola was pinned for the first time this season in the first round by Cal Poly's Chad Mendes in 1:30. The loss was Sola's first since late December and snapped a 19-match unbeaten streak. However, the two-time ACC champion responded in the consolation bracket with his team-best 11th pin of the year over Charles Griffin of Hofstra in 3:32. Sola is now 32-4 heading into Friday's competition, which he will open against David Hoffman of Virginia Tech. Sola is 2-1 versus Hoffman this season, including a 6-4 win in the ACC title match.

 

 

Atkinson, the ACC champion at 165 pounds, was eliminated Thursday with a 1-2 record. After dropping a 7-3 decision to Oregon State's Matt Ellis in the opening round, Atkinson stayed alive with a 4-2 decision over Johnny Galloway of Northern Illinois in the consolation bracket. The match was tied late until Atkinson secured the win with a takedown in the final minute of the third period. He was then eliminated in the second round of the consolation bracket with a 6-2 loss to Wyoming's Gary Dack. Atkinson finishes the season with an 18-22 overall record.

Drew Forshey - 125 POUNDS
Round One: Forshey Dec Collin Cudd (Wisconsin), 11-5
Round Two: #3 Kyle Ott (Illinois) Dec Forshey, 8-5

Evan Sola - 133 POUNDS
Round One: Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) Fall Sola, 1:30
Consolation Round Two: Sola Fall Charles Griffin (Hofstra), 3:32

Garrett Atkinson - 165 POUNDS
Round One: Matt Ellis (Oregon State) Dec Atkinson, 7-3
Consolation Round One: Atkinson Dec Johnny Galloway (N. Illinois), 4-2
Consolation Round Two: Gary Dack (Wyoming) Dec Atkinson, 6-2

David Dashiell - 197 POUNDS
Round One: Dashiell Dec Jared Ricotta (Duquesne), 8-2
Round Two: #1 Jon Trange (Lehigh) MD Dashiell, 11-3