Bryce Hepner secured a championship for the University of North Carolina wrestling team at the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships on March 8, leading the Tar Heels to a fourth-place team finish in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Hepner’s victory marks the first individual ACC title for a Carolina wrestler since Austin O’Connor in 2023 and the first at 165 pounds since Keegan Mueller in 2009. The graduate student won three consecutive matches, including an opening round decision over Pitt’s Jared Keslar and a semifinal win against top-seeded Will Denny of NC State. In the finals, Hepner defeated Mac Church of Virginia Tech with a score of 2-0.
The tournament also saw strong performances from Luke Simcox and Jake Dailey, who both finished as runners-up in their respective weight classes. Simcox advanced to the finals at 141 pounds after defeating Duke’s Raymond Adams by fall and edging out Ryan Jack of NC State. He narrowly lost to Stanford’s Jack Consiglio in the final match. Dailey reached the finals at 184 pounds after winning his first-round match by disqualification and defeating top-seeded Chase Kranitz of Pitt before falling to Jaden Bullock of Virginia Tech in overtime.
Collin Carrigan earned third place at 174 pounds, while six Tar Heel wrestlers—Kysen Terukina (125), Simcox (141), Laird Root (157), Hepner (165), Carrigan (174), and Dailey (184)—secured automatic bids to the upcoming NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.
As a team, North Carolina finished with 53 points behind Virginia Tech, Stanford, and NC State. Virginia Tech claimed its second consecutive ACC title with a total of 103 points.