Llamas takes down ranked opponent in final match

North Carolina wrestler Daniel Llamas got the final shove — and the upset.

In the ACC/Big Ten Clash, Llamas lost two of three matches but won a spirited battle against No. 8-ranked Patrick Bond of Illinois.

“I had always wanted to wrestle the guy, because he actually won my national tournament when I was a senior and he was a junior in high school,” Llamas said.

Since high school Bond and Llamas hadn’t been in the same weight class.

But on Saturday, Llamas and Bond both weighed in at 197-pounds — Bond, as No. 8 in the country. Llamas, as North Carolina’s backup.

 Llamas admitted he was nervous after losing his previous two matches. And it showed as the match progressed slowly into the third period, with the score only 1-0 in favor of Bond.

“Going into the third period, seeing I was only down 1-0, that’s when I knew that I was in the match and that I should win it,” Llamas said.

The two wrestlers moved around the mat as the period began, continuously locking up, shooting and trying to gain position.

Then, in a split second, the crowd rose to its feet, and all that could be seen were two legs suspended upside down.

They were Bond’s legs.

Llamas had thrown Bond over his shoulder in a move called the “lateral drop,” and Bond was on his back.

The momentum of the takedown put both wrestlers near the out-of-bounds line, and they were soon ruled out. But Llamas’s aggressive move created a palpable level of intensity.

That intensity peaked late in the third period.

When Llamas and Bond were out-of-bounds, Bond shoved Llamas in the back, to which Llamas turned around and, while yelling at Bond, shoved him back.

“(Assistant) coach A.J. Grant instills mental toughness in us a lot,” Llamas said. “You don’t want to let the guy get the last shove in, because it’s more of a mental thing. You want him to know you aren’t going to back down.”

Llamas didn’t back down. Up 3-2 in the last minute, Llamas kept Bond from scoring and took him down for two more points to win 5-2.

“Daniel is filling in for (Dennis) Drury, and for a kid who is subbing to come in and beat a ranked kid is pretty amazing,” UNC coach C.D. Mock said.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.