With less than a minute left in his match against N.C. State, North Carolina sophomore Nathan Kraisser had just gotten an escape to extend his lead to five points. With the match basically in hand, Kraisser could’ve coasted to victory, but UNC trailed N.C. State 16-6 in team points, and even though UNC eventually lost 19-16, coasting wouldn’t cut it.
Kraisser wanted the major decision, he wanted to put his team in a better position to win with three matches left in the dual. So he didn’t coast, instead he took his opponent down. He now led 9-2, but in order to get the major decision he would need to extend his lead to at least eight points. The clock held just 10 seconds when the takedown points were awarded, meaning that there was a slim chance of earning a near fall and getting the major decision. As it turned out, 10 seconds was just enough.
“On the takedown, I fell into a good position to get a quick two, so I took it,” Kraisser said.
Kraisser locked in his move and flipped his opponent over, exposing his back to the mat and earning the two near-fall points he needed to seal the major decision, eliciting a thunderous response from the Tar Heel bench.
“I’m gonna wrestle every single minute of the match,” Kraisser said. “I’m not gonna coast at any time, and that’s what allowed me to get the two at the end.”
The N.C. State match follows another big win from Kraisser, a pin against Navy that brought him out of a bit of a sophomore slump. The momentum and focus was evident in Kraisser’s face when he stepped on the mat, and even more evident in the final 10 seconds of his major decision.
“I got my confidence back,” Kraisser said. “I’m letting the match develop a little more, and that’s helping me out a lot.”
UNC junior Evan Henderson, who won his match against the Wolfpack 7-0, said that when Kraisser wrestles to his true capability, those kind of results are expected.
“Good to see that Nathan back that we saw last year and parts of this year,” Henderson said.
