BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Unbeaten through the first month of the 2021-22 season, Campbell's
Josh Heil has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Month for November.
Named
SoCon Wrestler of the Week twice in the first three weeks of the season, Heil is now 4-0, with all four wins coming against nationally ranked opponents. The Brunswick, Ohio native is currently ranked No. 14 in the country at 149 pounds (
InterMat).
Heil was named the conference's wrestler of the week for the first time this season on November 11 after going 2-0 on opening weekend with wins over Lehigh's Jimmy Hoffman and Oregon State's Corey Crooks.
A four-time NCAA qualifier, Heil made his season debut with a 3-2 decision over the 29th-ranked Hoffman, helping the Camels top the 16th-ranked
Mountain Hawks 22-11. The Camels' win over Lehigh marked the first ever for a SoCon program over the Mountain Hawks. Heil followed up by blanking Crooks, ranked No. 25 at 149 pounds.
A graduate student, Heil was named SoCon Wrestler of the Week for the second time on November 24, taking decisions on back to back days, including a 2-1 victory over North Carolina's No. 6 Zach Sherman, as well as a 4-2 decision over Virginia's No. 29 Jarod Verkleeren.
Against UVA, Heil gave Campbell a 9-3 lead in the dual with the decision over Verkleeren, one of two ranked matchups on the day, both won by Camels, helping CU down the
Cavaliers 21-15, their first over an ACC foe since topping Duke in 2013.
In the match of the night against 14th-ranked UNC, a battle of two ranked wrestlers at 149 pounds, Heil, ranked No. 16, struck first with a second period escape point. Sherman evened it with an escape of his own to start the third frame, 1-1, where the score remained through regulation and all the way to the second sudden victory round, with Heil working his way to a win with a Sherman violation, 2-1.
This is Heil's third career SoCon Wrestler of the Month honor, also earning the nod in November and December of 2019.
Next up for the Camels will be a tri-meet at Gardner-Webb on December 19. CU begins its Southern Conference slate with the Runnin' Bulldogs, also taking on Ohio in Boiling Springs, N.C.
