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North Carolina produced nine Senior All-Americans at the 2025 NHSCA Nationals, leading every state and tripling its total of three from 2024. Three wrestlers finished third, and the podium stretched from 113 to 285 pounds.
The nine placers edged Pennsylvania's eight and the seven earned by both Virginia and Utah, demonstrating depth across the entire lineup.
Nine Senior All-Americans
Cooper Foster
3rd113 lbs · Avery County · Dogtown · 5–1
College: Appalachian State
The No. 5 seed defeated the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 8 seeds; his only loss was a 10–9 match against top-seeded Oumar Tounkara.
Colt Campbell
3rd170 lbs · Hickory Ridge · Combat · 6–1
College: Appalachian State
The No. 7 seed defeated the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 17 seeds before his only loss to eventual runner-up Elliott Humphries.
Everest Ouellette
3rd285 lbs · First Flight · OBX Wrestling Factory · 7–1
College: Gardner-Webb
Unseeded, Ouellette defeated the No. 2, No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds—the most seeded wins by any North Carolina senior.
Liam Hickey
4th126 lbs · Cardinal Gibbons · Raleigh Area Wrestling · 6–2
College: UNC
Hickey improved from eighth as a junior, defeated the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds and dropped a 1–0 third-place match.
Hayden Haynes
4th220 lbs · McDowell · Combat · 6–2
College: Appalachian State
After a round-of-16 disqualification, Haynes wrestled back through the consolation bracket and defeated the No. 8 seed.
Nathan McCartney
5th160 lbs · Northern Guilford · 5–2
College: Uncommitted
The No. 16 seed exceeded expectations with victories over the No. 7 and No. 9 seeds.
Jose Flores
6th220 lbs · Hough · Darkhorse · 4–3
College: —
Unseeded, Flores upset No. 5 Myron Mendez in the round of 16 and advanced to the semifinals.
Damien Couture
6th285 lbs · Hickory Ridge · Darkhorse · 3–1
College: Ohio University
The No. 6 seed reached the semifinals before medically forfeiting his final two placement matches.
Michael Vazquez
8th285 lbs · Seventy-First · 6–2
College: —
Unseeded, Vazquez highlighted his run by defeating No. 4 Sebastian Rivera.
More seniors made deep runs
- Kyle Simpson, 126: The unseeded Belmont Abbey commit finished 3–2 with wins over the No. 8 and No. 13 seeds.
- Jackson Rowling, 145: The Roanoke College commit went 3–2 and defeated the No. 9 and No. 13 seeds.
- Brock Sullivan, 182: The No. 8 seed and returning All-American finished 3–2, defeated No. 7 Nate Wade and was committed to Roanoke College.
A strengthening college pipeline
Three All-Americans were committed to Appalachian State, while Liam Hickey was headed to UNC, Everest Ouellette to Gardner-Webb and Damien Couture to Ohio University. Four of the nine placers chose in-state Division I programs.
A historic year
The nine All-Americans ranked second among North Carolina senior classes since 2005, behind only the 10 produced in 2023. The 2025 group, however, had three third-place finishers compared with one in 2023.
Across the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior divisions, North Carolina finished with 24 All-Americans—the highest combined total in state history at the time.