BOONE, N.C. — The recipient of top 25 votes, Appalachian State's wrestling team will open the 2017-18 season Wednesday with its Black and Gold exhibition in Varsity Gym.
The intrasquad match, pitting assistant coach
Ryan LeBlanc's "Black" team against assistant coach
Josh Roosa's "Gold" team, begins at 6 p.m. and is free to the public.
The Mountaineers had two voting points in the first USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released Tuesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
JohnMark Bentley has a 79-55-1 record entering his ninth season as head coach, and App State returns five starters from a team that enjoyed an unbeaten run to a Southern Conference championship while posting a 13-3 overall record in 2016-17.
Matt Zovistoski, an NCAA Championships qualifier earlier this year, is joined by talented returners such as
Forrest Przybysz,
Randall Diabe,
Irvin Enriquez and
Gavin Londoff.
Cary Miller takes over at heavyweight following the departure of All-America performer
Denzel Dejournette.
Four days after the Black and Gold exhibition, the Mountaineers will begin the regular season with the Hokie Open in Roanoke, Va., on Sunday.
App State has a home schedule that includes nonconference matches against No. 8 N.C. State (Dec. 10) and Duke (Feb. 8) in Varsity Gym. Three SoCon opponents, one more nonconference opponent (Bloomsburg as part of the Mountaineer Duals with SoCon member Davidson on Nov. 11) and the Appalachian Open (Jan. 27) are also part of the home schedule.
Single-match tickets are $7 (adult) and $3 (youth), with N.C. State's visit set as a premium match with a price of $10 for adults and $3 for youth. Season tickets are available for $35 (adults) and $15 (youth).
Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Appalachian State ticket office at
828-262-2079, visiting
appstatesports.com or going to the Appalachian State athletics ticket office located at the Holmes Center. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
