BOONE, N.C. — After taking a break to honor the Appalachian State wrestling alums in attendance, the Mountaineers put on even more of a show to maintain their perfect Southern Conference record.
App State stayed in the championship hunt with a 30-9 home victory against SIU-Edwardsville on Sunday in the annual Old Timers Match at Varsity Gym.
The Mountaineers (5-3, 3-0 SoCon) took a 15-3 lead into the intermission, when the alums were recognized, and they moved ahead 27-3 thanks to back-to-back pins from 197-pound junior
Randall Diabe (in overtime) and sophomore heavyweight
Cary Miller.
"I'm really excited for our 197-pounder — Randall really just wrestled a hard, focused match," App State coach
JohnMark Bentley said. "There were a couple instances when he could have lost focus, and he didn't. He kept attacking and ultimately got a pin in overtime by continuing to wrestle.
"I thought that was a big step for him mentally, and it was a big boost for our team coming out of the break."
The Mountaineers return to action Thursday with a 7 p.m. dual meet at Campbell's Gore Arena. App State, Chattanooga (4-0) and Campbell (1-0) still have unblemished SoCon records.
Appalachian won six of the first seven matches Sunday, starting with a 6-4 decision via sudden victory by
Gavin Londoff at 149 pounds. He executed a takedown of Tyshawn Williams only 22 seconds into their extra period.
Angel Najar posted a 13-6 decision against Karsten Van Velsor at 157 pounds, and App State moved ahead 12-3 thanks to
Forrest Przybysz's win by forfeit at 174 pounds. The lead increased to 15-3 following a 6-5 decision by
Alan Clothier, who broke the final tie with a quick escape to open the third period against Bryce Shewan at 184 pounds.
Diabe led 1-0 entering the third period against Christian Dulaney, who brought a 14-7 record to Boone. Dulaney tied the match with a third-period escape, and 16 seconds were left in the first sudden-victory period when Diabe picked up the win by fall.
"I saw an opening," Diabe said. "He kept stopping my shots, but I knew if I kept going after him, I was going to score on one of them. I kept going and kept pushing and got what I wanted."
Miller needed only 2:01 to record his pin against Tommy Helton, and the Mountaineers closed the match with an 8-4 decision from
Irvin Enriquez in his victory against Dakota Leach at 141 pounds.
With redshirt freshman
Thomas Flitz (165), true freshman
De'Andre Swinson-Barr (125) and redshirt freshman
Codi Russell (133) also in the App State lineup, SIU-Edwardsville (3-12, 1-2) posted its three wins by a combined five points.
"I think this team is growing," Bentley said. "At 125 and 133, we're starting to turn the corner, and we're getting better."
App State 30, SIU-Edwardsville 9
149:
Gavin Londoff (APP) def. Tyshawn Williams (SIUE), 6-4 dec. (SV) (3-0)
157:
Angel Najar (APP) def. Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE), 13-6 dec. (6-0)
165: Nate Higgins (SIUE) def.
Thomas Flitz (APP), 7-5 dec. (6-3)
174:
Forrest Przybysz (APP) won by forfeit, (12-3)
184:
Alan Clothier (APP) def. Bryce Shewan (SIUE), 6-5 dec. (15-3)
197:
Randall Diabe (APP) def. Christian Dulaney (SIUE), fall, 7:44 (21-3)
HWT:
Cary Miller (APP) def. Tommy Helton (SIUE), fall, 2:01 (27-3)
125: Zac Gentzler (SIUE) def.
De'Andre Swinson-Barr (APP), 3-1 dec. (27-6)
133: John Muldoon (SIUE) def.
Codi Russell (APP), 6-5 dec. (27-9)
141:
Irvin Enriquez (APP) def. Dakota Leach (SIUE), 8-4 dec. (30-9)
