BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State's wrestling team closed out the run to a third straight Southern Conference regular season championship in Charleston, S.C.
The Mountaineers are returning to Charleston this weekend in hopes of securing a SoCon tournament title.
Wrestlers from the eight schools with SoCon wrestling programs will compete Saturday for championships and NCAA berths in 10 weight classes, with the action beginning at 10 a.m. in McAlister Field House and the finals scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Eight of the 10 weight classes in the Southern Conference receive one automatic NCAA bid, with two wrestlers at 184 pounds and 197 pounds also qualifying automatically, based on how the NCAA has gauged the strength of every weight class within the nation's eight conferences. The Big Ten, for instance, has been allocated 10 automatic berths in two weight classes and eight berths at 184 pounds.
With 33 wrestlers filling every bracket at the NCAA Championships in mid-March, there are also at-large spots available for the nation's best wrestlers who don't qualify automatically, and those selections are based on head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage. The heavyweight division will have four at-large entries, for example.
Coached by
JohnMark Bentley, App State had three wrestlers post unbeaten records in the team's seven SoCon dual meets this season and four more wrestlers go 6-1 in the conference.
Forrest Przybysz, a senior at 174 pounds, had a 5-0 record that included victories against second-place Chattanooga and third-place Campbell as he improved his career SoCon dual record to 22-4. He advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2016 as an at-large choice.
Randall Diabe, a junior at 197 pounds, ran the table with a 7-0 record in conference duals this year. That record included a 3-2 decision against highly ranked Scottie Boykin of Chattanooga.
Angel Najar wrestled at 157 pounds in App State's last five SoCon duals and went 5-0 with an unbeaten push that included victories against Chattanooga and Campbell.
The 6-1 marks for the Mountaineers belonged to
Alan Clothier (184 pounds),
Gavin Londoff (149 pounds),
Cary Miller (heavyweight) and
Codi Russell (133).
Clothier suffered his only loss in a 9-4 decision against Chattanooga, Londoff's only loss was a sudden-victory decision against the Mocs and Miller's only loss was a 3-2 decision against ranked Campbell heavyweight Jere Heino.
Russell's strong finish to the regular season included a pin of Chattanooga's Chris Debien, the reigning SoCon champion, and a sudden-victory decision against ranked Campbell opponent Nathan Boston.
The other App State starters set to compete in Charleston are
De'Andre Swinson-Barr (125 pounds),
Irvin Enriquez (141) and
Laken Cook (165).
Tickets for
Saturday's action will be single-session, and doors open at
9 a.m.
Prices are $15 for adults, $10 for youth (6-12) and $8 each for groups of 10 or more. As part of its partnership with Headlock on Hunger, the SoCon will offer $3 off the ticket price with the donation of a food item at the door.
2018 Schedule
9 a.m. – Doors open
10 a.m. – First-round matches
12 p.m. – Semifinals
2 p.m. – Consolation quarterfinals (consolation semifinals immediately after)
5:30 p.m. – Consolation finals
7 p.m. – Finals, true-place matches and award presentation
Seeds
125 (1 NCAA allocation)
1. Korbin Meink, Campbell
2. Zac Gentzler, SIUE
3. Alonzo Allen, Chattanooga
4. Cliff Conway, VMI
5.
De'Andre Swinson-Barr, Appalachian State
6. Michael McClelland, Davidson
7. Will Jacobs, The Citadel
8. No entry, Gardner-Webb
133 (1 NCAA allocation)
1. John Muldoon, SIUE
2.
Codi Russell, Appalachian State
3. Chris Debien, Chattanooga
4. Philip Anderson, Gardner-Webb
5. Nathan Boston, Campbell
6. Hunter Starner, VMI
7. Patrick Kearney, The Citadel
8. Zamir Ode, Davidson
141 (1 NCAA allocation)
1. Mike Pongracz, Chattanooga
2. Jonathan Ryan, Campbell
3. Douglas Gudenburr, The Citadel
4.
Irvin Enriquez, Appalachian State
5. Dakota Leach, SIUE
6. Dustin Runzo, Davidson
7. Denton Spencer, Gardner-Webb
8. Michael Hulcher, VMI
149 (1 NCAA allocation)
1.
Gavin Londoff, Appalachian State
2. Zach Barnes, Campbell
3. Tyshawn Williams, SIUE
4. Ty Buckiso, The Citadel
5. Roman Boylen, Chattanooga
6. Joby Armenta, Gardner-Webb
7. Aiden Conroy, Davidson
8. Will Lawrence, VMI
157 (1 NCAA allocation)
1.
Angel Najar, Appalachian State
2. Tyler Marinelli, Gardner-Webb
3. Austin Kraisser, Campbell
4. Jake Adcock, Chattanooga
5. Karsten Van Velsor, SIUE
6. Rian Burris, The Citadel
7. Tony Palumbo, Davidson
8. Steve Midkiff, VMI
165 (1 NCAA allocation)
1. Nate Higgins, SIUE
2. Chad Pyke, Chattanooga
3. Quentin Perez, Campbell
4. Brett Stein, Gardner-Webb
5. Blake Hohman, VMI
6.
Laken Cook, Appalachian State
7. Hunter Costa, Davidson
8. Houston Curtis, The Citadel
174 (1 NCAA allocation)
1.
Forrest Przybysz, Appalachian State
2. Justin Lampe, Chattanooga
3. Andrew Morgan, Campbell
4. Christian Maroni, Gardner-Webb
5. Bryce Shewan, SIUE
6. Cade Kiely, VMI
7. Noah Satterfield, Davidson
8. Matt McGillick, The Citadel
184 (2 NCAA allocations)
1. Bryce Carr, Chattanooga
2.
Alan Clothier, Appalachian State
3. Luke Funck, Campbell
4. Cole Graves, Gardner-Webb
5. Conor Fenn, Davidson
6. Chris Beck, VMI
7. Jake Godinez, SIUE
8. Michael Lopouchanski, The Citadel
197 (2 NCAA allocations)
1.
Randall Diabe, Appalachian State
2. Scottie Boykin, Chattanooga
3. Christian Dulaney, SIUE
4. Sawyer Root, The Citadel
5. Anthony Perrine, Gardner-Webb
6. Chris Kober, Campbell
7. Konner Pritchard, Davidson
8. Jake Koch, VMI
285 (1 NCAA allocation)
1. Jere Heino, Campbell
2.
Cary Miller, Appalachian State
3. Connor Tolley, Chattanooga
4. Michael McAleavey, The Citadel
5. Lathan Bumgarner, Gardner-Webb
6. Tommy Helton, SIUE
7. Jake Tomlinson, VMI
8. Will Cooley, Davidson
*Seeding subject to change
