BOONE, N.C. — Preparing for its home finale, Appalachian State's wrestling team already has clinched at least a share of another conference championship.
In early February, there's still plenty of season left.
Before wrapping up its Southern Conference schedule at The Citadel on Feb. 18 and heading into the postseason, the Mountaineers (8-3, 6-0 SoCon) will face Duke (5-5, 1-2 ACC) on Thursday for Senior Night at Varsity Gym.
Forrest Przybysz,
Taylor Jackson and
Michael Elliott will be recognized before the dual meet begins at 6:30 p.m.
"February and March is where all the best wrestling is done," Przybysz said. "This is, in my opinion, the most important part of our season right here."
Watch JohnMark Bentley appear on Takedown TV at the 15:20 mark
App State, which has won two straight duals against the Blue Devils, is ranked 28th nationally based on its vote total in this week's USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll. Led by top-five heavyweight Jacob Kasper and four Finesilver brothers, Duke has beaten Virginia, suffered a 24-19 loss to No. 9 Virginia Tech and moved forward from a 32-6 loss to No. 6 NC State.
App State is only four days removed from a dramatic 18-16 win at Chattanooga, which led 16-12 before
Randall Diabe (197 pounds) and
Cary Miller (heavyweight) capped the dual with narrow decisions. The Mountaineers also benefited from wins by the 174-pound Przybysz, who had a sudden-victory takedown, 157-pound
Angel Najar and redshirt freshman
Codi Russell, who earned six points with a pin of the reigning SoCon champion at 133 pounds.
"The morale is good, but our goals have remained the same, and the next focus is on Duke," App State head coach
JohnMark Bentley said. "That's a big match for us."
App State and Duke had three wrestlers listed in the initial coaches' panel rankings, with Przybysz at No. 15 in his weight class,
Alan Clothier (184) at No. 25 and Miller at No. 32. Duke's Kasper is No. 5, followed by Mitch Finesilver (No. 11 at 157) and Matt Finesilver (No. 27 at 174).
The four Colorado-raised Finesilver brothers in Duke's lineup feature two sets of twins, with Mitch and Zach (165) listed as redshirt juniors and Matt and Josh (133) listed as freshmen.
The Mountaineers' final home appearance is tied to the Boone-based Hunger and Health Coalition, which will be collecting food items, as fans can bring any non-perishable foods to Varsity Gym. Any store-bought, non-expired goods will be accepted, but there is a special need for peanut butter, oatmeal/rolled oats, dry beans, rice, pastas, breakfast cereals, jelly, tuna, spaghetti sauce and all canned fruits and vegetables.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Appalachian State ticket office at
828-262-2079 or by going online to the
App State Ticket Central link.
