GREENSBORO, N.C.- Appalachian State University wrestling advanced three to the final day of the Southern Scuffle after 11 hours of competition hosted by UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.
Junior Kyle Blevins had an unblemished day on the mat as he tied junior Mike Kessler for a team-high three wins.
In Blevins' first match of the long day at 165, Blevins earned a 3-1 decision over Indiana's Ryan Leblanc. Blevins, who was one of two Mountaineers to earn seeds during the seeding process, then took care of Bryce Garrison of VMI, 5-1. In Blevins' final match of the day, the #5-seed defeated Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg), 7-5, in a tight contest. Blevins advances to face Dan Yates of Michigan tomorrow.
Kessler lost his first match in the 141-pound weight class to Augustus Sako of Virginia, 12-9, sending him into the consolation round, but rallied to post three straight victories over Dustin Haislip of Navy, 7-2, Zachary Bintliff (Princeton), 8-4, before earning the technical fall over VMI's Ryan Goodsell, 19-3. Kessler was stopped by Vicente Varela (Hofstra), the #8 seed, 7-1 to end his run in the tournament.
Junior Savva Kostis also had a solid day on the mat for the Black and Gold at 149. Kostis recorded a major decision in his first match of the day over Princeton's Brandon Rolnick, 12-4. The tables were turned on Kostis as he lost his only match of the day against Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro) by major decision, 12-3. Kostis tallied a 7-3 decision over Avery Garner from Utah Valley and earned a bye in the consolation portion of the tournament, setting up a bout against Scott Clymer of Liberty for tomorrow.
Senior Dylan Temple wrestled unattached at 197 and got his first action of the season. Temple notched a major decision over Hofstra's Matt Loew, 13-1 and held on to earn a 2-0 decision over Brian Self (Duke). Temple ran into Cayle Byers of George Mason and was halted, 12-7. Temple advances to face Charles Johnson of Oregon State tomorrow.
Tickets for the event are still available and are $15 for adults and $5 for students in grades K-12, while children under the age of five are free.
After the Southern Scuffle, the Mountaineers return to action on January 4th, as they host Virginia Tech and Campbell in Varsity Gym, with matches starting at 4 p.m.
