BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University wrestling's Kyle Blevins was named the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament Outstanding Wrestler after routing SoCon Wrestler of the Year Turtogtokh Luvsandorj in the finals of the 165 match on Saturday afternoon in the Holmes Convocation Center.

After starting off the finals of the 141 match with a takedown with a minute left in the first period, junior Mike Kessler was not able to secure his first SoCon title. Chattanooga's Cody Cleveland escaped to open the second period and tied things up again with another escape at 2-2. Cleveland recorded a takedown to go ahead 4-2, but Kessler countered with an escape with 1:03 left in the match. Down 7-5 with 12 seconds left in the match, Cleveland closed the door on Kessler with a takedown, going up 9-5, to earn his third SoCon title. Kessler is now 18-17 with his 2-1 record in the tournament.

Blevins avenged an earlier loss to Luvsandorj by defeating him 4-3 on an escape in the 165-pound bout. The match was scoreless at the end of the first period, but Blevins tallied the match's first point on an escape. Luvsandorj countered with a takedown at the edge of the mat to go up 2-1. Luvsandorj took that lead into the final stanza, but Blevins recorded a takedown with 58 seconds to go ahead 3-2. Luvsandorj escaped again for a tie at 3-3 with 21 seconds left in the match. Neither wrestler could notch any points in the first extra period, requiring another one. Blevins started off the extra round in the top position, but he escaped and held on in the final seconds to earn his first SoCon title. Blevins now has a 36-7 overall record and a career record of 82-36, making him the latest Mountaineer to become a member of the ASU career wins list. His 36 wins also moves him into a tie for second place with Mark Fee (2002-03) for most wins in a season at Appalachian.

At 184, redshirt junior Austin Trotman became the 16th Mountaineer to win back-to-back SoCon crowns with his 6-4 victory over Jason McCroskey from UTC. McCroskey scratched the board first with an escape at 1:33 and combined that with a takedown to go ahead 3-0. Trotman then escaped to get a point in his column to cut the lead to 3-1. Trotman got a takedown with 19 seconds left in the second to knot the match up at 3-3. Trotman escaped to gain an one-point advantage at 4-3 and a third-period takedown gave Trotman the 6-3 decision over McCroskey. Trotman is now the second Appalachian wrestler to garner 30 plus wins this season, moving his overall record to 31-7. Trotman, already a member of the Mountaineer career wins list, tacked on two more victories to propel his career mark to 89-29.

Sophomores Tony Gravely, Brett Boston and Jon Hartley lost their bouts at 125,133 and 197, respectively.

Junior Savva Kostis pinned Scott Ray (Davidson), but fell to Dean Pavlou (UTC), 9-7 in overtime. Kostis defeated Michael Long (VMI) in the consolation bracket, 13-2 and will beat Derek Royster (The Citadel), 9-8, for third place.

In 157, sophomore John Blakely received a first-round bye was defeated 8-4 by The Citadel's Pierre Frazile. Blakely headed into the consolation bracket where he beat Michael Burnett (VMI), 7-1 to head into the third place match. Blakely fell to Justin Rice from UNCG, 11-4 to finish in fourth.

At 174, junior Carter Downs beat Matthew Brock (CMI) 4-2, but fell to Brandon Wright (UTC), 13-4, sending himself to the consolation bracket. Downs beat Chris Cirenza (Davidson), 12-1 and met Brock again for third place where Downs edged Brock, 2-0.

Freshman Marc Tyson  represented ASU in the heavyweight third-place match after falling to Josh Wine (VMI), 4-0 and beating Charlie Wolff (Davidson), 5-3. Tyson defeated Matt Lettner (UTC), 6-2 in an exciting tie breaker finish. Tyson wrestled again with a chance on the line to punch his ticket to Nationals, but fell to Peter Sturgeon (UNCG), 7-3.

UTC took the team title with a total of 98 points. UNCG was awarded runner-up with 87.5 points and ASU took third with 57.5 points. The Citadel (44.5), VMI (27) and Davidson (18) rounded out the final three positions.

The NCAA Tournament is set for March 17-19 in Philadelphia, Pa. While Blevins and Trotman have already punched their tickets to Philadelphia with wins, the Mountaineers will wait to see if anyone else gets the nod the join them.

Mountaineers in the 2011 SoCon Championships
125: Richard Alarcon (The Citadel) dec. Tony Gravely (ASU), 8-2
125: Johnathan Pope (VMI) MD Tony Gravely (ASU), 11-1

133: Alex Radsky (DAV) MD Brett Boston (ASU), 8-0
133: Tyler Sim (The Citadel) dec. Brett Boston (ASU), 12-6

141: Mike Kessler (ASU) dec. Michael Crowley (UNCG), 2-0
141: Mike Kessler (ASU) dec. Vitaly Radsky (DAV), 6-2
141: Cody Cleveland (UTC) dec. Mike Kessler (ASU), 9-5

149: Savva Kostis (ASU) fall Scott Ray (DAV), 2:20
149: Dean Pavlou (UTC) dec. Savva Kostis (ASU), 9-7 (SV1)
149: Savva Kostis (ASU) MD Michael Long (VMI), 13-2
149: Savva Kostis (ASU) dec. Derek Royster (The Citadel), 9-8

157: Pierre Frazile (The Citadel) dec. John Blakely (ASU), 8-4
157: John Blakely (ASU) dec. Michael Burnett (VMI), 7-1
157: Justin Rice (UNCG) dec. John Blakely (ASU), 11-4

165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) dec. Dan Waddell (UTC), 2-1
165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) dec. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel), 4-3 (OT)

174: Carter Downs (ASU) dec. Matthew Brock (VMI), 4-2
174: Brandon Wright (UTC) MD Carter Downs (ASU), 13-4
174: Carter Downs (ASU) MD Chris Cirenza (DAV), 12-1
174: Carter Downs (ASU) dec. Matthew Brock (VMI), 2-0

184: Austin Trotman (ASU) tech. fall Elijah Adams (UNCG), 28-10
184: Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Jason McCroskey (UTC), 6-4

197: Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI) dec. Jon Hartley (ASU), 9-5
197: Kelby Smith (The Citadel) dec. Jon Hartley (ASU), 10-3

285: Marc Tyson (ASU) dec. Luke Johnson (The Citadel), 3-1
285: Josh Wine (VMI) dec. Marc Tyson (ASU), 4-0
285: Marc Tyson (ASU) dec. Charlie Wolff (DAV), 5-3
285: Marc Tyson (ASU) dec. Matt Lettner (UTC), 6-2 (OT)
285: Peter Sturgeon (UNCG) dec. Marc Tyson (ASU), 7-3