As has become a summer tradition, appstatesports.com is counting down Appalachian State University athletics' 30 most memorable games, matches and meets from the 2014-15 academic year. This year's countdown begins on Monday, July 6 and will continue until Tuesday, August 4, the opening day of Appalachian State football's fall camp.
Be sure to check appstatesports.com each day to relive all of the Mountaineers' most lasting memories of an exciting and successful 2014-15.
Longo, Dejournette Take Home First Place
March 7, 2015
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Appalachian State University wrestling saw six Mountaineers place at the 2015 Arby's Southern Conference Championship on Saturday in Kimmel Arena. Appalachian had five wrestlers in the finals.
The Mountaineers finished second in team points, only behind Chattanooga which claimed its fifth-straight SoCon tournament crown.
Michael Longo and Denzel Dejournette won their respective weight classes, punching their tickets to the NCAA tournament. Both Longo and Dejournette won three matches en route to their titles.
Longo earned a No. 3 seed in the 141-pound bracket after going 15-10 in the regular season. The California native started his day off with a technical fall over Gardner-Webb's Ryan hull. In the semi-final, Longo shut out Ty Buckiso of The Citadel, 8-0. The true-freshman handled UTC's Mike Pongracz 7-4 in the final, booking a spot in the national tournament.
Tabbed as a No. 3 seed despite earning an all-conference selection, Dejournette defeated SIUE's Chris Johnson 2-0 in the opening round. The Winston-Salem native then earned a narrow 3-2 victory over Jared Johnson of Chattanooga. In the final, Dejournette wrestled The Citadel's Joe Bexley, winning 1-0.
Vito Pasone at 133-pounds, Zack Strickland at 157-pounds, and Forrest Przybysz at 174-pounds all finished second after being defeated in their finals matchup.
Pasone defeated Dakota Leach (SIUE) and Tyler Ziegler (GWU) before falling to four-time SoCon Champ Nick Soto. Strickland had wins over Sam Paulay (VMI) and Austin Sams (UTC), but dropped a 6-1 decision to Aaron Walker (Citadel) in the final. Przybysz topped Jack Duane (Citadel) and Brent Stein (GWU) before being edged 6-5 by Sean Mappes (UTC) in the final.
Freshman of the Year Nick Kee dropped his first match to Conner McMahon (SIUE) but then rallied with his first two pins of the year against Kenneth Radford and Austin Trott to claim third place at 165-pounds.
Dominic Parisi, Javon Johnson, and Nick Vetell all picked up one win. Parisi defeated Dalton Henderson (VMI) and finished fourth in his final SoCon Championship. Johnson topped Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE), 12-11. Vetell earned a consolation win over Jared Hemmings (Citadel)
Head Coach JohnMark Bentley was named Co-Coach of the Year along with Daniel Elliot of Gardner-Webb.
Appalachian State Athletics' Most Memorable Moments of 2014-15
No. 30: Baseball 5, ETSU 4 (May 12, 2015)
No. 29: Softball 14, Georgia State 5 (April 12, 2015)
No. 28: Women's Tennis 5, North Carolina Central 1 (February 22, 2015)
No. 27: Field Hockey 5, Pacific 4 (October 25, 2014)
No. 26: Men's Tennis 7, Georgia Southern 0 (March 17, 2015)
No. 25: Men's Basketball 74, Arkansas State 73 (January 3, 2015)
No. 24: Volleyball 3, Troy 2 (September 21, 2014)
No. 23: Women's Soccer 3, Troy 2 – 2 OT (October 10, 2014)
No. 22: Men's Soccer 1, NJIT 0 (November 13, 2014)
No. 21: Mike Longo Wins SoCon Championship at 141-weight class (March 7, 2015)
