BOONE, N.C. — At 2-0 in the Southern Conference, Appalachian State Wrestling has a head start on the other championship contenders.
The Mountaineers have hit a key leg of the league race, starting Sunday with a 3 p.m. home dual meet against Campbell in Varsity Gym. Tickets at $7 (adult) and $3 (youth) can be purchased by
clicking HERE.
With Sunday also being the annual Old Timers Match as well as Heroes Day, a $30 Family Four Pack will be available with four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks.
App State (4-5, 2-0) and Campbell (2-0, 0-0) were voted first and second, respectively, in the preseason coaches poll for 2018-19.
Coached by
JohnMark Bentley, the Mountaineers secured an outright SoCon regular season title last year with help from an 18-12 road victory against Campbell, which finished third, and an 18-16 road victory against Chattanooga, which took second. Two seasons ago, App State went 7-0 in the league and Campbell was 6-1, with the Mountaineers prevailing 24-13 in Boone.
Campbell and Chattanooga both visit Varsity Gym over the next three weekends, and Campbell wrestles at Chattanooga on Feb. 10. The results of those three duals will go a long way toward determining the 2019 champion.
App State has posted a 39-10 win against Gardner-Webb and a 43-6 win at VMI to reach 2-0 in the league. The victory in Virginia included two pins, four technical falls and two major decisions for the Mountaineers thanks to 37 takedowns and seven four-point near falls.
With its 10 primary starters combining for 22 pins against Division I competition (counting both duals and tournaments), Appalachian is tied for seventh place nationally.
Cary Miller (heavyweight) has accounted for seven of those D1 falls to rank just outside the top 10 nationally, while
Irvin Enriquez (141 pounds) has four and
Angel Najar (157 pounds) has joined
Matt Zovistoski (149 pounds) at three apiece.
Randall Diabe (197 pounds) has one fall but six major decisions as part of an 18-5 overall record that has helped him earn a national ranking of No. 18 in his weight class.
Campbell has a trio of top-20 wrestlers in No. 8 Josh Heil (15-7 at 149 pounds), No. 15 Noah Gonser (13-7 at 133 pounds) and No. 18 Andrew Morgan (19-6 at 174 pounds). The Camels' 2-0 record includes one common opponent, as they won 19-13 against an Ohio team that pulled out a 25-16 victory in Boone.
PROBABLE MATCHUPS
125:
De'Andre Swinson-Barr (APP) vs. Korbin Meink (CU)
133:
Codi Russell (APP) vs. #15 Noah Gonser (CU)
141:
Irvin Enriquez (APP) vs. Nathan Boston (CU)
149:
Matt Zovistoski (APP) vs. #8 Josh Heil (CU)
157:
Angel Najar (APP) Matthew Dallara (CU)
165:
Michael Elliott (APP) vs. Austin Murphy (CU)
174:
Thomas Flitz or
Joe Accousti (APP) vs. #18 Andrew Morgan (CU)
184:
Alan Clothier (APP) vs. Chris Kober (CUO
197:
Randall Diabe (APP) vs. Austin McNeill (CU)
HWT:
Cary Miller (APP) vs. Odgerel Batkhishig (CU)
