BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State Wrestling dropped a Southern Conference dual meet Sunday against visiting Campbell, which pulled out a 19-17 win thanks to a victory in the final match.
App State senior
Michael Elliott's dramatic 9-5 decision in a 165-pound match that went to the Tiebreaker-1 overtime period gave the Mountaineers (4-6, 2-1) a 17-15 lead, but 18th-ranked Andrew Morgan ended the dual with a major decision at 174 pounds for the Camels (3-0, 1-0).
Appalachian, which had won 18 straight SoCon duals, took a 10-0 lead thanks to
Alan Clothier's 5-4 decision in a Tiebreaker-1 overtime period at 184 pounds, 18th-ranked
Randall Diabe's 3-1 decision that included a tiebreaking takedown with 15 seconds left in his 197-pound matchup and
Cary Miller's 11-3 major decision in the heavyweight division.
After Campbell posted four straight wins, including two in the Sudden Victory-1 period of overtime, App State cut into a 15-10 deficit thanks to
Angel Najar's 10-2 major decision at 157 pounds.
Needing bonus points to ignite an Appalachian rally, Najar delivered and used a two-point takedown with five seconds left in the second period to move ahead 5-0 against Mathew Dallara. Najar took a 7-1 lead on a takedown with 1:12 left, conceded an escape and recorded another takedown with 27 seconds left. With a minute-plus advantage in riding time, he got four points in the team standings with an eight-point final margin.
Elliott posted a takedown just seven seconds into his match against Austin Murphy, who used a third-period takedown to officially move ahead 5-3. Elliott essentially tied the match on an escape with 1:09 left because he still had a 1:08 advantage in riding time at that point.
After a scoreless Sudden Victory-1 period, Elliott started the first round of the Tiebreaker-1 period in the down position and executed an acrobatic reversal for a 7-5 lead. Needing a takedown, Murphy started the second round of the Tiebreaker-1 period from the neutral position, but Elliott added a takedown to clinch the victory.
With the dual starting at 184 pounds, Clothier trailed 4-2 before Chris Kober was penalized one point for a second stall warning with 48 seconds left. Clothier pushed his riding time advantage to a minute with 21 seconds left to force overtime, and after a scoreless Sudden Victory-1 period, didn't allow an escape from his top position. Instead of attempting to prevent Clothier from starting the second round with a tiebreaking escape, Kober conceded an escape to give him more time to potentially execute a takedown, but Clothier won 5-4.
Diabe's late takedown against Austin McNeill pushed his record to 19-5 overall and 9-1 in duals this season, and Miller led 5-2 against Laith Alsous before starting the third period with an escape and producing two takedowns in rapid succession.
Campbell's comeback began with Korbin Meink's 4-2 decision on a Sudden Victory-1 takedown against
De'Andre Swinson-Barr, who forced overtime on a takedown with eight seconds left in their 125-pound showdown. Ranked 15th at 133 pounds, Noah Gonser won a 4-1 decision against
Codi Russell, and Nathan Boston gave the Camels the lead with a pin. The next match also went to overtime, as eighth-ranked Josh Heil claimed a 3-1 decision against
Matt Zovistoski on a Sudden Victory-1 takedown that was reviewed before becoming official.
App State wrestlers return to action next weekend with the Appalachian Open on Saturday in Varsity Gym.
Campbell 19, App State 17
184:
Alan Clothier (APP) def. Chris Kober (CU), 5-4 dec. (TB-1)
197: #18
Randall Diabe (APP) def. Austin McNeill (CU), 3-1 dec.
HWT:
Cary Miller (APP) def. Laith Alsous (CU), 11-3 maj. dec.
125: Korbin Meink (CU) def.
De'Andre Swinson-Barr (APP), 4-2 dec. (SV-1)
133: #15 Noah Gonser (CU) def.
Codi Russell (APP), 4-1 dec.
141: Nathan Boston (CU) def.
Irvin Enriquez (APP), fall, 1:36
149: #8 Josh Heil (CU) def.
Matt Zovistoski (APP), 3-1 dec. (SV-1)
157:
Angel Najar (APP) def. Matthew Dallara (CU), 10-2 maj. dec.
165:
Michael Elliott (APP) def. Austin Murphy (CU), 9-5 dec. (TB-1)
174: #18 Andrew Morgan (CU) def.
Thomas Flitz (APP), 15-4 maj. dec.
