BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State, which has been a Southern Conference champion in each of the last four seasons, had a league-leading three wrestlers named to the All-SoCon team Thursday.
App State senior
Randall Diabe (197 pounds), junior
Cary Miller (heavyweight) and sophomore
Alan Clothier (184 pounds) made the 10-member team, with one wrestler from each weight class represented. Redshirt freshmen
Jonathan Millner (149 pounds) and
Anthony Brito (141 pounds) made the All-Freshman team.
Diabe, Miller and Clothier will all be No. 1 seeds at the Southern Conference Championship on Sunday at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone.
Ranked in the top 20 nationally at 197 pounds, Diabe went undefeated in five SoCon duals and completed the regular season with a 24-5 overall record. He is a repeat selection, as he went 7-0 in SoCon duals last year and ended his career with wins in his last 13 conference duals.
Miller, who is ranked No. 28 in his weight class, went 6-0 in SoCon duals with two pins, one technical fall, two major decisions and an average of 4.7 points scored per SoCon dual. He is 21-11 overall this season.
Clothier, who is No. 33 nationally at 184 pounds in the NCAA RPI, had a 5-1 record in SoCon duals to match Campbell's Chris Kober for the best record at that weight. Clothier claimed a 5-4 decision in the Tiebreaker 1 period during their head-to-head matchup and is 18-13 overall this season.
In making the All-Freshman team, Millner is 21-9 overall with a 3-2 dual record for the Mountaineers. He was in the lineup against two top-15 teams and picked up a big victory against Ohio. He also finished first at the recent Mat Town II Open in Pennsylvania.
Brito is 14-9 overall this season with a second-place showing at the Mat Town II Open and fourth-place finish at the Keystone Classic.
To purchase tickets for this weekend's SoCon Championship, order them
online HERE or call the App State Athletics ticket office at 828-262-2079. For more information about event, visit App State's Championship Central page by
clicking HERE.
SoCon Honors
All-Conference Team:
125 – Alonzo Allen, Chattanooga
133 – Noah Gonser, Campbell
141 – Chris Debien, Chattanooga
149 – Josh Heil, Campbell
157 — Rian Burris, The Citadel
165 – Tyler Marinelli, Gardner-Webb
174 — Neal Richards, VMI
184 –
Alan Clothier, Appalachian State
197 –
Randall Diabe, Appalachian State
HWT —
Cary Miller, Appalachian State
Wrestler of the Year: Neal Richards, VMI
Freshman of the Year: Tanner Smith, 149, Chattanooga
All-Freshman Team:
Anthony Brito, 141, Appalachian State
Jonathan Millner, 149, Appalachian State
Dazjon Castro, 165, The Citadel
Kyle Kretzer, 174, The Citadel
Selwyn Porter, 149, The Citadel
Drew Nicholson, 165, Chattanooga
Ryan Resnick, 157, Chattanooga
Tanner Smith, 149, Chattanooga
Kyle Gorant, 133, Davidson
Mitchell Trigg, HWT, Davidson
