BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling wrapped up the regular season with a 43-0 victory against VMI on Senior Day at Varsity Gym, giving the Mountaineers the national lead with four shutouts of Division I opponents this season.
App State (9-3, 6-1) earned bonus points in seven wins, and the most dramatic match of the day ended with 33rd-ranked
Thomas Flitz claiming a 12-11 decision against 16th-ranked Neal Richards, the 2019 SoCon Wrestler of the Year. That result helped the Mountaineers shut out a Division I opponent for the fourth time since Jan. 12, and three of those shutouts involved an opponent with a nationally ranked wrestler. With four total shutouts, App State ranks above the two teams teams for second place nationally with three shutouts: No. 1 Iowa and No. 10 Pittsburgh.
With App State's SoCon regular season complete, the Mountaineers had three wrestlers go 7-0 in league duals:
Jonathan Millner (149 pounds),
Matt Zovistoski (157) and Flitz (174).
Flitz, who was pinned by Richards last season, used three first-period takedowns to establish a 6-3 lead and added another takedown in the second period for an 8-5 advantage. Starting the third period on bottom with a key 1:49 advantage in riding time, Flitz pushed the lead to 9-5 with an escape. A late flurry from Richards included a takedown in the closing seconds that tied the match on the scoreboard, but Flitz's bonus point for riding time gave him the narrow win against a wrestler who brought a 35-6 record into Varsity Gym.
App State earned bonus points in all five matches before the midway point intermission, starting with four straight tech falls from
Sean Carter (17-2 at 125 pounds),
Codi Russell (17-1 at 133 pounds),
Bradley Irwin (17-2 at 141 pounds) and Millner (16-0 at 149 pounds). Zovistoski then posted a 15-3 major decision at 157 pounds.
Will Formato claimed a 5-0 decision against Jon Hoover at 165 pounds in advance of Flitz's match, and
Julian Gorring needed a little over a minute to pin Max Gallahan at 184.
Demazio Samuel used a strong third period to erase a 1-0 deficit in a 5-1 decision against Zach Brown at 197 pounds, and Miller ended the dual with a 13-1 major decision against Chris Beck.
It was the final home dual for six members of App State's team:
Christian Beach,
Garrett Church, Irwin, Miller, Samuel and Zovistoski. Zovistoski and Miller are tied for sixth place and ninth place in App State history with 98 and 92 career wins, respectively. Zovistoski tied Mark Fee on the list Sunday.
App State will be back in action March 8, when App State hosts the SoCon Championships in the Holmes Center. The 2019-20 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies, and tickets to the conference championships can be purchased by
clicking HERE.
App State 43, VMI 0
125: #28
Sean Carter (APP) def. John McGarry (VMI), 17-2 tech fall
133: #30
Codi Russell (APP) def. Cliff Conway (VMI), 17-1 tech fall
141:
Bradley Irwin (APP) def. Noah Roulo (VMI), 17-2 tech fall
149: #21
Jonathan Millner (APP) def. Seth Fillers (VMI), 16-0 tech fall
157: #26
Matt Zovistoski (APP) def. Will Lawrence (VMI), 15-3 maj. dec.
165:
Will Formato (APP) def. Jon Hoover (VMI), 5-0 dec.
174: #33
Thomas Flitz (APP) def. #16 Neal Richards (VMI), 12-11 dec.
184:
Julian Gorring (APP) def. Max Gallahan, fall, 1:04
197:
Demazio Samuel (APP) def. Zach Brown, 5-1 dec.
285: #23
Cary Miller (APP) def. Chris Beck, 13-1 maj. dec.
