BOONE, N.C. — Six wrestlers from App State are included in the latest set of top 33 rankings that were released this week from the NCAA Coaches Panel.
The latest ranking was used by the NCAA Wrestling Committee to assist in determining the advance allocations from each conference's qualifying tournament. The final ranking following the conference tournaments will be used to provide the most accurate and up-to-date rankings to the committee as an important element of the selection criteria during the in-person selection meeting.
In the allocations released Thursday, the Southern Conference will have one automatic qualifier at six weights and two automatic qualifiers at four weights: 149, 174, 184 and 285.
| Weight Class |
Automatic allotments out of 33 spots nationally |
Automatic SoCon allotments |
SoCon wrestlers ranked in top 33 |
| 125 |
28 of 33 (5 at-large) |
1 |
3 |
| 133 |
29 of 33 (4 at-large) |
1 |
2 |
| 141 |
29 of 33 (4 at-large) |
1 |
1 |
| 149 |
29 of 33 (4 at-large) |
2 |
2 |
| 157 |
28 of 33 (5 at-large) |
1 |
1 |
| 165 |
27 of 33 (6 at-large) |
1 |
2 |
| 174 |
29 of 33 (4 at-large) |
2 |
2 |
| 184 |
28 of 33 (5 at-large) |
2 |
2 |
| 197 |
27 of 33 (6 at-large) |
1 |
0 |
| 285 |
29 of 33 (4 at-large) |
2 |
2 |
The NCAA Championships from March 19-21 in Minneapolis include 33-wrestler brackets in each weight class, and the latest set of rankings listed the following Mountaineers:
*
Jonathan Millner, No. 21 at 149 pounds
*
Cary Miller, No. 24 at 285 pounds
*
Matt Zovistoski, No. 25 at 157 pounds
*
Thomas Flitz, No. 28 at 174 pounds
*
Sean Carter, No. 28 at 125 pounds
*
Codi Russell, No. 30 at 133 pounds
The PRI rankings include five Mountaineers:
*
Jonathan Millner, No. 15 at 149 pounds
*
Cary Miller, No. 18 at 285 pounds
*
Thomas Flitz, No. 22 at 174 pounds
*
Matt Zovistoski, No. 28 at 157 pounds
*
Codi Russell, No. 33 at 133 pounds
Flitz moved up five spots in the Coaches Panel rankings and three spots in the RPI thanks to his win against VMI's Neal Richards (now No. 16 in by the Coaches Panel). Flitz's 28-10 record has benefited from a 12-match winning streak that includes notable victories against No. 26 Mason Eaglin of Duke (9-4 decision) and previously ranked Jared Siegrist of Lock Haven. He also possesses a win this season against 12th-ranked Daniel Bullard of NC State and has the second-best ranking among SoCon Wrestlers at 174 pounds.
Millner's 28-4 record includes two wins apiece against Chattanooga's Tanner Smith (No. 23) and NC State's AJ Leitten (No. 33) along with a victory against Stanford's Requir van der Merwe (No. 29). Millner and Smith are the two SoCon wrestlers ranked among wrestlers at 149.
Miller's 28-5 record includes victories against Virginia's Quinn Miller (No. 22) and North Carolina's Andrew Gunning (No. 29). He lost in overtime against Central Michigan's Matt Stencel (No. 4) and by one point on a debated, last-second takedown by Iowa State's Gannon Gremmel (No. 13). Miller and Campbell's Jere Heino are the two ranked SoCon heavyweights.
Zovistoski's 26-7 record includes wins against North Dakota State's Jared Franek (No. 21) and Penn's Anthony Artalona, who was ranked No. 12 last week but hasn't competed since Jan. 10 and is no longer ranked. Of Zovistoski's seven losses, six have come against top-25 opponents, with four of those being decided by either one point or in overtime. He is the only ranked SoCon wrestler at 157 pounds.
Carter, who was unattached during a 5-3 start to the season, is 25-13 with one win against Rutgers' Nic Aguilar (No. 17) and Campbell's Korbin Meink (No. 31) along with two victories against previously ranked Jonathan Tropea of Rider. The SoCon has three ranked wrestlers at 133: Chattanooga's Fabian Gutierrez, Carter and Meink.
Russell's 24-9 record is highlighted by wins against Lock Haven's DJ Fehlman (No. 27), North Carolina's Jaime Hernandez (No. 28) and previously ranked Anthony Cefolo of Rider. Russell and Campbell's Noah Gonser are the two ranked SoCon wrestlers at 133.
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.
