BOONE, N.C. — The calendar hasn't flipped to February, but in a unique 2020-21 season, App State Wrestling is about to go through Senior Day at Varsity Gym.
On Sunday, the Mountaineers (3-2, 3-1 SoCon) will host a tri-meet in which they wrestle against Chattanooga (6-2, 4-0) at 2 p.m. and Presbyterian (0-2, 0-2) at 5 p.m.
The Chattanooga-Presbyterian match will begin at approximately 3:45 p.m., and App State will recognize six wrestlers during a Senior Day ceremony before the 5 p.m. dual:
Codi Russell,
Thomas Flitz,
Tim Warren,
Ramon Rodriguez,
Paul Carson and
De'Andre Swinson-Barr.
There is no admission for the general public, but the event will be streamed live by Yosef Media, and access to the stream is available by subscribing to The Grind's Rokfin channel.
This is the final home event on the Mountaineers' schedule, although some NCAA seniors will return next season given that this season doesn't count against their remaining eligibility. App State's last tri-meet is next week at VMI, followed by the SoCon Championships on Feb. 28 and the NCAA Championships starting March 18.
This weekend's tri-meet will begin with a high-intensity dual, as Chattanooga has a 4-0 league record with SoCon dual wins against The Citadel (17-15), Gardner-Webb (23-13), VMI (36-3) and Davidson (37-6). Presbyterian, which had to postpone its first two scheduled league duals, lost to The Citadel and Bellarmine last weekend.
The Mocs have two wrestlers ranked in the top 25 of their weight classes by FloWrestling, including No. 21 Fabian Gutierrez at 125 pounds, and he's expected to match up against 23rd-ranked
Codi Russell of App State.
Russell,
Jonathan Millner (149 pounds),
Will Formato (165 pounds) and
Thomas Flitz (174 pounds) are in the top 25 by FloWrestling, Intermat, TrackWrestling and WrestleStat, which has
Cody Bond at No. 27 among the starters at 157 pounds and
Anthony Brito at No. 33 among the starters at 141 pounds. Russell, Brito, Millner, Formato and
Sean Carter (133 pounds) are all 4-0 in SoCon duals this season.
Formato, who has climbed all the way to No. 10 in the FloWrestling rankings, enters the weekend tied for the Division I lead with nine wins. He has outscored his opponents 69-4 in those victories.
The 2020-21 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies and Penn Station.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Rankings from FloWrestling
App State
125: #23
Codi Russell, R-Sr. (7-1, 4-0 SoCon)
133:
Sean Carter, So. (5-4, 4-0 SoCon)
141:
Anthony Brito, R-Jr. (8-2, 4-0 SoCon)
149: #21
Jonathan Millner, R-Jr. (7-1, 4-0 SoCon)
157:
Cody Bond, R-Jr. (6-4, 3-1 SoCon)
165: #10
Will Formato, R-So. (9-1, 4-0 SoCon)
174: #19
Thomas Flitz, R-Sr. (8-2, 3-2 SoCon)
184:
Julian Gorring, So. (6-4, 2-2 SoCon)
197:
Mason Fiscella, R-So. (6-4, 3-1 SoCon)
285:
Michael Burchell, R-So. (3-4, 2-2 SoCon)
Chattanooga
125: #21 Fabian Gutierrez, Sr. (7-1, 4-0 SoCon)
133: Colton Landers, Jr. (4-4, 2-2 SoCon)
141: Franco Valdes, Jr. (5-0, 4-0 SoCon) or Matthew Williams, Fr. (0-1, 0-0 SoCon)
149: Aidan Murphy, Jr. (4-1, 2-1 SoCon) or George Coleman, So. (0-4, 0-0 SoCon)
157: Weston Wichman, Fr. (6-2, 2-1 SoCon) or Grant Lundy, Fr. (1-2, 0-0 SoCon)
165: Drew Nicholson, Jr. (6-2, 2-1 SoCon)
174: Carial Tarter, So. (4-2, 2-2 SoCon)
184: #23 Matthew Waddell, Jr. (6-2, 2-1 SoCon)
197: Logan Andrew, Fr. (4-4, 2-2 SoCon)
285: Grayson Walthall, Jr. (4-4, 3-1 SoCon)
Presbyterian
125: Benny Gomez (2-0, 2-0 SoCon)
133: Dominic Chavez (1-1, 1-1 SoCon)
141: Jacob Brasseur (1-1, 1-1 SoCon)
149: Reid Stewart (1-1, 1-1 SoCon)
157: Zachary Phillips (2-0, 1-0 SoCon)
165: Bryton Goering (0-2, 0-2 SoCon)
174: Victor Tello (0-2, 0-2 SoCon)
184: Open
197: Open
285: Will Pontoon (1-1, 1-1 SoCon)
