BOONE, N.C. — Thanks to an 11-1 showing with several high-level wins in January, App State redshirt sophomore
Will Formato has been named the Southern Conference's Wrestler of the Month.
Facing eight wrestlers with a top-50 ranking in his 12 matches last month, Formato outscored his opponents by a combined 93-7 mark in his 11 victories and didn't allow a takedown in any of those wins. He went from being unranked to start the season to climbing to as high as No. 10 in the country at 165 pounds.
Formato's strong month included a 4-0 shutout against then-No. 7 Thomas Bullard of NC State, a win against 2020 NCAA qualifier Dazjon Casto of The Citadel, an 11-2 major decision against Campbell's Austin Kraisser (who won 27 matches last season), a decision against nationally ranked Gardner-Webb wrestler RJ Mosley, who is 5-0 in his other SoCon duals, and a 6-1 decision last weekend against nationally ranked Drew Nicholson of Chattanooga.
The early season win against Bullard started a streak of five consecutive shutouts — with three coming against wrestlers from No. 3 NC State — by a combined score of 37-0.
Formato, who is from Acworth, Ga., has raised his career record to 35-15 overall and 10-3 in SoCon duals after going 24-14 during a redshirt freshman season in which he reached the SoCon final in his weight class. His only loss this season was a 7-5 decision against a top-15 wrestler from Virginia.
App State's last tri-meet of the regular season is Friday at VMI (with The Citadel also attending), followed by the SoCon Championships on Feb. 28 in Boone and the NCAA Championships starting March 18.
The 2020-21 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies and Penn Station.
