CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Led by
Will Formato's fourth-place finish in a 165-pound bracket with six top-20 wrestlers, App State had four members of its program medal Sunday at the Southern Scuffle.
In addition to Formato,
Caleb Smith placed fifth at 125 pounds,
Codi Russell took sixth at 133 pounds and unattached
Ethan Oakley was eighth at 133 pounds.
Heath Gonyer also advanced to Sunday's second day of competition.
In a 30-team field with lots of ranked programs and individuals, App State amassed the eighth-most points with 56.5.
Formato's 4-2 showing included a 3-0 record Saturday with two major decisions and a 3-2 quarterfinal win against 19th-ranked Thomas Bullard of NC State to reach a Sunday semifinal against third-ranked Keegan O'Toole of Missouri. Formato reached the third-place match thanks to an overtime takedown to cap a 6-4 decision against Iowa's Patrick Kennedy, who had a 3-2 lead before Formato's takedown with 17 seconds left in the third period helped force OT.
In the third-place match, Formato had a 7-6 lead and a riding time point clinched in the final minute of the third period when Minnesota's Cael Carlson executed a rare defensive fall with his torso facing the rafters.
Smith, who also placed fifth at the Southern Scuffle as an unattached true freshman in 2019, had a 5-2 weekend record that included an overtime pin of Brett Ungar, who was the nation's top-rated 120-pound high school recruit from the 2021 prep class.
Smith opened Sunday's consolation action by overcoming a third-period deficit of 3-1 and recording a tiebreaking takedown with 23 seconds left in a 7-4 decision against Michigan State's Tristan Lujan, then turning a defensive position into a tiebreaking takedown with 45 seconds left in a 5-3 decision against Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca.
Russell went 4-0 on Saturday to reach the semifinal round in his bracket, and he dropped an overtime decision in the fifth-place match against Missouri's Trey Crawford. Russell's 4-0 start featured two major decisions, a technical fall and a 9-2 decision against Penn State's Brandon Meredith.
Oakley bounced back from an opening-round loss to post a five-match winning streak that included an overtime win against Little Rock's Jaylen Carson and a 6-2 decision against 29th-ranked Jackson Disario of Stanford. Oakley followed a takedown with four near-fall points in the Sudden Victory-1 period against Carson, then had a takedown and a four-point near fall in the first period against Disario.
After an opening-round loss, Gonyer won three straight matches, capped by a 5-1 decision against Oklahoma State's Andrew Bloemhof.
The other Mountaineers with multiple wins in Chattanooga were
Sean Carter (133) and
Cody Bond (with one pin at 157).
The 2021-22 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies and Penn Station. App State returns to action Friday night with a SoCon home dual against The Citadel. Following a high school dual at 5:30 p.m. between top-ranked NCHSAA teams Avery County (1-A) and Fred T. Foard (3-A), the Mountaineers will face the Bulldogs at approximately 7 p.m.
Tickets, which are $8 for adults and $4 for youth, can be purchased at the Rivers Street entrance to Varsity Gym or online by
clicking HERE.
