BOONE, N.C. — In a matchup of teams with unbeaten SoCon records, App State recorded pins in three of the first four contested matches and received bonus points in seven victories to post a 42-3 win against Gardner-Webb.
The Mountaineers improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 against league competition.
Caleb Smith opened the dual with a second-period pin at 125 pounds before
Codi Russell won a 16-7 major decision at 133 pounds and App State picked up six points with
Heath Gonyer's win by forfeit at 141 pounds.
Jonathan Millner recorded the fastest pin of his career, wrapping up a win in only 56 seconds, and
Cody Bond produced his second pin of the season in the second period of his win at 157 pounds.
The tightest match of the night involved the fifth career meeting between returning NCAA qualifiers
Will Formato (App State) and RJ Mosley (Gardner-Webb), with Formato claiming a 2-1 overtime decision. Their last four meetings have been decided by a combined five points.
After a scoreless first period, Mosley earned an escape 23 seconds into the second period and Formato executed an escape four seconds into the third period to create a 1-1 score entering overtime. Neither wrestler had a takedown after starting the Sudden Victory period from a neutral position, leading to a pair of 30-second Tiebreaker periods in which each wrestler attempts to get an escape from the down position.
Formato accumulated 30 seconds of riding time by not allowing Mosley to escape from the down position in the first Tiebreaker period. Formato didn't earn an escape in the next one, but his near-escape with 11 seconds left triggered a stall warning that halted Mosley's riding time for two seconds — and enabled Formato to win based on his possession of a riding time advantage with the score tied at the end of the Tiebreaker periods.
Thomas Flitz's 12-4 major decision at 174 pounds gave App State a 35-0 lead before returning NCAA qualifier Jha'Quan Anderson of Gardner-Webb (4-5, 2-1) won a 5-3 decision against
Barrett Blakely.
True freshman
Wyatt Miller, who made his first dual appearance in mid-January, posted a third straight victory thanks to a 4-3 decision against Anthony Perrine, who placed third in the heavyweight division of last year's SoCon Championships.
Miller completed a takedown with 17 seconds left in the second period and finished the period on top to enter the third with the score tied at 3-all. Miller's escape to open the final period capped the scoring.
The dual ended with heavyweight
Michael Burchell's 8-0 major decision against Peyton McComas, who arrived in Boone with nine wins this season and a 2-0 record in SoCon duals.
The ninth annual Appalachian Open will be held in Varsity Gym on Saturday. 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.
The 2021-22 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
App State 42, Gardner-Webb 3
125: #22
Caleb Smith (APP) def. Aedyn Concepcion (GWU), fall (4:24)
133: #25
Codi Russell (APP) def. Todd Carter (GWU), 16-7 maj. dec.
141:
Heath Gonyer (APP) won by forfeit
149: #5
Jonathan Millner (APP) def. Corbin Dion (GWU), fall (0:56)
157: #33
Cody Bond (APP) def. Taylor Parks (GWU), fall (4:16)
165: #16
Will Formato (APP) def. RJ Mosley (GWU), 2-1 dec. (TB)
174: #26
Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Evan Schenk (GWU), 12-4 maj. dec.
184: Jha'Quan Anderson (GWU) def.
Barrett Blakely (APP), 5-3 dec.
197:
Wyatt Miller (APP) def. Anthony Perrine (GWU), 4-3 dec.
285:
Michael Burchell (APP) def. Peyton McComas (GWU), 8-0 maj. dec.
