BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling allowed no team points in a doubleheader that provided plenty of firsts for the Mountaineers.
No. 25 App State opened its SoCon schedule Tuesday night with a 39-0 victory against Bellarmine, then won 50-0 against Division I newcomer Queens with a lineup that included four changes from the opener.
Fourteen wrestlers had a hand raised as the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0) went 20-for-20 in contested matches, giving them a nation-leading 11 shutouts since the calendar flipped to 2020.
Tommy Askey,
Luke Uliano,
Carson Floyd,
Ethan Oakley,
Oren Bost and
Chopper Mordecai all picked up their first career dual wins, while
Mason Fiscella won a dual match as a heavyweight for the first time.
Five days after a 19-16 team win at No. 21 North Carolina, App State collected bonus points in 13 of its 20 wins and totaled seven pins, including six against Queens.
Jon Jon Millner's two pins required a combined three minutes, 43 seconds of wrestling.
It was the first home dual of the season for the Mountaineers, and the winter break period without students on campus didn't stop them from drawing 438 fans to Varsity Gym.
No. 25 App State 39, Bellarmine 0
Askey (157), Uliano (184) and Floyd (197) all earned the first dual wins of their young careers, while Fiscella picked up his first dual win since moving up to heavyweight from 197 pounds.
The tightest match involved
Will Miller, who was making his Varsity Gym dual debut, and four-year Bellarmine starter Devan Hendricks, who brought a 46-28 career record to Boone. After giving up a second-period escape, Miller erased a 1-0 deficit on a takedown with 41 seconds left in the period and finished it on top. He won a 3-1 decision.
Uliano trailed 2-0 in the first period against Kennedy Wyatt before taking a 10-2 lead into the second period thanks to a reversal and two four-point near falls. Uliano won by tech fall against the Knights (1-1, 0-1).
Facing Thadd Huff, whose 10-1 record included five pins, Fiscella won an 11-9 decision. He trailed 8-7 entering the third period with 1:19 in riding time in his favor, got a quick escape to open the period and delivered a tiebreaking takedown with 1:35 left.
The remaining bonus point victories came from
Caleb Smith (18-5 major decision),
Sean Carter (tech fall), Askey and Millner. Floyd and
Will Formato won by decisions.
Askey pushed his lead from 2-0 to 7-1 during the second period of an 11-1 major decision, and Millner needed only 101 seconds to record his fifth pin of the season.
App State 50, Queens 0
Mordecai, Floyd and Fiscella finished the night with three straight quick pins to cap a dual in which Smith, Millner and
Cody Bond also won by fall.
Oakley and Miller had major decisions, while
Heath Gonyer and Bost won decisions against the Royals (0-8).
The 2022-23 season is presented by Hungry Howies and Penn Station.
Season tickets for the eight remaining regular-season competitions left on App State Wrestling's home schedule remain available for $55 (adults) and $25 (youth) by
clicking HERE for an online purchase, contacting the ticket office at 828-262-7733 or going to the App State Athletics ticket office located at the Holmes Center. Single-event tickets can also be purchased by
clicking HERE, as the next two home duals in Boone are against Binghamton on Jan. 8 and No. 8 Virginia Tech on Jan. 13.
App State 39, Bellarmine 0
125: #23
Caleb Smith (APP) def. Jack Parker (BU), 18-5 maj. dec.
133: #22
Sean Carter (APP) def. Michael Schiffhauer (BU). 18-3 tech fall
141:
Heath Gonyer (APP) def. Chase Hall (BU), 11-5 dec.
149: #7
Jon Jon Millner (APP) def. Zac Cowan (BU), fall (1:41)
157:
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Tavius Hosley (BU), 11-1 maj. dec.
165: #26
Will Formato (APP) def. Cole Nance (BU), 7-4 dec.
174: #HM
Will Miller (APP) def. Devan Hendricks (BU), 3-1 dec.
184:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Kennedy Wyatt (BU), 19-2 tech fall
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Royce Hall (BU), 6-2 dec.
Hwt:
Mason Fiscella (APP) def. Thadd Huff (BU), 11-9 dec.
No. 25 App State 50, Queens 0
125: #23
Caleb Smith (APP) def. Ashton Thompson (QU), fall (2:49)
133:
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Ananth Manibushan (QU), 14-2 maj. dec.
141:
Heath Gonyer (APP) def. Melvin Rubio (QU), 8-4 dec.
149: #7
Jon Jon Millner (APP) def. Nico D'Amico (QU), fall (2:02)
157:
Cody Bond (APP) def. David Makupson (QU), fall (4:29)
165:
Oren Bost (APP) def. Vladimir Sukhikh (QU), 7-2 dec.
174: #HM
Will Miller (APP) def. Sebastian Shered (QU), 14-4 maj. dec.
184:
Chopper Mordecai (APP) def. D'Andree Hunt (QU), fall (1:43)
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Riley Kuhn (QU), fall (1:59)
Hwt:
Mason Fiscella (APP) def. Mikey Lytle (QU), fall (3:22)
