BOONE, N.C. — The route to another SoCon regular-season title takes App State Wrestling to Davidson for a Friday night dual in Belk Gym.
At 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the SoCon following back-to-back wins against Chattanooga (18-16) and Campbell (19-13), App State faces the Wildcats (4-9, 2-4) at 7 p.m. A win would clinch a regular-season championship for App State.
Two days later, the Mountaineers wrap up the regular season with a Sunday afternoon dual against Presbyterian at Hillcrest High School in Simpsonville, S.C. — about 35 minutes away from the college campus in Clinton, S.C. This dual will not be streamed.
Davidson College requires individuals, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear a mask in all indoor venues.
The dramatic win over Campbell in a matchup of top-30 programs contributed to App State unofficially being No. 28 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll.
The Mountaineers included in the Feb. 11 edition of the NCAA Coaches Rankings come from six of the first seven weight classes:
Caleb Smith (No. 31 at 125),
Codi Russell (No. 30 at 133),
Jonathan Millner (No. 8 at 149),
Cody Bond (No. 32 at 157),
Will Formato (No. 18 at 165) and
Thomas Flitz (No. 29 at 174).
The first RPI included Smith (No. 8 at 125), Russell (No. 21 at 133),
Heath Gonyer (No. 23 at 141), Bond (No. 27 at 157), Formato (No. 8 at 165),
Barrett Blakely (No. 28 at 184) and
Michael Burchell (No. 33 at heavyweight). Millner, who improved from 13-1 to 14-1 with a win against top-10 foe Josh Heil of Campbell, fell one match shy of the 15-match minimum to be included in the RPI that came out last Friday.
Three Davidson wrestlers were ranked in the top 33 of the RPI: No. 25 Kyle Gorant (17-9 overall at 133 pounds, with wins over Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer and Campbell's Domenic Zaccone), No. 31 Gavin Henry (nine wins, with a victory over Chattanooga's Matthew Waddell, at 184 pounds) and No. 23 Mitchell Trigg (16-9 overall and 5-1 in SoCon duals in the heavyweight division).
Davidson has been in several dramatic duals during the 2021-22 season. In a 27-12 loss to Campbell, the Wildcats won four of 10 matches (two against Campbell backups), and they lost 18-16 to Chattanooga in mid-November.
The Wildcats possess one two-point win and a pair of one-point wins this season, including a 20-19 conference victory against Bellarmine. They most recently posted a 23-12 victory against VMI.
The 2021-22 App State wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
App State probable lineup
125: #23
Caleb Smith (18-5)
133: #30
Codi Russell (14-7)
141:
Heath Gonyer (21-8)
149: #4
Jonathan Millner (14-1)
157: #31
Cody Bond (15-7)
165: #20
Will Formato (17-5)
174: #28
Thomas Flitz (11-6)
184:
Barrett Blakely (10-10)
197:
Wyatt Miller (10-11)
285:
Michael Burchell (11-7)
#Rankings from Intermat
