BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling hits the road this weekend for a big Southern Conference dual at Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The dual in Maclellan Gym will be streamed on ESPN+.
Since falling 25-10 against No. 4 NC State and 17-15 to No. 24 North Carolina, the Mountaineers have won their last five duals and started 3-0 in SoCon action with league wins by a combined score of 130-9.
The Mountaineers are four spots outside the NWCA Coaches Poll's Top 25, with three voting points, and they are listed at No. 11 in this week's NWCA Division I Mid-Major Wrestling Coaches Poll.
App State has six wrestlers with top-33 recognition in the first set of NCAA Coaches rankings. This week's Intermat rankings have
Jonathan Millner (149 pounds) at No. 4,
Will Formato (165 pounds) at No. 20,
Caleb Smith (125 pounds) at No. 24,
Codi Russell (133 pounds) at No. 28 and
Cody Bond (157 pounds) at No. 31. Like those five,
Thomas Flitz (174 pounds) is considered a top-33 wrestler by FloWrestling and the NCAA Coaches Panel.
Chattanooga's only league loss came by an 18-13 score last weekend at Campbell, with the Mocs taking matches in the 125, 133, 157 and 165 weight classes.
Chattanooga has a pair of wrestlers with top-25 Intermat rankings in Fabian Gutierrez (No. 24 at 125) and Brayden Palmer (No. 21 at 133, helped by a third-place showing at the Southern Scuffle). Drew Nicholson is the reigning SoCon champ at 165 pounds, and Matthew Waddell made the 2021 NCAA Championships as a SoCon runner-up at 184.
App State has won the last six head-to-head meetings against the Mocs, all by seven points or less. App State, Chattanooga or Campbell has earned at least a share of a regular-season SoCon title in each of the previous 17 seasons, with App State claiming sole possession of first or tying for first five times in that span, including a four-peat from 2016-19.
Those three programs have occupied the top three spots in the final SoCon standings to end each of the previous five seasons, with a three-way tie for first in 2019.
The 2021-22 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
APP STATE
125: No. 24
Caleb Smith
133: No. 28
Codi Russell or
Sean Carter
141:
Heath Gonyer
149: No. 4
Jonathan Millner
157: No. 31
Cody Bond
165: No. 20
Will Formato
174:
Thomas Flitz
184:
Barrett Blakely
197:
Wyatt Miller
HWT:
Michael Burchell
CHATTANOOGA
125: No. 22
Fabian Gutierrez
133: No. 21
Brayden Palmer
141:
Franco Valdes
149:
Noah Castillo or
Grant Lundy
157:
Weston Wichman or
Lincoln Heck
165:
Drew Nicholson
174:
Carial Tarter
184:
Thomas Sell
197:
Matthew Waddell
HWT:
Matthias Ervin or
Grayson Walthall
