DETROIT — App State's
Jonathan Millner faced the crowd, raised his palms and extended his long arms in opposite directions — a noteworthy celebration for the mild-mannered Mountaineer.
Moments later, with head coach
JohnMark Bentley flashing a big smile, head assistant
Ian Miller lifted Millner off his feet with a bear hug.
Jon Jon continues to carry himself to and help App State reach new heights.
Millner became the 21st overall All-American and second two-time NCAA All-American in App State Wrestling history when he earned an 8-1 decision against eighth-seeded Max Murin of Iowa on Day 2 of the NCAA Championships before a crowd of 17,592 at Little Caesars Arena. Millner (24-2) then capped a 4-0 day and improved his Detroit record in the 149-pound bracket to 5-1 with a 9-4 decision against fifth-seeded Kyle Parco of Arizona State.
"I'm definitely proud of myself — coming back (from a loss) isn't the easiest thing to do," Millner said. "I had a lot of support around me with the coaching staff and teammates getting me ready for what I needed to do and just staying locked in and focused on what I needed to do."
Millner, who placed eighth at 149 pounds last season, can finish anywhere from third to sixth depending on the results of his two matches Saturday. The outcome of a Motor City rematch with Virginia Tech's Bryce Andonian will determine which of those wrestlers moves on to the third-place match or fifth-place match.
With Millner's five victories, plus opening-round victories from
Caleb Smith and
Thomas Flitz, as well as a consolation victory for
Will Formato, App State is 27th in the team standings with 13.5 points.
"I was just really proud of Jon Jon's effort," said Bentley, who has helped oversee five All-America performances in the last decade. "He had consistent effort all day long. He wrestled some really tough, hard-fought matches, and that's what it takes on Friday at the NCAA tournament. You have to win a lot of hard, tough battles, and that's what he was able to do."
After going 1-1 on Thursday, ending the day with a loss to Andonian, Millner won 5-1 against 12th-seeded Mike Van Brill from Rutgers and 4-0 against 20th-seeded Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa in Friday's opening session.
Millner turned a defensive position at the edge of the mat into a second-period takedown and a 3-0 lead against Iowa's Murin in the "blood round" with 12 wrestlers still alive but only eight All-America spots available. Millner took a 3-1 lead into the third period and stayed on top for the entire two minutes, extending the margin with a four-point, soak-in-the-moment near fall in the closing seconds.
Millner then had a quick turnaround to face Parco, who won head-to-head matchups in the same round of the 2021 NCAAs in St. Louis (9-5 decision) and at the Mountaineer Invitational in Varsity Gym in mid-November (Parco built a 6-1 lead before winning by fall in the third period).
On Friday night, Millner gave up an early takedown before responding with a reversal. Parco led 3-2 after one period, but Millner delivered an escape, recorded a takedown and built his riding to 1:44 by staying on top for the rest of the period. Another takedown in the first 15 seconds of the third period put Millner in clear control.
"I just woke up this morning and said it's the start of a new day," Millner said. "I put myself in a whole other tournament basically and said the tournament restarts today — new opportunities."
On Friday afternoon, Millner used a second-period rideout, a quick reversal in the third and a key takedown with 19 seconds left to beat Van Brill. In the next match, Millner recorded another second-period rideout, a third-period escape and a takedown in the closing seconds.
App State advanced three wrestlers to Round of 16 bouts for the first time in 30 years and had an impressive four wrestlers advance to Day 2.
Smith, Flitz and Formato all went 1-2 in Detroit, with Smith opening the event by beating the 2021 third-place finisher at 125 pounds and Flitz turning a 5-2 deficit into a 9-6 decision in his opening match at 174. Formato advanced via a medical forfeit, and
Codi Russell qualified for the NCAAs at 133.
Flitz qualified for the NCAAs for the third straight year, won his first SoCon title and used that third-period comeback to post an NCAA win that gave him 84 career victories.
Russell, another graduate student, was a five-time SoCon finalist, four-time NCAA qualifier and three-time SoCon champ who finished his App State career with a 94-47 record.
Formato reached the NCAA Championships for the second straight year and closed the season with a 23-9 record.
In his first season in App State's lineup, Smith went 24-8 and beat the returning All-American in Minnesota's Patrick McKee, who has followed that loss with five straight wins: two major decisions, a 7-0 decision, a fall to secure another All-America honor and an 11-6 decision.
