BOONE, N.C. — For the second straight year, the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year comes from App State.
Jonathan Millner was named the 2022 SoCon Wrestler of the Year on Thursday, when all-conference and all-freshman honors were also announced.
Thomas Flitz (174 pounds) joined Millner (149 pounds) on the all-conference team that recognizes one wrestler from each of the 10 weight classes.
It's the 11th SoCon Wrestler of the Year honor for an App State wrestler since 1993 and the sixth in head coach
JohnMark Bentley's 13 seasons in charge of the Mountaineers. In addition to Millner and 2021 winner
Will Formato, the list since 1993 also includes Donnell Rawls (1993), Travis Drake (2001-02), Mark Fee (2003), Scott Ervin (2008), Austin Trotman (2010), Kyle Blevins (2012) and Denzel Dejournette (2016-17).
Millner and Flitz went 7-0 in SoCon duals this season, and they possess top-33 national rankings from the NCAA Coaches Panel. At No. 4 in his weight class, Millner is the highest-ranked wrestler from a SoCon program. It's the third straight All-SoCon honor for Millner and second overall for Flitz, who was also recognized in 2020.
Cody Bond (7-0) and The Citadel's Dazjon Casto (6-0) were the two SoCon wrestlers with undefeated league records this season at 157 pounds. Casto received the all-conference nod.
The SoCon's All-Freshman team includes App State's
Wyatt Miller, the starter at 197 pounds on a title-winning team, and
Will Miller, who went 13-9 at 165 pounds.
Wyatt Miller is 11-12 overall thanks to a 3-3 record in SoCon duals and a 10-8 record competing in his current weight class.
A returning All-American, Millner is 16-1 this season with notable wins against No. 9 Josh Heil of Campbell, No. 13 Josh Finesilver of Duke (15-5 major decision and an 8-3 decision), No. 21 Alex Madrigal of George Mason (6-0 decision) and No. 24 Zach Sherman of North Carolina (5-2 decision). His only loss occurred against No. 7 Kyle Parco of Arizona State.
In his seven SoCon duals, Millner went 7-0 while contributing 33 team points with three pins, one tech fall, one major decision and two decisions, including the victory against Heil in a matchup of top-10 wrestlers. Millner completed the regular season with a 22-0 career record in SoCon duals.
Flitz is 13-6 this season with notable victories against No. 8 Clay Lautt of UNC and No. 24 Austin Murphy of Campbell.
2021-22 Wrestler of the Year
Jonathan Millner, 149, R-Sr., App State
2021-22 Freshman of the Year
Noah Castillo, 149, Chattanooga
2021-22 All-Southern Conference Team
125: Fabian Gutierrez, Sr., Chattanooga
133: Brayden Palmer, So., Chattanooga
141: Shannon Hanna, Jr., Campbell
149:
Jonathan Millner, R-Sr., App State
157: Dazjon Casto, Sr., The Citadel
165: Drew Nicholson, Jr., Chattanooga
174:
Thomas Flitz, Gr., App State
184: Caleb Hopkins, R-Jr., Campbell
197: Chris Kober, Gr., Campbell
285: Taye Ghadiali, R-So., Campbell
2021-22 All-Freshman Team
Will Miller, 165, App State
Wyatt Miller, 197, App State
Jack Parker, 125, Bellarmine
Cole Rees, 184, Campbell
Ben Haubert, 184, The Citadel
Nick Cambria, 141, Davidson
Peyton McComas, HWT, Gardner-Webb
David Bertrand, 184, Presbyterian
Noah Castillo, 149, Chattanooga
Lincoln Heck, 157, Chattanooga
