BOONE, N.C. — With nonconference duals against four ACC programs, including two that will be contested in Varsity Gym, plus Boone visits from SoCon counterparts such as Chattanooga and Campbell, App State Wrestling unveiled an impressive 2022-23 schedule Wednesday.
Coming off a 9-2 season that featured an unbeaten run to a SoCon regular-season title and a top-30 finish at the NCAA Championships, head coach
JohnMark Bentley returns eight wrestlers who have been successful starters in the 10-man lineup. That includes the return of a two-time All-American in
Jon Jon Millner and five other wrestlers who have either qualified for the NCAAs or held a top-33 ranking in their weight class.
A schedule with nine home dates in Varsity Gym and another SoCon Championships appearance at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone concludes with the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. FloWrestling has given App State a preseason tournament ranking of No. 21 in the nation.
The nonconference portion of the schedule includes a Jan. 13 trip to Boone from Virginia Tech, which was No. 8 in the final NWCA poll of 2021-22, and a Jan. 24 visit from Duke. App State opens the season with a Nov. 4 road dual at NC State, which was No. 4 in the final NWCA poll, and makes a Dec. 15 trip to North Carolina, which ended the regular season at No. 23. Binghamton, which had four NCAA qualifiers last season, also comes to Boone.
Of App State's eight SoCon duals, the Mountaineers will host Bellarmine (Dec. 20, as part of a doubleheader also involving Queens), Chattanooga (Sunday, Feb. 5), and a tripleheader involving Campbell, Presbyterian and Davidson (on Sunday, Feb. 19). The postseason begins March 4 with another Saturday date for the SoCon Championships.
Season tickets for the 11 regular-season competitions (with two doubleheaders) on App State Wrestling's home schedule are 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. The season ticket price for faculty/staff is $50.
Single-match tickets are $10 (adult) and $5 (youth), with visits from SoCon foes Chattanooga and Campbell set as with a price of $14 for adults and $7 for youth. The Virginia Tech dual has a single-match price of $20.
It's worth noting, after App State traveled to Campbell in both 2020 and 2021, the Camels are making back-to-back visits to Varsity Gym, as the Mountaineers won 19-13 in their 2022 dual in Boone.
There are six tournaments on App State's 2022-23 schedule, including an appearance at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, to go along with customary events such as the Mountaineer Invitational (Nov. 12 in Boone) and the Appalachian Open (Jan. 28 in Boone).
In addition to Millner, returners
Caleb Smith,
Sean Carter,
Will Formato and
Cody Bond have qualified for the NCAA Championships during their careers.
Heath Gonyer had a top-33 ranking last year, while
Mason Fiscella and
Wyatt Miller have been full-time starters for the Mountaineers.
