BOONE, N.C. — During a marathon day with 30 matches, the first two set the tone for a dominant, title-clinching sweep of a SoCon tripleheader.
App State Wrestling carried a strong start in a battle of conference unbeatens to a 22-14 victory against Campbell in a packed Varsity Gym on Sunday — with nearly 1,000 fans in attendance, including both football teams in opposite, overflow balconies — then followed that with a 43-0 shutout of Presbyterian and 47-0 shutout of Davidson.
Finishing as unbeaten, outright SoCon regular season champions for the second straight season, the 20th-ranked Mountaineers (12-2, 8-0) also secured their sixth title in the last eight years and 14th championship over the last three decades.
The first two matches in the App State-Campbell dual were ranked showdowns, and the Mountaineers collected two huge victories to help them claim six of the first seven matches.
Battling sickness that kept him out of several practices during the week,
Caleb Smith earned a tiebreaking takedown with 25 seconds left in a 4-1 win at 125 pounds against 32nd-ranked Anthony Molton, who entered Sunday with three top-15 victories.
Ethan Oakley then delivered a takedown with 57 seconds left in the Sudden Victory overtime period at 133 pounds to win 3-1 against 22nd-ranked Domenic Zaccone. That result gave Oakley, who became the starter following a season-ending injury to
Sean Carter in mid-January, dramatic wins against top-25 wrestlers from Chattanooga and Campbell in the last two duals.
After a ranked wrestler from Campbell (16-9, 7-1) won by major decision at 141, App State turned a 6-4 edge into a 22-4 advantage thanks to four-point major decisions from
Jon Jon Millner (8-0 at 149),
Tommy Askey (11-3 at 157 against Troy Nation, who had a top-33 RPI ranking),
Will Formato (12-0 at 165) and
Will Miller (16-3 at 174).
With three matches remaining and an 18-point margin in the team score, Campbell would need pins from its ranked wrestlers at 184, 197 and heavyweight to rally for a title-swinging victory.
Luke Uliano's tough work on top in the final two periods of a 5-1 loss clinched the dual for the Mountaineers.
App State followed that emotional victory with its 13th and 14th dual shutouts since 2020, starting with Smith's 9-3 decision against Presbyterian's Dominic Chavez, who had won 10-3 against Molton earlier this season.
With all-important individual seedings for the March 4 league tournament in Boone at stake even as the Mountaineers weren't threatened from a team standpoint, App State's starters didn't suffer a letdown against the Blue Hose or Wildcats, who originally were supposed to wrestle App State as part of a doubleheader. The Campbell-App State dual originally was listed as falling on Feb. 12 by both programs, but a scheduling conflict led to the Campbell match being added to the slate for Feb. 19.
Millner, Uliano and
Jacob Sartorio won by fall against PC, while Smith, Millner and
Carson Floyd had pins against Davidson.
Smith (8-0), Oakley (7-0), Millner (8-0), Askey (8-0) and Formato (8-0) all went unbeaten in SoCon duals this season.
Before the final dual of the day, App State conducted a Senior Day ceremony to honor Millner, Formato,
Cody Bond,
Chopper Mordecai and
Mason Fiscella.
Millner produced the pin in his final Varsity Gym appearance, giving him a 38-3 career record in the venerable building. He went 47-4 in duals during his App State career, including 30-0 in SoCon duals.
The 2022-23 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
No. 20 App State 22, Campbell 14
125: #14
Caleb Smith (APP) def. #32 Anthony Molton (CU), 4-1 dec.
133:
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. #22 Domenic Zaccone (CU), 3-1 dec. (SV)
141: #33 Shannon Hanna (CU) def.
Heath Gonyer (APP), 11-3 maj. dec.
149: #9
Jon Jon Millner (APP) def. Chris Rivera (CU), 8-0 maj. dec.
157: #27
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Troy Nation (CU), 11-3 maj. dec.
165: #27
Will Formato (APP) def. Dom Baker (CU), 12-0 maj. dec.
174:
Will Miller (APP) def. Brant Cracraft (CU), 16-3 maj. dec.
184: #31 Caleb Hopkins (CU) def.
Luke Uliano (APP), 5-1 dec.
197: #27 Levi Hopkins (CU) def.
Carson Floyd (APP), 5-0 dec.
Hwt: #16 Taye Ghadiali (CU) def.
Jacob Sartorio (APP), 17-8 maj. dec.
No. 20 App State 43, Presbyterian 0
125: #14
Caleb Smith (APP) def. Dominic Chavez (PC), 9-3 dec.
133:
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Jacob Brasseur (PC), 8-1 dec.
141:
Heath Gonyer (APP) def. Trenton Donahue (PC), 7-1 dec.
149: #9
Jon Jon Millner (APP) def. Khalid Brinkley (PC), fall (1:25)
157: #27
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Michael Ramirez (PC), 21-5 tech fall
165: #27
Will Formato (APP) def. Tyler Chittum (PC), 15-3 maj. dec.
174:
Will Miller (APP) def. Zach Wells (PC), 12-2 maj. dec.
184:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Cordel Duhart (PC), fall (6:38)
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Malcolm Wiley (PC), 6-4 dec.
Hwt:
Jacob Sartorio (APP) def. Morvens Saint Jean (PC), fall (2:39)
No. 20 App State 47, Davidson 0
125: #14
Caleb Smith (APP) def. Hale Robinson (DC), fall (4:29)
133:
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Jackson Sichelstiel (DC), 6-0 dec.
141:
Heath Gonyer (APP) def. Noah Burstein (DC), 10-1 maj. dec.
149: #9
Jon Jon Millner (APP) def. Matt McLaughlin (DC), fall (4:07)
157: #27
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Daniel Yetsick (DC), 12-3 maj. dec.
165: #27
Will Formato (APP) def. Marc Koch (DC), 10-0 maj. dec.
174:
Will Miller (APP) def. Brett Sanderlin (DC), 13-0 maj. dec.
184:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Cameo Blankenship (DC), 10-1 maj. dec.
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Gavin Henry (DC), fall (6:46)
Hwt:
Jacob Sartorio (APP) won by forfeit
Attendance: 996
Note: App State won pre-match coin flip to determine starting weight
