RALEIGH, N.C. — With tight matches at half of the 10 weights, App State Wrestling recorded wins from
Chad Bellis,
Will Miller and
Carson Floyd while opening the season with a 34-12 loss at No. 6 NC State on Friday night.
Facing a Wolfpack team with nine ranked wrestlers in its lineup, there were three ranked showdowns, with the eighth-ranked Miller delivering takedowns in the second and third periods of a 7-3 decision against 19th-ranked Derek Fields at 165 pounds.
Floyd moved ahead 4-0 on a second-period takedown of 30th-ranked Christian Knop and held a 6-2 lead in the third period when the match ended via an injury default after Knop was unable to continue at 197 pounds.
Bellis opened the dual with a 7-5 decision against Troy Hohman at 133 pounds, breaking a 2-2 tie with an escape and a point for an illegal hold early in the third, then gaining separation on a takedown with 53 seconds left.
App State (0-1) was in position to follow that victory up with another impressive one.
Sean Carter had two first-period takedowns against sixth-ranked Kai Orine, a two-time All-American, and was ahead 6-3 in the third period when he went down with an injury. An injury default gave NC State a win worth six team points with the 21st-ranked Carter, a sixth-year redshirt senior, close to picking up a second statement victory in his return from a January 2023 injury that kept him out of attached competition for 22 months. He won in overtime against another All-American, Virginia Tech's Sam Latona, last weekend at the Mountaineer Invitational.
Three of the 10 matches involved impactful injuries, as returning NCAA qualifier and 27th-ranked sophomore
Tomas Brooker from App State went down in the opening period at 184 pounds before attempting to continue. He was helped off the mat following an injury default that gave six points to 14th-ranked Dylan Fishback.
App State's tightest loss occurred in the third match, after Bellis' win and Carter's strong pre-injury showing.
Kaden Keiser opened the second period with back points from the top position for a 2-0 lead against No. 31 Koy Buesgens and was tied at 4-all in the third before Buesgens secured a go-ahead takedown with 39 seconds left in a 7-5 victory at 149.
An early takedown and four near-fall points that followed were the difference in 29th-ranked Matty Singleton's 9-2 decision against
Luke Uliano at 174. NC State won by tech fall at 157 and closed the dual with a combined 11 team points from a fall at heavyweight, then a tech fall at 125.
No. 6 NC State 34, App State 12
133:
Chad Bellis (APP) def. Troy Hohman (NCSU), 7-5 dec.
141: #6 Kai Orine (NCSU) def. #21
Sean Carter (APP), inj. def. (Carter ahead 6-3 in 3rd)
149: #31 Koy Buesgens (NCSU) def.
Kaden Keiser (APP), 7-5 dec.
157: #9 Ed Scott (NCSU) def.
Anthony Conetta (APP), 22-6 tech fall
165: #8
Will Miller (APP) def. #19 Derek Fields (NCSU), 7-3 dec.
174: #29 Matty Singleton (NCSU) def.
Luke Uliano (APP), 9-2
184: #14 Dylan Fishback (NCSU) def. #27
Tomas Brooker (APP), inj. def.
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. #30 Christian Knop (NCSU), inj. def. (Floyd led 6-2 in 3rd)
285: #7 Isaac Trumble (NCSU) def.
Levi Andrews (APP), fall (2:30)
125: #16 Vince Robinson (NCSU) def.
Noah Luna (APP), 20-5 tech fall
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station. App State makes its home dual debut next Friday against No. 19 West Virginia in an upgraded Varsity Gym at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online for that Varsity Plus dual.
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