THE CAROLINAS — Tackling a SoCon doubleheader that called for competition in two states, App State Wrestling produced a Thursday sweep with a 54-0 afternoon shutout against Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C., before winning 44-0 at Davidson in the nightcap.
App State (8-3, 5-1 SoCon) started the marathon day, which began with a 6:15 a.m. departure from Boone for the three-hour drive to Clinton, with its national-leading 16th dual shutout since the calendar flipped to 2020. After fighting some heavy interstate traffic to reach Davidson, which is normally two hours from Presbyterian, the Mountaineers added their 17th shutout since 2020 and left the Lake Norman area after 9 p.m. for the two-hour trip home to the High Country.
Ethan Oakley and
Will Miller had pins against Davidson, while
Tommy Askey added a tech fall in a rematch of the 2023 SoCon final at 157 pounds.
Ike Byers,
Tomas Brooker and
Carson Floyd all secured major decisions wrestling close to their hometowns, with Brooker avenging an early-January loss to Wyatt Ferguson at the Southern Scuffle.
Cody Bond won a 9-2 decision at 149,
Luke Uliano built a 5-0 lead in an 8-4 decision at 174 and
Jacob Sartorio won an 8-7 decision in the heavyweight finale. Sartorio fell behind 7-5 on a third-period takedown, answered by executing a tying reversal with 54 seconds left, ran his riding time over a minute and finished on top to prevail 8-7 — a Davidson review for near-fall points on the third-period takedown was unsuccessful.
Chad Bellis went 2-0 on the day via forfeits with neither Presbyterian nor Davidson fielding a wrestler at 125 pounds.
The dual against Presbyterian, which included two forfeits, lasted only 39 minutes. The other eight victories resulted from four pins, three tech falls and an 8-3 decision that featured a 7-0 start. Three of the pins and one of the tech falls occurred in the first period.
After Askey opened the dual with a first-period tech fall, Miller and Uliano delivered first-period pins in back-to-back matches. Floyd followed Brooker's tech fall with a pin in just 51 seconds, and Sartorio led 7-0 (with a riding time point secured) before giving up a late takedown. Oakley's second-period fall and Byers' tech fall were sandwiched between forfeit wins by Bellis and Bond.
The 2023-24 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station. App State will be in action at Varsity Gym on Sunday for a doubleheader against SoCon foe Bellarmine (at 11:30 a.m.) and No. 9 Cornell (at 1:30 p.m.).
A
ticket to Sunday's doubleheader, the last of three premium events on App State's home schedule, costs $20 (it's free for App State students who show a student ID).
App State 54, Presbyterian 0
157: #19
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Dakota Price, 17-1 tech fall
165: #22
Will Miller (APP) def. Michael Ramirez (PC), fall (1:29)
174:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Josh Williams (PC), fall (1:39)
184:
Tomas Brooker (APP) def. Caleb Roe (PC), 17-1 tech fall
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. George Hopkins (PC), fall (0:51)
HWT:
Jacob Sartorio (APP) def. Morvens Saint-Jean (PC), 8-3 dec.
125:
Chad Bellis (APP) won by forfeit
133: #27
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Brayden Adams (PC), fall (4:49)
141:
Ike Byers (APP) def. Ryan Luna (PC), 19-3 tech fall
149: #21
Cody Bond (APP) won by forfeit
App State 44, Davidson 0
125:
Chad Bellis (APP) won by forfeit
133: #27
Ethan Oakley (APP) def. Devon Diaco (DAV), fall (4:23)
141:
Ike Byers (APP) def. Joshua Viarengo (DAV), 15-2 maj. dec.
149: #21
Cody Bond (APP) def. Tyler-Xavier McKnight (DAV), 9-2 dec.
157: #19
Tommy Askey (APP) def. Tanner Peake (DAV), 18-3 tech fall
165: #22
Will Miller (APP) def. Bryce Sanderlin (DAV), fall (6:28)
174:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Marc Koch (DAV), 8-4 decision
184:
Tomas Brooker (APP) def. Wyatt Ferguson (DAV), 12-1 maj. dec.
197:
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Cameo Blankenship (DAV), 9-1 maj. dec.
HWT:
Jacob Sartorio (APP) def. Jake Fernicola (DAV), 8-7 dec.
The NCAA released its second set of Coaches Rankings and RPI Rankings on Thursday before App State began competition. The Mountaineers had eight of 10 starters included in the top 33 of the RPI at their respective weights, with Oakley (133), Bond (149), Askey (157) and Miller (165) being ranked in both the Coaches Rankings and the RPI.
Bellis, Byers, Uliano and Sartorio had top-33 RPI rankings.
Coaches Rankings:
133: #27
Ethan Oakley
149: #21
Cody Bond
157: #19
Tommy Askey
165: #22
Will Miller
RPI
125: #25
Chad Bellis
133: #10
Ethan Oakley
141: #33
Ike Byers
149: #20
Cody Bond
157: #17
Tommy Askey
165: #25
Will Miller
174: #22
Luke Uliano
HWT: #24
Jacob Sartorio
