BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling heads into its Senior Day finale in Varsity Gym on Sunday with one regular-season dual remaining and a top-25 ranking accompanying its name.
The Mountaineers (9-4, 6-1 SoCon) entered the NWCA Coaches Poll Top 25 earlier this season after beating then-No. 21 North Carolina, and they're back in the poll at No. 24 following a 3-1 week that included a 29-0 mark in completed individual matches against three league foes. The four losses this season are all to ranked teams, including three that have spent considerable time in the top 10 this season: NC State, Virginia Tech and Cornell.
App State wraps up the regular season Sunday at 2 p.m. against SoCon foe Gardner-Webb (7-8, 3-4 SoCon). A
ticket to Sunday's dual costs $10 (it's free for App State students who show a student ID, and free pizza will be available to students in attendance).
Four App State wrestlers will be honored on Senior Day:
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Heath Gonyer (2022 SoCon finalist who has 51 career wins)
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Jacob Sartorio (2023 SoCon finalist as a heavyweight who arrived from the Bay Area in 2021)
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Ike Byers (team-leading 24 wins this season as a 141-pound starter who was named a team captain after winning against North Carolina in his first career dual start)
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Cody Bond (team captain who reached the 2021 NCAA Championships as a SoCon champion at 157 pounds and is ranked as high as 17th nationally in his first season as a starter at 149 pounds)
Free of charge, fans not attending will be able to watch on the
App State Wrestling Facebook page, the
App State Athletics YouTube page or the
Twitch.TV channel for App State Athletics.
The Rivers Street Deck across from Varsity Gym is the most popular parking option for wrestling events, with fans entering the corner of the gym adjacent to the loading dock area off Rivers Street.
Fans attending wrestling events should be aware that Varsity Gym has a clear bag policy for visitors. According to App State's clear bag policies:
- Approved bags include clear plastic bags that do not exceed 12" x 6" x 12" and small clutch purses no larger than 4.5" x 6.5".
- Bags that are not approved include diaper bags, backpacks, binocular cases, camera cases, tinted or printed pattern plastic bags, fanny packs, oversized tote bags & mesh bags, and purses exceeding 4.5" x 6.5".
Gardner-Webb is led by two-time NCAA qualifier Jha'Quan Anderson, who won a Southern Scuffle title at 184 pounds earlier this year. He is 24-5 this season, with a 19-1 record since the start of December — the only loss was a 1-0 decision against Campbell's Caleb Hopkins.
Back in mid-November, at the Mountaineer Invitational, Anderson had a 10-3 lead on App State true freshman
Tomas Brooker before earning a victory via a late injury default.
The Runnin' Bulldogs have SoCon wins this season against Davidson (25-17), Presbyterian (54-0) and VMI (28-10). Gardner-Webb's other leading performers in SoCon duals have been Todd Carter (5-1 league record at 141), Zach Price (5-2 league record at 149) and Drew West (5-2 league record at 125). West and Carter both had head-to-head wins against App State starters at the Mountaineer Invitational, while Price had a Round of 12 finish at the NCAAs before he transferred to Gardner-Webb from South Dakota State.
The 2023-24 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
