KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the fifth straight year, App State Wrestling has had at least five wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships, which begin Thursday morning at the T-Mobile Center.
Five wrestlers — all Southern Conference champions who earned automatic NCAA berths — are set to compete Thursday in the double-elimination event, with seeds attached: No. 21
Ethan Oakley (133 pounds), No. 18
Cody Bond (149 pounds), No. 19
Tommy Askey (157 pounds), No. 16
Will Miller (165 pounds) and No. 33
Tomas Brooker (184 pounds).
Oakley, Bond, Askey and Miller all will be making their second NCAA appearances, with Bond back for the first time since 2021 and the other three veterans returning after 2023 debuts. Brooker, a true freshman, is making his first appearance and will hit the mat early in a pigtail match — the No. 33 seed faces the No. 32 seed for the right to enter the main bracket opposite the No. 1 seed.
Here are the opening matchups (brackets subject to change if any wrestlers withdraw):
133: No. 21
Ethan Oakley (26-7) vs. #12 Sam Latona, Virginia Tech
149: No. 18
Cody Bond (24-6) vs. #15 Corbyn Munson, Central Michigan
157: No. 19
Tommy Askey (22-5) vs. #14 Cody Chittum, Iowa State
165: No. 16
Will Miller (24-6) vs. #17 Tyler Lillard, Indiana
184: No. 33
Tomas Brooker (21-13) vs. #32 Anthony D'Alesio, Long Island U. (pigtail match)
ESPNU (day) and ESPN (night) will have overarching coverage of this week's championships. The best way to watch App State matches in the early rounds will be via ESPN+ and the live streams for each mat (1-8). App State Wrestling's Twitter account (@appwrestling) will provide updates of mat assignments and approximate match times as they become available in real time.
Thursday's schedule
11 a.m. CT (Noon ET): Session 1 - First Round
6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET): Session 2 - Second Round and Consolation First Round
Friday's schedule
11 a.m. CT (Noon ET): Session 3 - Quarterfinals and Consolation Second/Third Rounds
7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET): Session 4 - Semifinals and Consolation Fourth/Fifth Rounds
Saturday's schedule
10 a.m. CT (11 ET): Session 5 - Consolation Semifinals and 3rd/5th/7th Place Matches
6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET): Session 4 - Championship Matches
Opening Round ESPN+ links
goapp.st/Rd1Mat1
goapp.st/Rd1Mat2
goapp.st/Rd1Mat3
goapp.st/Rd1Mat4
goapp.st/Rd1Mat5
goapp.st/Rd1Mat6
goapp.st/Rd1Mat7
goapp.st/Rd1Mat8
Second Round ESPN+ links
goapp.st/Rd2Mat1
goapp.st/Rd2Mat2
goapp.st/Rd2Mat3
goapp.st/Rd2Mat4
goapp.st/Rd2Mat5
goapp.st/Rd2Mat6
goapp.st/Rd2Mat7
goapp.st/Rd2Mat8
Last year, the Mountaineers were set to send six wrestlers to Tulsa, with a strong possibility that Oakley would go from first alternate to 33rd-seeded entry based on an injury to a fellow competitor at 133 pounds. That occurred, but App State faced its own difficult situation when an infection prevented two-time All-American
Jon Jon Millner from traveling.
Without its leader competing or being present with the group, the Mountaineers struggled with three of their five entries making their NCAA debuts. After Oakley won a pigtail match, App State wrestlers went a combined 0-10 on Day 1 to make an uncharacteristically quick exit.
This year, in addition to Brooker's opportunity to post a win against a similarly seeded entry, the other four Mountaineers are seeded between 16th and 21st in their 33-man brackets. On paper, 24th-ranked App State has a better seed in only one first-round matchup — the 16th-seeded Bond faces the 17th-seeded Lillard from Indiana — so App State's qualifiers will face difficult challenges from the get-go.
Since
JohnMark Bentley became head coach, App State has had 61 NCAA qualifiers and five All-America finishes. In the last five seasons alone, the Mountaineers have had NCAA qualifiers at all 10 weights and 29 total NCAA qualifiers.
The 2023-24 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
ENTRY BIOS:
ETHAN OAKLEY (133 pounds | 4th-Year Redshirt Sophomore | Trinity, N.C. | Wheatmore HS)
Career: 2023 and 2024 NCAA qualifier ... 2024 SoCon champion and 2023 finalist ... Career record of 47-24, including 21-1 in duals ... Competed at the 2023 NCAA Championships and won a match after initially being the first alternate at 133 pounds .... All-SoCon in 2023 and 2024 ... Pinnacle Award winner (given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team) at the 2023 SoCon Championship ... In June 2023, finished as 61 kg runner-up after 5-0 start to reach best-of-three finals at the U23 Freestyle Nationals in Ohio.
2023-24: All-SoCon and SoCon champion ... Enters NCAAs with a 26-7 record, including a 12-1 mark in duals (6-1 in SoCon duals) ... Two ranked wins during 3-0 run in SoCon Championship, with a last-minute takedown and rideout in a 5-4 semifinal win vs. Blake Boarman before winning 5-4 vs. Campbell's Domenic Zaccone on a takedown with one second left ... Won against Zaccone in their dual matchup, overcoming a 7-1 deficit in a 14-8 decision ... Had 17-0 career record in duals before losing by fall in improbable fashion vs. Chattanooga — Oakley led 6-2 in the second period and was in on another shot when he got caught underneath Boarman ... Eighth at Cliff Keen Invitational with one top-15 win and a pair of wins against previous NCAA qualifiers.
CODY BOND (149 pounds | 7th-Year Redshirt Senior | Danielsville, Ga. | Madison County HS)
Career: NCAA qualifier as a SoCon champion in 2021 at 157 pounds and 2024 at 149 pounds, with an NCAA trip as a second alternate as the SoCon runner-up at 157 pounds in 2022 ... Career record of 78-37 ... Pursuing a Master's Degree in higher education, honored in 2024 by the SoCon with Pinnacle Award as the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
2023-24: All-SoCon and SoCon champion at 157 ... Enters NCAAs with a 24-6 record, including an 8-3 mark in duals (7-0 in SoCon duals) ... Went 3-0 at SoCon Championship, with a 2-0 finals win against The Citadel's Jeffrey Boyd ... Turned defense to offense on tiebreaking takedown with 1:25 left and finished on top, getting two back points, to prevail 7-1 against Campbell's Justin Rivera in semifinal showdown ... Southern Scuffle runner-up thanks to semifinal pin of top-10 Jadan Abas from Stanford and OT loss in final ... Won Mountaineer Invitational title with a ranked victory in the final (against No. 31 Michael Gioffre from Virginia) ... Transitioned from 157 to 149, a spot held down by
Jon Jon Millner for last four seasons.
TOMMY ASKEY (157 pounds | 4th-Year Junior | Pine Bush, N.Y. | Pine Bush HS)
Career: SoCon champion and automatic NCAA qualifier at 157 pounds in 2023 and 2024 ... Unbeaten record in SoCon duals in 2023 and 2024 ... Career record of 71-33 entering 2024 NCAAs ... All-SoCon in 2023 and 2024.
2023-24: All-SoCon and SoCon champion ... Went 3-0 at SoCon Championship with 9-2 decision in 157 final ... Enters NCAAs with a 22-5 record, including 10-2 in duals (7-0 in SoCon duals) ... Reached Keystone Classic final with a ranked win and won twice in Las Vegas in December ... Overcame early 6-0 deficit to tie match at 9-all by the end of the third period and win 12-9 on a Sudden Victory takedown against The Citadel ... Won by major decision against Campbell ... Won by tech fall against Davidson in rematch of 2023 SoCon final and preview of 2024 final, one of eight tech falls and 15 bonus-point wins prior to the NCAAs.
WILL MILLER (165 pounds | Junior | Helena, Ala. | Thompson HS)
Career: Automatic NCAA qualifier as a SoCon champion at 165 pounds in 2024 after being an automatic NCAA qualifier in 2023 as a SoCon finalist at 174 ... Unbeaten SoCon dual record in 2024 ... Career record of 61-27 entering 2024 NCAAs.
2023-24: All-SoCon and SoCon champion at 165 ... Entering NCAAs with a 24-6 record, including 12-1 in duals (8-0 in SoCon duals) ... Went 3-0 at SoCon Championship, building a first-period lead of 6-0 in an 8-3 decision against ranked Dom Baker of Campbell in 165 final ... Won three of first four matches in December in Las Vegas, highlighted by 5-1 decision against a ranked opponent from Virginia Tech (Connor Brady) ... First-period pin vs. UNC helped take lead from 9-6 to 15-16 in 24-14 team victory ... Won by an 8-2 decision against Campbell in a top-30 showdown ... Led App State in regular season with 54 points in 13 dual matches (4.2 per match) and 37 points in eight SoCon duals (4.6 per match) ... Entering NCAAs with a 15-match win streak.
TOMAS BROOKER (184 pounds | True Freshman | Harrisburg, N.C. | Hickory Ridge HS)
2023-24: SoCon champion at 184 and member of the SoCon All-Freshman team ... As the No. 3 seed at the SoCon Championship, went 3-0 with an improbable 5-4 victory in the final against No. 32 Caleb Hopkins of Campbell thanks to a takedown with one second left ... Starting the third period from a top position while facing a 3-0 deficit against a wrestler who had quickly pinned him in their dual matchup, Brooker was still on top when Hopkins was penalized a stalling point for the first time with 26 seconds remaining. Brooker tried to cut him loose immediately but brought him back down too quickly for an escape/takedown combo to be scored. Hopkins refused to return to his feet as Brooker tried to cut him loose again and was penalized again for stalling with five seconds left to make the score 3-2. Hopkins returned to his feet, finally recording an escape 115 seconds into the period, and Brooker immediately went in for a takedown that he finished in the final second ... Starting as a true freshman, enters NCAAs with a 21-13 record, including an 8-6 record in duals (6-2 in SoCon duals) ... 11-4 with nine bonus-point wins in last 15 matches prior to the NCAAs ... In six SoCon dual wins, had three tech falls and two major decisions, including one against a Davidson opponent that had defeated him at the Southern Scuffle ... ... App State held 15-13 lead on Chattanooga before Brooker produced five team points with a 15-0 tech fall ... Picked up first dual win vs. Duke ... Went 4-0 during title run in The Battle at The Citadel in first college tournament.
