CHARLESTON, S.C. — In a showdown of teams that were top-three SoCon finishers a year ago, an App State Wrestling squad with five freshmen in its 10-man lineup recorded victories in the final nine matches to claim a 31-3 win at The Citadel on Sunday.
App State (2-2 overall, 2-0 SoCon) followed a league-opening win at VMI with another road victory, highlighted by No. 33
Carson Floyd's 4-3 decision against No. 27 Patrick Brophy in a ranked battle at 197 pounds.
Aldo Hernandez accounted for one of App State's four major decisions in his first career dual start at 141, and fellow redshirt freshman
Logan Eller also posted his first career dual win at 184.
No. 8
Will Miller took his first lead on a takedown with about a minute left in a 6-4 decision against Thomas Snipes at 165, and redshirt freshman
Jeremiah Price bounced back from a recent 5-3 loss to Pitt transfer Tyler Badgett at the Southern Scuffle by winning a 5-2 decision over Badgett at 157.
Kaden Keiser, meanwhile, won an 8-3 decision at 149 against Carson DesRosier, who entered the dual with a 14-3 record for the Bulldogs (3-2, 0-1).
The Mountaineers' other victories were bonus-point results that came from
Chad Bellis (11-1 major at 133),
Luke Uliano (8-0 shutout at 174) and true freshman
Stephan Monchery (11-3 major at heavyweight). Uliano led 1-0 entering the third period against Ben Haubert and rode out the final two minutes, producing near falls worth two and four points before earning a bonus point because of his riding time.
After they split two matches last season, Floyd turned defense into offense for a takedown and rideout with just under two minutes left in the first period against Brophy, who cut his deficit to 4-3 with a second-period takedown. With Floyd's riding time at approximately 40 seconds entering the third, Brophy chose neutral instead of starting on bottom with a one-point deficit, and Floyd used strong defense in the third to avoid a go-ahead takedown for Brophy.
A redshirt freshman from Asheboro, Hernandez recorded a takedown in the first 10 seconds of his dual debut and ended the second period against Thomas Termini with a takedown as time expired for a 6-2 advantage. Hernandez added two more takedowns in the third.
Eller, who was making just his second dual start of the year and third of his career, had a takedown midway through the first and finished the period on top to seize control against Micah DiCarlo.
Price, another redshirt freshman, used a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period and a reversal early in the third period to beat Badgett, a third-place finisher at the Southern Scuffle.
While redshirt freshman
Bryson Terrell dropped an 8-2 decision against Gylon Sims to begin the dual, App State's youth ended the dual in impressive fashion, as Monchery took the lead on a second-period takedown and added two more takedowns in the third against Mason Ayers.
Bellis followed a first-period takedown with a rideout and turned a 4-0 lead into a 7-0 advantage thanks to a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period against George Rosas. His bonus-point win put App State ahead for good, and Keiser followed Hernandez's major decision with a six-point first period in which he made a turn for near fall points after delivering a takedown.
Price's win gave App State a 14-3 lead halfway through the dual, and Miller fell behind 3-0 on Snipes' early takedown. A one-point penalty and a Miller escape cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of the first, and a trade of escapes in the second and third periods meant Miller was trailing 4-3 in the third. He went ahead for the first time on a takedown with about a minute left and finished the match on top.
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station. App State has a big weekend ahead, with home duals on back-to-back days against No. 8 Virginia Tech (Sunday at 3 p.m.) and Duke (Monday at 7 p.m., after a high school dual between Watauga and Avery) in Varsity Gym.
Tickets are available online for the duals against Virginia Tech (priced as a Varsity Plus match) and Duke. Tickets for home wrestling events are $5 cheaper in advance of match day.
App State 31, The Citadel 3
125: Gylon Sims (CIT) def.
Bryson Terrell (APP), 8-2 dec.
133:
Chad Bellis (APP) def. George Rosas (CIT), 11-1 maj. dec.
141:
Aldo Hernandez (APP) def. Thomas Termini (CIT), 14-3 maj. dec.
149:
Kaden Keiser (APP) def. Carson DesRosier (CIT), 8-3 dec.
157:
Jeremiah Price (APP) def. Tyler Badgett (CIT), 5-2 dec.
165: #8
Will Miller (APP) def. Thomas Snipes (CIT), 6-4 dec.
174:
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Ben Haubert (CIT), 8-0 maj. dec.
184:
Logan Eller (APP) def. Micah DiCarlo (CIT), 6-0 dec.
197: #33
Carson Floyd (APP) def. #27 Patrick Brophy (CIT), 4-3 dec.
Hwt:
Stephan Monchery (APP) def. Mason Ayers (CIT), 11-3 maj. dec.
