BOONE, N.C. — After nearly two months of competing away from Varsity Gym, App State Wrestling is back in a big way with back-to-back home duals against a pair of ACC opponents.
The Mountaineers (2-2) are scheduled to host No. 11 Virginia Tech (3-2) on Sunday at 3 p.m. and Duke (4-9) on Monday at 7 p.m.
The first 100 students in attendance Sunday, after doors open at 2 p.m., will receive a free "Reach The Summit" wrestling shirt. One hundred hot dogs will be given away free to students on Monday, as the Mountaineers will face the Blue Devils after the completion of a 5:30 p.m. high school dual between Watauga and Avery County.
These will be the second and third duals in a new-look Varsity Gym that includes new Premium endline seating facing a new competition mat (which is oriented in a different direction than in past seasons) and a new C. Philip Byers Scoreboard with video capabilities and a Barker Arena display.
Tickets for Sunday's "Varsity Plus" dual are available online at $15 for general admission seats (in the familiar sets of sideline bleachers) — there is a service charge for online purchases. On match day, the cost to buy at the door is $20.
Tickets for Monday's dual are $10 for general admission seats (plus service charge) and $15 (plus service charge) for a seat in the Premium Black section (general admission with a seatback in the Black areas of the new Premium section, surrounding the reserved Premium Gold seats). On match day, the cost to buy at the door is $15 for general admission and $20 for Premium Black tickets.
Fans who attend Sunday's dual can pick up a $5 discount voucher for Monday's dual before leaving Varsity Gym.
This season, home duals will be streamed live on FloWrestling, which has a subscription model. If you don't have a FloWrestling account, you can purchase a monthly or annual subscription.
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".
MATCH PREVIEWS
App State opened the season with losses to ranked opponents NC State and West Virginia before beginning its SoCon schedule with wins at VMI (40-6) and The Citadel (31-3). With five freshmen in the 10-man lineup at The Citadel, App State won the last nine matches and earned bonus points in four of them.
Will Miller, an NCAA qualifier at 174 pounds in 2023 and 165 pounds in 2024, has two top-20 wins this season at 165, while
Carson Floyd has two ranked wins at 197 pounds. Returning wrestlers
Chad Bellis (133 pounds, up from 125) and
Luke Uliano (174 pounds) were also starters on the 2023-24 team that won the SoCon Championship tournament and finished with a No. 24 national dual team ranking.
Virginia Tech's roster, meanwhile, has five NCAA All-Americans: Eddie Ventresca (seventh in 2023), Sam Latona (sixth in 2021; seventh in 2023), reigning national champion Caleb Henson (fifth in 2023, first in 2024), Lennox Wolak (sixth in 2024 at Columbia) and TJ Stewart (seventh in 2024), while Connor McGonangle had a No. 5 national ranking at Lehigh in 2023 before an injury ended his season.
Henson (12-0 this season) and Andy Smith (top-10 ranking at 197) are not listed among Virginia Tech's probable starters for Sunday.
Virginia Tech was ranked No. 8 nationally before suffering a 20-17 loss at North Carolina without Henson or McGonangle in the lineup. The Hokies have wins against Chattanooga (37-6), No. 8 Missouri (23-10) and No. 17 Rutgers (26-11).
This week, Duke had in-state matches against Gardner-Webb (23-19 loss) and North Carolina (40-3 loss). The Blue Devils have two ranked wrestlers in Aidan Wallace at 165 (No. 29 Intermat/No. 32 Flo) and heavyweight Connor Barket (No. 30 Intermat/No. 30 Flo).
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
App State
125:
Bryson Terrell
133:
Chad Bellis
141:
Aldo Hernandez
149:
Kaden Keiser
157:
Jeremiah Price
165: #7
Will Miller
174:
Luke Uliano
184:
Logan Eller
197: #32
Carson Floyd
Hwt:
Stephan Monchery
Virginia Tech
125: #5 Eddie Ventresca
133: #19 Connor McGonagle
141: #10 Sam Latona
149: Hunter Mason
157: #11 Rafael HIpolito, Jr.
165: #22 Mac Church
174: #20 Lennox Wolak
184: #29 TJ Stewart
197: Sam Fisher
Hwt: #15 Jimmy Mullen
Duke
125: Ethan Grimminger or Riley Rowan
133: Raymond Adams
141: Noah Kochman or Christian Colman
149: SP O'Donnell or Peter Chacon
157: Logan Ferrero
165: #29 Aidan Wallace
174: Gaetano Console
184: David Hussey
197: Kwasi Bonsu
Hwt: #30 Connor Barket
