LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Holding a narrow lead, with one of the Division I pins leaders on deck for Bellarmine in the final match, App State Wrestling needed a clutch performance from
Carson Floyd.
Floyd delivered, securing a second-period pin that gave the Mountaineers an insurmountable 10-point lead with one match remaining in a 23-19 road victory at Bellarmine on Friday night. App State improved to 5-3 overall and 4-0 in SoCon duals in advance of a trip to Gardner-Webb on Tuesday.
The 11th pin of the season from Bellarmine heavyweight Daulton Mayer in a senior-true freshman showdown to close the dual meant that the Mountaineers and Knights (1-3, 0-2 SoCon) split the 10 matches, but Floyd's pin and two tech falls among App State's four bonus-point wins made the difference.
Starting five freshmen, the Mountaineers' five wins came from four ranked veterans who were 2023-24 starters and one redshirt freshman:
Jeremiah Price.
Chad Bellis' five-point tech fall by an 18-3 score at 133 pounds was his team's only victory in the first four matches, but App State trailed only 9-5 because Bellarmine had posted a trio of three-point decisions, and Price came up big with five more points via a 25-8 tech fall at 157 pounds to put the Mountaineers ahead for good.
Will Miller (10-1 major decision at 165 pounds) and
Luke Uliano (3-0 decision at 174 pounds) then won back-to-back matches that were both officially scoreless entering the third period to increase the Mountaineers' lead from 10-9 to 17-9.
Bellarmine's win by an 18-7 major decision at 184 pounds cut its deficit to 17-13 before the 28th-ranked Floyd took the mat against redshirt freshman Andrew Liber, who had lost a 4-1 decision to ranked Campbell veteran Levi Hopkins in Bellarmine's first SoCon dual a week earlier.
Floyd recorded a first-period takedown and added four near fall points late in the period for a 7-0 advantage. Starting the second period on top, Floyd put Liber on his back before successfully recording a pin halfway through the period.
Bellis held a 4-2 lead in the second period against Trayce Eckman before breaking the match open with two takedowns and a four-point near fall prior to the third. With App State trailing by four in the team race, Price gave up the first takedown in his match against Jeb Prechtel but stormed back to lead 6-3 after one period and 11-4 after two periods before producing four takedowns in the third period.
Miller and Uliano both rode out their second periods and got third-period escapes for 1-0 leads (with riding time heavily in their favor).
In the final minute, Miller used a takedown and two near fall points to break open his match against four-year starter Cole Nance and slowly turn a nailbiter into a bonus-point win. Uliano moved ahead 2-0 on a third-period stalling penalty and added the point for riding time in his shutout.
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
App State 23, Bellarmine 19
125: Jack Parker (BU) def.
Bryson Terrell (APP), 6-3 dec.
133: #33
Chad Bellis (APP) def. Trayce Eckman (BU), 18-3 tech fall
141: #27 AJ Rallo (BU) def.
Aldo Hernandez (APP), 7-1 dec.
149: Zac Cowan (BU) def.
Kaden Keiser (APP), 11-6 dec.
157:
Jeremiah Price (APP) def. Jeb Prechtel (BU), 25-8 tech fall
165: #7
Will Miller (APP) def. Cole Nance (BU), 10-1 maj. dec.
174: #28
Luke Uliano (APP) def. Grant O'Dell (BU), 3-0 dec.
184: Devan Hendricks (BU) def.
Logan Eller (APP), 18-7 maj. dec.
197: #28
Carson Floyd (APP) def. Andrew Liber (BU), fall (3:53)
Hwt: Daulton Mayer (BU) def.
Stephan Monchery (APP), fall (0:39)
