CLEVELAND — App State Wrestling has followed another SoCon regular season championship with yet another conference tournament title. The final phase of the 2025-26 season: sending three individual SoCon champs to the NCAA Championships at Rocket Arena.
The double-elimination event begins Thursday at noon, with
Aldo Hernandez (141 pounds) immediately on the mat for a pigtail round match that pits a No. 32 seed against a No. 33 seed, feeding into a matchup against the No. 1 seed in the next round. Late in the opening session, at two of the three heaviest weight classes,
Tomas Brooker (No. 21 seed at 184 pounds) and
Stephan Monchery (No. 23 seed at heavyweight) will take the mat.
Here are the opening matchups (brackets subject to change if any wrestlers withdraw):
141 (Pigtail): #33
Aldo Hernandez (19-14) vs. #32 Matthew Martino, Princeton (15-15)
184: #21
Tomas Brooker (26-8) vs. #12 Dylan Fishback, Ohio State (18-8)
Hwt: #23
Stephan Monchery (23-6) vs. #10 David Szuba, Arizona State (22-9)
App State's three NCAA qualifiers are a pair of sophomores who are 2-for-2 in winning SoCon titles and a third sophomore who has qualified for the first time.
Brooker won SoCon titles to qualify automatically for the NCAAs at 184 pounds as a true freshman in 2024 and as a redshirt sophomore in 2026, after suffering a season-ending injury in first dual of the 2024-25 season. He won his 2026 conference tournament matches by scores of 17-0, 17-5 and 12-3 for a combined margin of 46-8.
Monchery became a SoCon champion as a true freshman heavyweight in 2025 and a sophomore in 2026, with a pair of victories worthy of a "Power Double" moniker given that both wins in the tournament finales clinched dramatic team titles. He won his 2026 conference tournament matches by scores of 18-3, 14-4 and 11-1 for a combined margin of 43-8 and is 23-3 this season after starting it with three consecutive losses.
After going 4-3 in SoCon duals at 141 pounds, Hernandez avenged all three close regular season losses as the No. 5 seed in Asheville, sandwiching wins against NCAA qualifiers in 2024 and 2025 around a major decision in the semifinals against the No. 1 seed who went unbeaten in SoCon duals. Hernandez followed a 16-4 major against UTC's Hunter Mason in the semifinals with an 8-1 finals decision against Bellarmine's AJ Rallo.
During the season, inspired by the "Believe" sign above Ted Lasso's door on the popular TV series, Hernandez put up a sign on the inside of his apartment door that read "SoCon Champ" and "NCAA Qualifier." Hernandez would frequently touch the sign as he exited, and he willed both goals into reality by earning a spot in Cleveland.
In the last seven seasons alone under the direction of head coach
JohnMark Bentley, the Mountaineers have had NCAA qualifiers at all 10 weights and 35 total NCAA qualifiers.
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.
App State's 2025-26 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
Thursday's schedule
Noon: Session 1 - First Round
7 pm: Session 2 - Second Round and Consolation First Round
Friday's schedule
Noon: Session 3 - Quarterfinals and Consolation Second/Third Rounds
8 pm: Session 4 - Semifinals and Consolation Fourth/Fifth Rounds
Saturday's schedule
11 am: Session 5 - Consolation Semifinals and 3rd/5th/7th Place Matches
7 pm: Session 4 - Championship Matches
Opening Round ESPN+ links (Mat Cams)
Night Session ESPN+ links (Mat Cams)
ENTRY BIOS:
ALDO HERNANDEZ (141 pounds | R-So. | Asheboro, N.C. | Uwharrie Charter)
Career: Two-year starter has a 42-31 record ... SoCon champion at 141 pounds in 2026.
2025-26: Enters the NCAA Championships as the No. 33 seed at 141 pounds with a 19-14 record following a 3-0 mark to win the SoCon Championships title ... After going 4-3 in SoCon duals, avenged all three losses as the No. 5 seed in Asheville, sandwiching wins against NCAA qualifiers in 2024 and 2025 around a major decision in the semifinals against the No. 1 seed who went unbeaten in SoCon duals ... Turned a 4-3 loss to VMI's Dyson Dunham into a 5-1 quarterfinal win, a 6-4 loss (decided by a takedown in the final 30 seconds) to UTC's Hunter Mason into a 16-4 semifinal major decision and a 4-1 overtime loss to Bellarmine's AJ Rallo into an 8-1 finals decision ... Picked up ranked win in dual at West Virginia, winning a 4-2 decision against No. 29 Jordan Titus thanks to a tiebreaking takedown in the final minute ... App State trailed 9-0 at Campbell before Hernandez delivered a first-period pin against an opponent that had beaten him in his Nov. 2 season debut ... Tech fall against The Citadel produced a 20-3 lead in a 23-13 win ... Opened team win against Gardner-Webb with 8-4 decision against Dominic DiTullio ... Mountaineer Open finalist ... Won one match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational ... Named SoCon Wrestler of the Week following 5-0 shutout of PC's Ryan Luna.
TOMAS BROOKER (184 pounds | R-So. | Harrisburg, N.C. | Hickory Ridge)
Career: Record of 51-26 entering the NCAA Championships ... SoCon champion at 184 pounds as a true freshman in 2024 and redshirt sophomore in 2026 (after suffering a season-ending injury in first dual of the 2024-25 season)
2025-26: All-SoCon selection and SoCon champion at 184 ... Four ranked wins entering the NCAAs as part of a 26-8 record ... Went 3-0 at the SoCon Championships tournament with a 17-0 tech fall in the quarterfinals, a 17-5 major decision against No. 31 Landon Jones from UTC in the semifinals and a 12-3 major decision in the final ... Moved back into the rankings at 184 after going 5-1 at the Southern Scuffle, where he won a 5-2 decision against ACC champion Jaden Bullock from Virginia Tech to reach the semifinal round and ended the tournament with a 7-2 decision against No. 20 Christian Hansen from Cornell in the third-place match ... Mountaineer Open was first title since the 2024 SoCon tournament, as Brooker suffered a season-ending knee injury at NC State in the opening dual of the 2024-25 season ... First six losses of season all to top-20 opponents ... Earned win in NC State, building a big lead in an 11-5 decision against Don Cates ... Won one match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational by major decision and had two third-period takedowns in 15-10 loss to No. 7 Brock Mantanona from Michigan ... Opened 23-13 team win against The Citadel with an 11-6 decision.
STEPHAN MONCHERY (Heavyweight | So. | Middletown, N.Y. | Middletown)
Career: SoCon champion as a true freshman heavyweight in 2025 and sophomore in 2026, with a pair of victories worthy of a "Power Double" moniker given that both wins in the heavyweight finales clinched team titles for App State ... Two-year starter has a 42-17 record.
2025-26: SoCon champion and All-SoCon selection at heavyweight ... Enters NCAA Championships with a 23-6 record ... Went 3-0 at the SoCon Championships with an 18-3 tech fall, a 14-4 major decision and an 11-1 major decision in the final to turn a 2.5-point deficit in the team race into an App State victory by 1.5 points ... Ended 2025 calendar with 12 straight wins thanks to a 6-4 decision against No. 19 Connor Barket from Duke — Monchery's first career top-25 win ... Got on a roll after falling to 0-3 with a loss to No. 12 Spencer Lanosga, a Navy standout who delivered a pin after falling behind 7-0 while nearly being pinned by Monchery ... Avenged a 2025 loss to Bellarmine standout and pin machine Daulton Mayer, overcoming a 3-0 deficit after one period by getting takedowns in each of the final two periods ... Produced six big team points in the 23-13 win against The Citadel thanks to a third-period pin in the third match of the dual ... Went 2-0 at Mountaineer Quad with dual wins against Princeton (overtime victory) and West Virginia (tiebreaking takedown in the final minute) ... Mountaineer Open champion with a 4-0 record, including an overtime win in the final against UNC's Jacob Levy ... Capped NC State dual with a 17-3 major decision against Xavier Wilson ... Got in on a shot while behind 8-6 with a minute left in the final period of a 12-6 loss to No. 16 Jimmy Mullen from Virginia Tech, with Mullen turning defense to offense for a sealing takedown ... Had team's lone bonus point win at Chattanooga.
