App State rebounded Sunday against VMI with a 32-7 victory in Varsity Gym that included winning eight of 10 dual matches.
“It wasn’t as crisp and clean as I would’ve liked it,” said head coach JohnMark Bentley. “Sometimes it’s about getting a win.”
The Mountaineers won their first four matches, taking a 16-0 advantage over the Keydets.
To begin, 141-pound redshirt junior Ike Byers defeated Patrick Jordon with a 2-1 decision in the Tiebreaker-1 overtime period. Byers’ third career dual victory included an escape after 15 seconds and a 30 second ride into the next period to break the tie.
At 149-pounds, redshirt senior Cody Bond won a 6-3 decision over Ryan Vigil. Bond took advantage of two reversals and almost four minutes of riding time to give the Black and Gold a 6-0 lead.
The next two matches ended in tech falls as 157-pound junior Tommy Askey and 165-pound junior Will Miller defeated their opponents with less than 90 seconds remaining in the second period.
“Both of them wrestled with a lot of energy,” Bentley said.
VMI won their first match of the day when Braxton Lewis defeated 174-pound freshman Logan Eller in a 13-0 major decision.
App State responded by winning the next four matches to take a 32-4 lead.
Freshman Tomas Brooker at 184-pounds bested Toby Schoffstall in a 8-1 decision. Two takedowns in the closing seconds of the first and third period from Brooker sealed the match.
Sophomore 197-pound Carson Floyd defeated Josh Evans by fall with 1:44 remaining in the first period.
Heavyweight senior Jacob Sartorio overcame a 7-0 deficit against Tyler Mousaw to win a 16-14 decision.
The Mountaineers final victory came when 125-pound junior Chad Bellis totaled four takedowns against Tony Burke in a 14-2 major decision.
Down 32-4, the Keydets won again in Sunday’s final match as Dyson Dunham defeated 133-pound redshirt freshman Noah Luna in a 9-5 decision to score three points.
With the Black and Gold’s 32-7 victory, their overall record improves to 5-3 and 2-1 in the SoCon.
App State will go on the road to face off against Chattanooga Sunday at 2 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
