App State wrestling went back on the mat Sunday as they defeated the Chattanooga Mocs 24-17 in a comeback victory capped off by a 9-1 major decision by freshman heavyweight Stephan Monchery. Five other Mountaineers got their hands raised at the end of the match, as the team tallied 3 major decisions, two decisions and one pin.
App State went into intermission trailing 12-7 after allowing Chattanooga to win three of the first five matches, but the Mountaineers returned the favor and won four of the five after the break in action.
“I told them we had to come out and bring the fight. I felt like we were capable of doing what we did, and we can’t just let guys hang around in these matches,” said head coach JohnMark Bentley. “We needed to go out and try to dominate and take care of business.”
Monchery was tasked with holding a 20-17 team score lead after 197-pound junior No. 28 Carson Floyd pinned his opponent for 6 team points in the prior match. Monchery ran out to 470 screaming Black and Gold fans, but the moment was not too much for him.
“In a match like that, everyone else on my team has done their job and they expect me to go out there and do my job,” Monchery said. “That’s all I’ve got to do.”
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The match started at 125 pounds as redshirt freshman Bryson Terrell picked up a 11-3 major decision victory. A match where the scoreline makes it look one sided, saw Terrell give up positioning in some moments but stayed the course for a third-period takedown with 30 seconds left in the final period to give him the victory.
The 133-pound and 141-pound matches were less kind to the Mountaineers as a 5-2 sudden victory loss for senior No. 33 Chad Bellis and a second-period pin against redshirt freshman Aldo Hernandez put Chattanooga ahead 9-4 after the first three matches. Bellis’ match was the first of two ranked matchups on the night and went wire to wire as each wrestler could only muster 2 points up until the overtime period.
The extra time saw Bellis go right at his opponent but his opponent showed why he’s the No. 17 wrestler at his weight class and Bellis eventually fell on a takedown. This loss marks the second match in a row where Bellis has come up just 3 points short of a ranked opponent.
The fourth match of the night saw 149-pound redshirt sophomore Kaden Keiser pick up a close 8-6 decision. Keiser saw himself in an early 3-0 hole but eventually escaped the deficit and ended the first period tied at 4 a piece. An excellent second period from Keiser saw him escape from his initial down position and get a takedown to double his first-period tally in an 8-4 lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
The last match before intermission saw 157-pound redshirt freshman Jeremiah Price lose an 11-6 decision where Price only got going on offense in the last minute. This loss marks the first loss for Price in Southern Conference play as he was 5-0 prior to this.
After the break the fans in the crowd were treated to the No. 7 ranked wrestler at 165 pounds, senior Will Miller. Miller showed his ranking in the first two periods, building a 7-0 lead with ride time already locked in heading to the final two minutes. Healmost slipped up in the waning moments of the match, giving up an escape and a takedown to put his opponent in reaching distance but great defense allowed him to win the match 9-5.
For the second ranked matchup of the night, redshirt junior No. 28 Luke Uliano faced off against the No. 20 ranked wrestler in his weight class. Just like he did against Virginia Tech three weeks prior, Uliano outclassed his opponent from the opening faceoff. A 10-1 lead midway through the middle period exploded into a 15-1 lead by the end of the match for a major decision. Uliano’s win put the Mountaineers back in front of the Mocs 14-12.
“I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing. I think I’m wrestling pretty well and I’ve just got to stick to what I’m doing,” Uliano said. “You know, I can’t wrestle someone else’s match, I’ve got to wrestle my own. Stay to my style and it’s been working for me.”
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The 184-pound bout saw redshirt freshman Logan Eller take the mat. Eller was unable to do much throughout the head-to-head and eventually lost on a 18-3 tech fall. The loss pushed the Mocs to a surprising 17-14 lead with just two matches to go.
The 197-pound match saw junior No. 28 Carson Floyd step up in a big way, pinning his opponent to take the lead back for the Mountaineers.
The pin by Floyd, his 11th of the year, saw him walk off and on the mat as cool and collected as ever and hyped the crowd up for the final and most important match of the night. The win moves Floyd to 5-0 in conference, 24-6 overall this season, and a 19-2 career record against the SoCon. The 24 wins also matches his freshman season with the highest win total of his career.
Monchery and his opponent, who are both freshmen, looked the part of untested and jittery, but as the match went on, Monchery seemingly fed off the crowd’s energy and delivered a monstrous second-period takedown for a lead he would not give up. The bout gave the Mountaineers a 24-17 win.
App State wrestling continues in Boone for the last two weeks of the season against Davidson and Campbell. While all eyes in the SoCon will be on the Mountaineer-Camel matchup on Feb. 23, the Black and Gold cannot look past the Davidson Wildcats as they will come to Varsity Gym on Sunday to potentially play spoiler for an App State team that seems locked in on a regular season title. The match will begin at 3 p.m. with doors opening an hour prior.