App State wrestling was back in action Saturday with two champions at the Appalachian Open. This is the second tournament-style event hosted in Varsity Gym this season as the Mountaineer Invitational was held back in November.
Redshirt sophomore and 157-pound Anthony Conetta and 141-pound redshirt junior Riley Edwards both took home first place in their weight classes. Each wrestler did not give up more than 5 points in a single match on their way to 4-0 records.
In an open tournament, anyone who is not in high school can register. This led to teams from Divisions I, II and III competing in Varsity Gym. The number of teams caused five matches to simultaneously go on at all times up until the finals were underway.
Power conference schools such as NC State, Virginia Tech and UNC Chapel-Hill were among the 13 universities that attended the event. Truett McConnell University, one of the teams attending, is coached by former App State wrestler and two-time Southern Conference champion at 157 and 149 pounds Cody Bond.
This also meant the App State coaching staff couldn’t be in the corner for all the wrestlers competing. In place, the wrestlers not competing would be in the corner for most of the matches.
“It can make it a little more fun sometimes looking over to the corner and seeing the guys you scrap with every day,” Edwards said. “It’s just different and I like it.”
App State had 20 wrestlers compete on Saturday, having three second-place finishers, two third-place finishers and one fourth-place. Redshirt freshman 165-pound Jayden Dobeck, 125-pound redshirt sophomore Colby McBride and 141-pound freshman Jarvis Little, who usually wrestles at 133 pounds, all finished second in their weight divisions. All three wrestlers also went unattached in this tournament.
McBride and Little swept through their competition in their first two matchups as McBride was given a bye straight to the quarterfinals before winning his two matches a combined 14-2 before losing in the finals 8-1. This is McBride’s best result yet this season after a third-place finish at 133 pounds at the Wilkes Open. A strong showing at the Appalachian Open has led McBride to be projected to get his first career start against Presbyterian Monday.
Little beat his first two opponents 23-10 before facing off against two straight App State opponents and losing to Edwards in the finals.
“Me and Jarvis wrestle quite a bit,” Edwards said. “He’s a tough kid in the room around my weight, so I just try to get my hands on him as much as I can.”
Dobeck’s run to second place was a little harder as he won two close matches against other SoCon opponents before dismantling UNC’s wrestler at 165 pounds 8-1. He then lost 12-3 in the finals. The second place finish was Dobeck’s highest of his career.
The two third-place finishers caught some people by surprise. Junior and 197-pound No. 28 Carson Floyd along with 174-pound redshirt junior No. 28 Luke Uliano, both lost in their upper bracket semifinal matches. Floyd was pinned in the third period while holding a 1-0 lead while Uliano was struggling with a bleeding problem and was unable to get any offense going in a 16-10 loss.
On his way to the title at 157 pounds, Conetta showed his ability to get to his positions and pounce when the time was right while also stopping his opponents from being able to get points of their own.
“I knew today I had to wrestle more aggressively because I haven’t been as aggressive as I used to,” Conetta said. “Just trying to get back into the mindset of trying to beat up on everyone and knowing that I’m the best wrestler no matter who steps out there with me.”
Overall, App State went a combined 44-31 throughout all 20 wrestlers and all 10 weight classes.
“Just knowing that I wrestle hard everyday gives me confidence in a tournament like this,” Conetta said. “Anyone who steps out there with me, they know they’re going to get it.”
