App State wrestling opened their season Friday losing 34-12 against No. 6 NC State, a team that had eight ranked wrestlers in their lineup when the two teams faced off.
The Wolfpack won seven of 10 matches, achieving extra points in three matches including two tech falls and one pin. The extra points battle has been a point of emphasis for head coach JohnMark Bentley.
“We’ve got to take more risks, and I thought we did a better job of that tonight,” Bentley said. “That’s a really good team and those scores don’t come easy. I thought our guys battled tonight and competed well. Hopefully, we keep growing and be a better team next week.”
Three matches ended in injury default losses, two for App State and one for NC State. Sixth-year redshirt senior 141-pound No. 21 Sean Carter, who just returned from an almost two-year absence due to a ruptured patella, fell against No. 7 Kai Orine in the second round in a match he was winning 6-3 before being walked off with help. Carter was favoring his leg as he was helped off the mat.
“It’s too early to tell,” Bentley said. “Hopefully it’s something we can come back from but it’s just too early to tell.”
The second injury default match was 184-pound sophomore No. 27 Tomas Brooker against No. 14 Dylan Fishback. Fishback found an early takedown and left Brooker slow to get up and favoring his knee but after some conversation with the training staff and putting tape on the injured knee, Brooker went back center to continue. Less than 45 seconds later, Brooker was taken down again before being helped into the locker room.
“Tomas is the hardest worker I know,” said 197-pound junior Carson Floyd. “He’s going to come back, win a lot of matches and he’s going to be an All-American. I know that.”
The last injury match and one of the Black and Gold’s three wins came from Floyd as his opponent, No. 30 Christian Knop, went down early in the second period and eventually had to be taken off the mat with an ankle injury. Floyd was leading 5-2 at the time of the injury.
The 133-pound weight class brought senior Chad Bellis to the mat as he faced off against the Wolfpack’s Dragen Orine. A great defensive performance from Bellis in the first period allowed him to take the match into the second period equal at 0 where he got his first points of the night on a reversal from Dragen Orine. A five-point final period from Bellis allowed him to take the win for his first dual victory of the season.
“There was a couple calls that were really close but I just believed in our training,” Bellis said. “I knew that if I kept on the pressure, I was going to have my hand raised at the end of the night.”
The final victory of the night from the Mountaineers was at the 165-pound weight class as junior No. 8 Will Miller faced off against No. 20 Derek Fields. Miller used defense to his advantage as he thwarted multiple takedown attempts that eventually turned into takedowns for himself and eventually won the match 9-2. This was Miller’s second ranked win of the season.
Redshirt sophomores 125-pound Noah Luna and 157-pound Anthony Conetta both fell to tech falls in their matches as each wrestler lost by more than 15. Neither wrestler was able to start any offense and only Conetta achieved points on a takedown between the two matches.
Heavyweight sophomore Levi Andrews and 174-pound redshirt junior Luke Uliano also saw less than favorable results as Andrews was pinned in two minutes and 30 seconds while Uliano lost 9-2 to the No. 25 wrestler in his weight class. Uliano’s points came off of two escapes and he was unable to achieve any positive holds or offense.
In the 149-pound bout, redshirt sophomore Kaden Keiser faced off against No. 31 Koy Buesgens. A slow starting match saw the two wrestlers take a 0-0 tie into the middle period before Keiser reversed Buesgens’ initial hold before getting taken down to see himself down 4-3 to end the period. Another takedown by Buesgens put the match away as Kesier eventually escaped but was unable to make anything of the 7-5 scoreline.
“Kaden’s getting better. He’s wrestling a lot better now than he had two weeks ago,” Bentley said. “He’s got to get a little more confidence, get a little more aggressive on his feet and work on his finishes.”
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Friday as they welcome the No. 19 West Virginia Mountaineers in the first-ever matchup between the two teams. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and doors will open at 6 p.m. in the newly renovated Varsity Gym. The match will be streamed on FloWrestling.
