App State wrestling was back in action Sunday, defeating the Davidson Wildcats 52-0 behind 6 pins, 2 tech falls and 1 major decision. The 52 points the Black and Gold put up are the most without a forfeit since head coach JohnMark Bentley took over the program in 2009.
Sunday was also Senior Day, and seven wrestlers were honored. 133-pound No. 27 Chad Bellis, 141-pound Riley Edwards, 141-pound Sean Carter, 165-pound Oren Bost, 165-pound No. 7 Will Miller, 174-pound No. 29 Luke Uliano and 184-pound Dalton Battle all met their loved ones in the middle of the mat before the matches started. Edwards, Bost, Uliano and Battle are all juniors.
“They’ve been such a big part of this program. Won a lot of conference championships, a lot of national rankings and have brought a lot of notoriety to our program,” Bentley said. “Just thankful for them and all they’ve meant to this program over the years. Hopefully, it was a good day to honor them with a shutout.”
The matches kicked off at 165 pounds with Miller as he picked up an 18-5 major decision. Miller started slow, only achieving 2 takedowns and an escape through the first five minutes, but a monster 11-point third period allowed him to pick up the win. Miller was one of the seven Mountaineers honored before the match and said he is grateful for his time in Boone.
“It’s been a great experience. I mean everything from practicing to the times we’ve spent outside of practice and to the lifestyles we all chose to live with each other,” Miller said. “It’s been a great time. I’ve grown a lot, developed a lot and everything in my life has changed for the better.”
Uliano, another honored Mountaineer, produced another conference and extra point win as he shut out his opponent in a 14-0 major decision victory. This win moves Uliano to a 7-0 record in the Southern Conference with a win against the only other wrestler ranked at 174, Chattanooga’s Sergio Desiante.
The freshmen also got their time to shine, as 125-pound redshirt Bryson Terrell, 157-pound No. 32 redshirt Jeremiah Price, 184-pound redshirt Logan Eller and heavyweight Stephan Monchery all won by pin. Eller was the only wrestler to put his opponent away in the first period while Price, Monchery and Terrell all got their hands raised in the second period.
Bellis and 197-pound junior No. 29 Carson Floyd also picked up pins for App State, both coming in a dominating fashion with each getting points right as the match began. Bellis got his first win since Jan. 31 after facing two straight ranked opponents. The pin for Floyd gives him a team-high 12 pins on the year and his third pin in four matches.
“It was surreal, you know. It took me back to my high school days,” Bellis said. “I love coming out and ending the matches quick and to do that on senior night was awesome.”
Redshirt freshman 141-pound Aldo Hernandez and redshirt sophomore 149-pound Kaden Keiser also picked up victories against the Wildcats. Hernandez won a 15-0 tech fall where he dominated, getting 2 different 4-point near falls in the first period in a match where the second and third periods were not needed.
Keiser’s match was the highlight of the night as he faced off against a 22-win opponent. It’s not a Keiser match without him finding himself in an early deficit, as he gave up an early takedown for a 3-1 hole heading into the middle period. As Keiser chose the down position, Bentley could be heard telling his 149-pound wrestler to breathe and stay focused and Keiser did just that, netting 3 takedowns in the final five minutes to win the match 11-5.
The Mountaineer win on Sunday mixed with a Campbell Camel loss on Friday gives App State at least a share of the SoCon regular season championship. A win against Campbell next Sunday would give the Black and Gold an outright title while a loss would make the two teams share the honor.
“Nothing changes. You know the most important match is the next one and that’s Campbell,” Bentley said. “We want to finish this season strong and we’ll be ready next Sunday.”
The matchup against Campbell Feb. 23 marks the end of the 2024-25 regular season for the Mountaineers. Matches will begin at 3 p.m. with doors opening an hour prior.
