App State wrestling was back in action Sunday, taking a triumphant 31-3 scoreline as they won 9 of the 10 matches against last year’s third-place team in the Southern Conference.
The team mixed the lineup around in their first dual matchup of the 2025 calendar year, as five freshmen saw action, including 141-pound redshirt freshman Aldo Hernandez who made his dual debut for the Black and Gold. Hernandez’ last time out for the Mountaineers was at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 5. He went 1-2 with both losses coming by fall and tech fall.
Redshirt freshman 184-pound Logan Eller also got in on the fun with his first-ever career dual win.
The night kicked off at 125-pound as redshirt freshman Bryson Terrell faced off against Gylon Sims. Terrell failed to mount any offense in his match, only achieving 2 points on 2 escapes, and eventually lost the match 8-2.
Opening the scoring for the Mountaineers was 133-pound senior Chad Bellis. Bellis picked up an 11-1 major decision as he’s entering January after an impressive month in December when he went 4-0 at the Wilkes Open and picked up a win versus the No. 17 wrestler in his weight class at the Clark Keen Invitational.
Picking up extra points was key for the Black and Gold in this matchup as Bellis, Hernandez, 174-pound redshirt junior Luke Uliano and freshman heavyweight Stephan Monchery all posted major decisions for extra points on the team’s total score.
Hernandez, 149-pound redshirt freshman Kaden Keiser and 157-pound redshirt freshman Jeremiah Price all handled their opponents as none of the three wrestlers allowed their adversaries to achieve more than 3 points. Price and Kesier are both coming off impressive placements during two tournaments as Price finished top-16 at the Southern Scuffle and Keiser went 5-0 with a championship victory at the Wilkes Open.
Keiser and Price’s matches showed their improvement over the last month as Price avenged a recent defeat to Tyler Badgett who bested him at the Southern Scuffle. Keiser defeated Carson DesRosier, who entered the match with a 14-3 record this season.
The next match saw No. 8 Will Miller go wire-to-wire as he took down Thomas Snipes 6-4. Miller, a 165-pound senior, took his first lead of the night with a minute remaining after a slow-starting first two periods. This is Miller’s second appearance since Dec. 12 after not participating in only one of the December invitationals or opens after a 12-4 major decision in the Mountaineers win at Virginia Military Institute on Dec. 12 and going 5-0 at the Wilkes Open.
Uliano and Eller both shut their opponents out with score lines of 8-0 and 6-0 respectively.
The only ranked head-to-head matchup of the night saw 197-pound junior No. 33 Carson Floyd defeat No. 27 Patrick Brophy 4-3. The No. 33 ranking was the first time Floyd has been ranked since his freshman year where he peaked at No. 28.
Floyd got started early with a takedown in the first which allowed him to pick up critical ride time and finished the period 3-0. An escape pushed the lead to 4-0 in favor of the Mountaineer but Brophy got a takedown to give the match a close 4-3 line entering the final period.
“I knew it was going to be a battle. I think that team is a lot better than they have been in a long time,” said head coach JohnMark Bentley. “I was proud of guys for being aggressive.”
Floyd used great top positioning and defense to finish the match strong and eventually won without giving up any points in the closing period.
The night’s last match saw the heavyweight Monchery in action as he picked up an 11-3 major decision. This is the second SoCon dual match in a row that Monchery picked up extra points for App State as he defeated his opponent from VMI by fall.
This win gives the Mountaineers momentum going into a tough matchup against the No. 8 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The matchup will take place on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., doors will open at 2 p.m. The Duke Blue Devils will also be in town on Monday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on FloWrestling.
