App State wrestling was back in action on Friday as they defeated Bellarmine 23-19 in a dual where each team won five matches. This win moves the Mountaineers to 5-3 overall and 4-0 in the Southern Conference.
The four ranked wrestlers on App State’s roster paced the team on Friday as 133-pound senior No. 33 Chad Bellis, 165-pound senior No. 7 Will Miller, 174-pound redshirt junior No. 28 Luke Uliano and 197-pound junior No. 28 Carson Floyd made up 4 of the 5 wins for the Black and Gold. Bellis, Miller and Floyd all picked up bonus points in their matches while Uliano won a close match where all of his points came in the third period.
While holding their own in the past couple weeks, the five freshmen that started for the Mountaineers were unable to hold their own against the Knights. The lone underclassmen win came from 157-pound redshirt freshman Jeremiah Price with a monstrous 25-8 tech fall win.
Heavyweight freshman Stephan Monchery and 184-pound redshirt freshman Logan Eller each gave up extra points in their matches as it took just 39 seconds for Monchery to get pinned while Eller gave up 18 points in a major decision loss.
Redshirt freshmen 125-pound Bryson Terrell and 141-pound Aldo Hernandez dropped matches as they lost 6-3 and 7-1 respectively. Terrell had overtime in sight but a late takedown from his opponent stifled any chance of free wrestling. Hernandez faced off against the No. 27 ranked wrestler in his weight class, and the ranking showed as Hernandez was unable to get any offense going.
At 149 pounds, redshirt sophomore Kaden Keiser dropped a tough 11-6 decision against the preseason All-SoCon pick at 149 pounds. Keiser started strong, nabbing 4 points in the first period but was only able to muster 2 more points the rest of the match. This gave Keiser his second loss of the season. His previous loss came in the first match of the season.
Bellis and Floyd picked up dominating wins as Bellis used an 8-point second period to propel him to a 18-3 tech fall win. Floyd needed just 3 minutes and 53 seconds to achieve a pin against Bellarmine’s pins leader himself.
Miller and Uliano both entered their finals periods with scoreless matches after each wrestler rode out the second period. Miller exploded in the third period for 10 points in the final two minutes. Uliano used an escape, a riding time point and a point for his opponent stalling to take his match in a very close 3-0 decision.
App State wrestling is back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Boiling Springs, North Carolina, to take on in-state opponent Gardner Webb. Matches kick off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
