Appalachian
State edges Campbell, 16-15
BOONE,
N.C. – By picking up his second major decision in the last three bouts, redshirt
freshman Zack Strickland's 11-3 victory at 165 pounds was the deciding factor
in Appalachian State’s wrestling team's 16-15 win over Southern Conference foe Campbell
on Tuesday night at Varsity Gymnasium.
With the narrow victory, the Mountaineers improved their conference
winning streak to 11 straight and move to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the SoCon.
The Camels started the match strong, as redshirt juniors Brent Jorge (149
pounds) and Nick Rex (157 pounds) posted decisions over Mountaineer grapplers,
bringing the score to 6-0. Jorge handled Zach Kechter with an 11-5 score,
improving to 7-5 this year. Rex earned a 3-2 win over Aaron Scott, moving to
7-3.
After those setbacks, Strickland gave Appalachian State some momentum,
cruising to an 11-3 major decision over Campbell's Paul Duggan. For Strickland,
it was his 18th win of the season as he remained perfect in duals (8-0).
Following the Strickland win, redshirt freshman Colin Hedash (174
pounds), sophomore Jake Johnson and redshirt sophomore Paul Weiss each tallied
decisions, propelling the Mountaineers to a 13-6 lead.
Campbell (2-6, 1-1 SoCon) made its way back into the dual, stringing together two
hard-fought decisions. Redshirt sophomore Nick Vetell, who is listed at 174
pounds, matched up with Campbell's heavyweight, Joe Nolan. Vetell hung with
Nolan, earning a late escape to allow Nolan to gain just three points for the
Camels.
At 125 pounds, redshirt sophomore Dominic Parisi suffered his first
defeat in dual matches this season, falling for the second time this year to
CU's Eric Montoya, 8-5. Parisi remains the only attached Mountaineer with 20
wins on the season.
Senior Brett Boston gave the Mountaineers some breathing room at 133
pounds with a 6-1 decision over Campbell's Tanner Bidelspach. With the win, the
Mountaineers controlled the dual heading into the last bout of the night,
16-12.
Needing at least a major decision to force a tiebreak, Campbell's Michael
Dahlstrom was unable to earn the four or more points against Appalachian
State's Chris Johnson, tallying a 5-4 decision over Johnson. Nevertheless, the
Mountaineers came away the tightly contested 16-15 victory.
Appalachian State returns to Varsity Gymnasium on Friday to host The
Citadel at 6:30 p.m. The Camels will stay on the road for their next match, traveling
to The Citadel for a 7 p.m. match on Jan. 23.
Appalachian
State (6-2, 3-0 SoCon) 16, Campbell (2-6, 1-1 SoCon) 15
149: Brent
Jorge (CU) dec. Zach Kechter (APP), 11-4 (CU 3-0)
157: Nick Rex (CU) dec. Aaron Scott (APP), 3-2 (CU 6-0)
165: Zack Strickland (APP) maj. dec. Paul Duggan (CU), 11-3 (CU 6-4)
174: Colin Hedash (APP) dec. Cody Ryba (CU), 11-6 (APP 7-6)
184: Jake Johnson (APP) dec. Matt Cox (CU), 3-0 (APP 10-6)
197: Paul Weiss (APP) dec. John Merickel (CU), 3-1 (APP 13-6)
285: Joe Nolan (CU) dec. Nick Vetell (APP), 10-3 (APP 13-9)
125: Eric Montoya (CU) dec. Dominic Parisi (APP), 8-5 (APP 13-12)
133: Brett Boston (APP) dec. Tanner Bidelspach (CU), 6-1 (APP 16-12)
141: Michael Dahlstrom (CU) dec. Chris Johnson (APP), 5-4 (APP 16-15)