Appalachian State 22, VMI 12

LEXINGTON, Va. – After a slow start, Appalachian State rattled off four straight victories en route to a 22-12 Southern Conference victory over VMI on Wednesday night at Cocke Hall.

The conference win moved the Mountaineers to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in league action, breaking a four-match losing streak and ensuring a winning conference record for the second consecutive season. Appalachian State (7-6, 4-2 SoCon) claimed its sixth straight and 27th all-time victory in the long-standing rivalry against the Keydets.

Prior to the match, VMI head coach John Trudgeon and his staff of Chris Skretkowicz and Ben Sprunger, honored the team’s two seniors, John Dommert and Ryan Goodsell, both of whom were joined by their respective parents.

VMI (1-14, 1-4 SoCon) began the dual with two straight decisions to take a quick 6-0 lead. Zeb Stewart kicked things off for the Keydets in the night’s first weight class, 149 pounds, besting Appalachian State’s Zach Kechter 7-2.

At 149 pounds, Ted Gottwald notched his second shutout in his last five matches with a 6-0 decision over Collins Creech.

Facing the deficit, redshirt freshman Zack Strickland gave the Mountaineers some life at 165 pounds. Strickland recorded his first technical fall since November, clinching a 17-0 win over Mike Logan at the 4:17 mark. The technical fall marked Strickland’s 11th win in duals and 21st of the season.

Following Strickland, classmate Colin Hedash broke his two-bout losing streak with a 14-6 major decision over John Dommert at 174 in a rematch from the Hokie Open. For Hedash, it was his third major decision of the season and first since the Keystone Open in November.

Continuing his winning ways, sophomore Jake Johnson posted a 3-2 decision over Jonathan Jones at 184 pounds. Johnson has now won four of his last five bouts and remains perfect in SoCon bouts with a 4-0 record.

With Appalachian State holding a 12-6 advantage, redshirt sophomore Paul Weiss also broke a two-bout losing streak with a 6-2 decision over Urayoan Garcia at 197 pounds. The decision was Weiss’ 35th win for his career, the third most on the active roster.

The heavyweight bout was another exciting match as VMI’s Michael LaPrade logged his second Southern Conference win of the year, besting Joe Cummings 3-1.

Appalachian State redshirt sophomore Dominic Parisi earned his fifth major decision of the season, blanking Armondo Herrer-Dos Reis, 10-0, at 125 pounds. Parisi snaps a two-bout losing streak and notches his ninth dual victory of the year.

At 133, senior Brett Boston closed the Mountaineer scoring with a 6-0 shutout against Andriy Onufriyenko, who dropped just his second loss in a conference dual this season. For Boston, the win was his eight of the season and the 51st of his career.

It was a fitting end to Senior Night as Goodsell stepped onto the mat one final time in The Thunderdome, squaring off with Chris Johnson. Goodsell utilized a takedown midway through the first period to snag a 2-0 lead. His lead was sliced in half as Johnson escaped with 54 seconds left in the first. Johnson took bottom to begin the second and escaped with 1:19 in the period, tying the match 2-2.

 

But in the waning moments of the second, Goodsell logged his second takedown of the match to grab a 4-2 with 16 seconds left. The Keydet’s lead would stand up as both grapplers were held off the board in the third.

Appalachian State looks to head into the SoCon Championships with a winning overall record and close its 2012-13 dual season on Sunday at Davidson. Action from Belk Arena is set for 1 p.m. VMI will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for its final set of conference duals in 2012-13. The Keydets will open the day with the Cougars of SIUE at 10 a.m. and face host Chattanooga at noon.

Appalachian State 22, VMI 12
149: Zeb Stewart (VMI) dec. Zach Kechter (APP), 7-2 (VMI 3-0)
157: Edward Gottwald (VMI) dec. Collins Creech (APP), 6-0 (VMI 6-0)
165: Zack Strickland (APP) tech. fall Mike Logan (VMI), 17-0 (4:17) (VMI 6-5)
174: Colin Hedash (APP) maj. dec. John Dommert (VMI), 14-6 (APP 9-6)
184: Jake Johnson (APP) dec. Jonathan Jones (VMI), 3-2 (APP 12-6)
197: Paul Weiss (APP) dec. Urayoan Garcia (VMI), 6-2 (APP 15-6)
285: Michael LaPrade (VMI) dec. Joe Cummings (APP), 3-1 (APP 15-9)
125: Dominic Parisi (APP) maj. dec. Armondo Herrera-Dos Reis (VMI), 10-0 (APP 19-9)
133: Brett Boston (APP) dec. Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI), 6-0 (APP 22-9)
141: Ryan Goodsell (VMI) dec. Chris Johnson (APP), 4-2 (APP 22-12)