App State hands Chattanooga first league loss since 2012
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Appalachian State notched its biggest win of the season on Friday night against SoCon rival No. 25 Chattanooga. The Mountaineers (10-3, 5-1 SoCon) won six of 10 bouts in their wire-to-wire, 22-15, win over the Mocs (10-3, 5-1 SoCon).
Appalachian jumped on Chattanooga early, winning the first three matches of the night. Vito Pasone set the tone for the Apps in the 125-pound match with a first-period pin of Alonzo Allen to open up a 6-0 lead. With the win, Pasone remained perfect in SoCon matches with a 6-0 mark.
Irvin Enriquez improved to 3-0 in Southern Conference matches at 133 pounds with his 6-0 decision over Cody Minnick. With a 9-0 lead, Michael Longo also remained perfect in SoCon play when he topped Mike Pongracz by a 5-2 decision.
Chase Zemenak got UTC on the board in the 149-pound match against Matt Zovistoski. Zovistoski gave up a 15-3 major decision. In the 157-pound bout, David Peters-Logue was on the wrong end of a 10-4 decision versus Kamaal Shakur, which brought the score to 12-7.
The Mountaineers would respond by winning the next two matches at 165 pounds and 174 pounds. First, Forrest Przybysz handled Dominic Lampe and won by a 10-4 decision. Nick Kee followed Przybysz’s win with a 12-2 major decision over Sean Mappes. With the win, Kee improved his unblemished dual record to 13-0.
With App State leading 19-7, The Mocs battled back with two straight major-decision wins at 184 pounds and 197 pounds for eight team points. Taylor Jackson fell to John Lampe, 13-5, at 184 pounds, followed by Scottie Boykin topping Randall Diabe, 13-2.
No. 6 Denzel Dejournette took the mat against No. 11 Jared Johnson with a chance to seal App’s first win over the Mocs since 2012. Dejournette controlled the match all the way through and shut out Johnson, 6-0. The loss was Chattanooga’s first Southern Conference loss since the Apps knocked off the Mocs in 2012.
With the win, App State set itself up for a chance at a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title when VMI comes to Boone on Thursday. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Varsity Gym. The following night, the Apps will welcome Missouri to Varsity Gym on Senior Night. Friday’s match is also set to start at 6:30 p.m.
Appalachian State 22, No. 25 Chattanooga 15
125: Vito Pasone (APP) – Fall 2:26 - Alonzo Allen (UTC) – APP 6-0
133: Irvin Enriquez (APP) – Dec. 6-0 - Cody Minnick (UTC) – APP 9-0
141: Mike Longo (APP) – Dec. 5-2 - Michael Pongracz (UTC) – APP 12-0
149: Chase Zemenak (UTC) – MD 15-3 - Matthew Zovistoski (APP) – APP 12-4
157: Kamaal Shakur (UTC) – Dec. 10-4 - David Peters-Logue (APP) – APP 12-7
165: Forrest Przybysz (APP) – Dec. 10-4 - Dominic Lampe (UTC) – APP 15-7
174: Nick Kee (APP) – MD 12-2 - Sean Mappes (UTC) – APP 19-7
184: John Lampe (UTC) – MD 13-5 - Taylor Jackson (APP) – APP 19-11
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – MD 13-2 - Randall Diabe (APP) – APP 19-15
285: No. 5 Denzel Dejournette (APP) – Dec. 6-0 – No. 11 Jared Johnson (UTC) – APP 22-15
Gardner-Webb downs The Citadel
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb scored bonus points in three of its first four individual wins Friday night and powered to a 28-12 win over The Citadel for its fourth victory in a row.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-5, 5-1 SoCon) improved to 4-0 in Paul Porter Arena with the win, which was the program’s first over The Citadel since Dec. 2, 2000, and fourth win in the series since 1988. The win also set a new single-season mark for Southern Conference wins for Gardner-Webb.
With Appalachian State’s win over Chattanooga on Friday night, GWU pulled into a three-way tie for first place.
On senior night in Paul Porter Arena, the match started in fine fashion for fourth-year standouts Cortez Starkes (125) and Tyler Ziegler (133). Starkes rolled to a dominant 14-2 major decision in the opening bout and Ziegler built momentum throughout the first period before pinning Caleb Smith in 2:50 for an early 10-0 GWU lead.
The Citadel (4-8, 1-4 SoCon) sandwiched a pair of decisions around a Chris Vassar win at 149, but Austin Trott seized momentum back quickly at 165 pounds. Trott, an NCAA qualifier in 2014, took Daniel Smith to the mat in 2:25 for a 19-6 Gardner-Webb lead with four matches remaining.
Brett Stein and Hunter Gamble followed with decisions at 174 and 184, respectively, with Gamble improving to 6-0 against league foes with his victory. Marshall Haas’ pin at 197 provided The Citadel’s last team points of the night, as Boyce Cornwell wrestled his way to a 5-2 decision at 285 for the final margin.
Cornwell and Ziegler each improved 10-2 in dual competition this season.
Gardner-Webb will close out its Southern Conference slate next Wednesday, hosting Davidson at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena. GWU will then host Cleveland State and Ohio on Feb. 13 (12 p.m. / 2 p.m.) before hitting the road to close out the regular season at Big Ten power Indiana on Feb. 20.
The Bulldogs have a one-day break before returning to the mat on Sunday for a 1 p.m. dual at Davidson.
Gardner-Webb 28, The Citadel 12
125 – Cortez Starkes (GWU) major dec. Charles Kearney (CIT) – (14-2) – 4-0
133 – Tyler Ziegler (GWU) pinned Caleb Smith (CIT) – (2:50) – 10-0
141 – Ty Buckiso (CIT) dec. Ryan Hull (GWU) – 5-3 – 10-3
149 – Chris Vassar (GWU) dec. Matt Frisch (CIT) – 4-1 – 13-3
157 – Aaron Walker (CIT) dec. Ryan Mosley (GWU) – 1-0 – 13-6
165 – Austin Trott (GWU) pinned Daniel Smith (CIT) – (2:25) – 19-6
174 – Brett Stein (GWU) dec. Tim Knipl (CIT) – 8-6 – 22-6
184 – Hunter Gamble (GWU) dec. Sawyer Root (CIT) – 6-2 – 25-6
197 – Marshall Haas (CIT) pinned Gray Jones (GWU) – (3:24) – 25-12
285 – Boyce Cornwell (GWU) dec. Joe Bexley (CIT) – 5-2 – 28-12