BOONE, N.C — Wrestling in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Varsity Gym, Randall Diabe and Codi Russell picked up impressive wins to lead Appalachian State in its 28-7 home loss to No. 15 North Carolina on Sunday.

With both sets of bleachers filled and fans not only standing at floor level but also lining up along the second-level railing, the Mountaineers participated in their first home dual of the 2018-19 season. They entered the match just outside the Top 25, as the leader in other teams receiving votes, and four top-15 individuals helped the Tar Heels (3-0) jump from No. 23 to No. 15 last week.

An intermission followed the first five matches, and App State (2-2) posted its first victory when the 14th-ranked Diabe capitalized on four takedowns in a 10-2 major decision against Hunter Queen at 197 pounds. Three matches later, in his 2018-19 dual team debut, the 23rd-ranked Russell used a tying takedown as the second period ended and an escape early in the third period to claim a 4-3 win against James Szymanski at 133 pounds.

The Mountaineers' closest calls in losses came at 174 pounds and the heavyweight division. Thomas Filtz was tied at 5-all entering the third period against Devin Kane, who stayed on top for the entire period and used that riding-time bonus to win 6-5 at 174, and Cary Miller was tied 1-all with 13th-ranked Cory Daniel before Daniel registered a takedown in the closing seconds.

The Tar Heels' lineup featured three top-10 wrestlers, and back-to-back victories from two of them pushed UNC to an early lead, as ninth-ranked Austin O'Connor won a major decision against Jonathan Milner at 149 and sixth-ranked Kennedy Monday posted a 5-1 decision against Angel Najar at 157. Najar hung tough and trailed 2-0 entering the final period.

Josh McClure's major decision against Joe Accousti at 165 preceded Flitz's tight match, and eighth-ranked Chip Ness earned a major decision against 21st-ranked Alan Clothier at 184.

After the order flipped following the matchups at 197 and the heavyweight division, Joe Heilmann won a major decision against Andy Richard at 125 pounds, and the dual ended with A.C. Headlee winning a decision against Irvin Enriquez at 141 pounds.

App State returns to action Friday night with a 7 p.m. home dual against Ohio.

-Appalachian State-