SPARTANBURG, S.C. – App State’s Caleb Smith has been named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for all competition from Nov. 10-16. The selection is made by the league office and is the second one of the 2021-22 season.
 
Smith, a potential first-year starter for the Mountaineers, has moved into the national rankings at No. 28 following his performance at the Mountaineer Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 4, in Boone, North Carolina. The redshirt sophomore opened the event with a second-period pin over Duke wrestler Login Agin before answering with another second-period pin over Kent State wrestler Jake Ferri, who entered the tournament ranked No. 21 after being a top-20 seed at last season’s NCAA Championships. In his final match of the tournament, the Greensboro, North Carolina, native faced Arizona State’s Brandon Courtney, who was ranked No. 4 after being the NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds last season, and secured a 4-2 lead in the final over the Sun Devil wrestler before dropping a 6-5 decision.
 
App State, which opened its season on Nov. 7 at Virginia Tech’s Southeast Open, concluded the Mountaineer Invitational with six individual finalists and two open champions. Smith, who went 22-10 as an unattached true freshman in 2019-20 and 10-1 during the 2020-21 season, concluded the tournament as a runner-up alongside teammates Anthony Brito (141), Jonathan Millner (149), Cody Bond (157), Will Formato (165) and Mason Fiscella (197).
 
The Mountaineers travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Nov. 21, for the Penn State Keystone Classic.
 
Also nominated: Eric Beck (Bellarmine), Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) and Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga).
 
2021-22 SoCon Wrestlers of the Week
Nov. 10         Josh Heil, R-Sr., 149, Campbell
Nov. 17         Caleb Smith, R-So., 125, App State