Takedown Report

Intermat’s SoCon Mid-Season Recap

The SoCon has seen quite a bit of action this season: upsets, match-ups with top-ranked teams, and plenty of traveling. Here’s a breakdown from A to V of what’s been going on in the SoCon.

Appalachian State University, 4-1 overall, 1-0 conference

The season started out on the road to #9-ranked NC State, winning 4 out of 10 matches. Nailbitinig bouts of the evening included #15 Will Formato (165) and #26 Sean Carter’s (133) sudden-victory overtime wins. The Mountaineers lost to the Wolfpack 26-12, but turned around and beat the other ACC foe then-#21 North Carolina 19-16. Carmichael Arena was absolutely electric after Will Miller (174) upset #8 Clay Lautt with a 7-5 decision. This win earned Miller the honor of being named NCAA and SoCon Wrestler of the Week.

In between, App State headed to Vegas and put three wrestlers on the podium at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Jon Jon Miller led the way with a fourth-place finish, while Will Formato was seventh and Tommy Askey eighth.

Varsity Gym’s doors were open on December 20, where Appalachian served up back-to-back shutouts against Bellarmine (39-0) and Queens (50-0). Remember, Queens is a newly-minted Division-I program in North Carolina and in the south…so we may see an addition to the SoCon in the near future.

A New Year’s tradition – The Southern Scuffle – held in Chattanooga, Tennessee; produced three placers from the Mountaineers. There most definitely would have been a fourth; however, Jon Jon Millner (149) did not compete. Caleb Smith (125) earned his third fifth-place finish, Tommy Askey (157) finished seventh, and Sean Carter (133) took home eighth place. This past Sunday, Binghamton traveled to Boone for some dual-meet action. Appalachian won eight of the ten bouts, dropping losses at 184 and heavyweight.

This Friday is definitely going to be special, as #9 Virginia Tech heads to Boone to face off against the #20-ranked Mountaineers. I’m most excited to watch 149 – a likely meeting between two highly-ranked opponents: #8 Jon Jon Millner and #11 Caleb Henson. 125 lbs will surely be a fun match to watch – #21 Caleb Smith and #20 Eddie Ventresca. App State is already 1-1 with ACC competition…let’s see what happens next.

Campbell University, 6-5 overall, 1-0 conference

Campbell started their season off with two back-to-back events – Battle in the River City and Battle at Bragg. The Fighting Camels posted a 2-1 record at the Battle in River City, boasting wins against Little Rock (18-15) and Buffalo (36-3), dropping their loss of the day to #14 Iowa State (34-3). Troy Nation (157) recorded the lone victory against Iowa State, posting an 11-8 decision over Isaac Judge.

The Camels hosted Battle at Bragg, which was truly an event to remember. While there have been matches wrestled on aircraft carriers, I don’t believe there have been any wrestled on a military base, during a hurricane, while being the first collegiate dual streamed on UFC Fight Pass. In an event where competition was stopped to close the aircraft hangar doors in the midst of a literal hurricane, the Camels were met by #5 Michigan and #16 UNC. Campbell lost both duals, picking up two wins at 165 (Dom Baker) and 197 (Levi Hopkins) against the Wolverines (final 26-6), and won three bouts against UNC at 133 (Gabe Hixenbaugh), 157 (Troy Nation), and at heavyweight (Taye Ghadiali).

The Camels traveled to West Point, New York to wrestle in the Black Knight Invitational, bringing home two champions: Taye Ghadiali and Gabe Hixenbaugh and six other place-winners. Mid-December brought the Boilermaker Duals, where Campbell continued to show up, with a 3-0 record for the day. The barnburner dual of the day was against Utah Valley, the Camels posted a 17-16 win, after being tied 16-16, it came down to criteria. Campbell and Utah Valley had split the dual, equally winning 5 matches apiece. After scoring total points scored, Campbell came out on top. Anthony Molton (125) upset Purdue’s #8 Matt Ramos, in a sudden victory overtime win. Campbell won against the EIWA’s Drexel 19-16 and B1G’s Purdue 29-9 – marking a program first for beating a B1G opponent.

Most recently, Campbell hosted a conference competition – beating Gardner-Webb 25-12, and #17 Nebraska, dropping a 37-6 loss. The pair of wins at this dual were earned by heavyweight #12 Taye Ghadiali and #29 Domenic Zaccone. Next up for the Camels is the ever-exciting Virginia Duals, held in Hampton, Virginia where they’ll be up against Kent State, Oklahoma University, Maryland, and South Dakota State.

Gardner-Webb, Davidson and the rest at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/26415

January 20, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized