Takedown Report

Campbell picked No. 1 in preseason SoCon wrestling poll

App State, Chattanooga selected second and third, respectively
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Campbell Camels have been selected as the preseason frontrunner for the second straight season for the upcoming 2023-24 wrestling campaign by the league’s nine head coaches, who also selected a 10-member preseason all-conference team. 
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or student-athletes. Five wrestlers maxed out with the number of points possible to be selected to the preseason all-conference team, while six of the wrestlers on the preseason all-conference team were individual title winners at the 2023 SoCon Championship.
Campbell, who finished second to App State with 78.5 points in last year’s SoCon tournament, earned 59 points in the preseason poll and garnered seven first-place votes. The Camels went 7-1 in conference matchups last season and held a 16-9 record overall, fueled by a pair of victories over Big Ten opponents, topping Purdue on Dec. 20 and then 23rd-ranked Maryland on Jan. 14.
The Camels had five wrestlers selected to the preseason All-SoCon team with Shannon Hanna (141), Austin Murphy (174), Caleb Hopkins (184), Levi Hopkins (197) and Taye Ghadiali (HWT) making the squad. Hanna, both Hopkins’ and Ghadiali were all individual champions at the 2023 SoCon Championship and maxed out on the first-place votes in their respective weight class in the preseason voting. Caleb Hopkins will be looking for his fourth straight individual title at 184 pounds, while Hanna and Ghadiali will each be looking for a third consecutive individual conference crown.
App State, the 2023 SoCon regular season and tournament champion, came in second with 49 points and a first-place vote in the preseason poll. The Mountaineers enter their 14th season under the direction of the two-time defending Southern Conference Coach of the Year JohnMark Bentley. Two App State wrestlers, Tommy Askey (157) and Will Miller (165), were selected to the preseason all-conference team. Askey, who won the 157-pound title at the conference championship a season ago, went 30-13 overall with a perfect 8-0 mark in SoCon matches during the 2022-23 season. Askey was … rest of story at … SOconsports.com/news/2023/10/20/campbell-picked-no-1-in-preseason-socon-wrestling-poll

October 23, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized