Takedown Report

Appalachian State claims SoCon Championship

By Rich Caisse, TDR Reporter 9 March 2024
Heading into the championship finals, the 2024 field of contenders was narrowed to a two-horse
race between Campbell and App State. Boasting national rankings, both programs advanced six
grapplers into the finals. After the dust settled, it was #24 Appalachian State that came out ahead –
winning an impressive 5 of 6 finals matches – Ethan Oakley (133), Cody Bond (149), Tommy Askey
(157), Will Miller (165), and true freshman Tomas Brooker (184).
Ranked and regular season champions, Campbell, claimed 3 titles – Austin Murphy (174), Levi Hopkins (197), and Taye Ghadiali at (HWT). The Fighting Camels had two runner-up finishers in
Domenic Zaccone (133) and Dom Baker (165) who earned NCAA qualification berths, as there were
multiple allocations in their respective weight classes.
3rd Place Chattanooga was the only other school with a SoCon champion. The Mocs advanced 3
wrestlers to the finals and claimed individual championships in Brayden Palmer (125) and Isaiah
Powe (141). 5th Place The Citadel and 7 th place Virginia Military Institute (VMI) were the only other schools securing automatic bids. VMI’s Dyson Dunham finished 3rd at 133 – a weight class with three
automatic bids. Two allocations were granted at 149 where The Citadel’s Jeffrey Boyd lost 2-0 in the
finals to ASU’s Cody Bond. Boyd then he had to defend his automatic bid in a true-second match
with Gardner Webb’s Zach Price. It was a hard fought back and forth bout where Boyd prevailed
and retained his bid.
The biggest story lines came out of a talented 184-pound weight class. Due to a stringent three-
tiered qualifying criteria, the NCAA only allocated a head-scratching one automatic bid for this
weight. A deficiency in winning percentage prevented returning three-time SoCon champion and #1
seed Caleb Hopkins from securing a bid for the weight class. It was nationally ranked and returning
NCAA qualifier, Jha’Quan Anderson that secured the only bid after an impressive senior campaign for
Gardner-Webb.
In the opening round of the tournament, Jha’Quan Anderson ended up getting caught on his back
and falling victim to a flash pin against Presbyterian’s Caleb Roe. This set up an unanticipated
semifinal with Roe and #3 seed, Tomas Brooker, where Brooker won by fall in the 3 rd period. In the
finals, Brooker met Caleb Hopkins and found himself in behind late in the match. In the closing
minute of the third period, Hopkins was hit for stalling-twice and gave up a last second takedown to
give Brooker his first SoCon title.

Final Team Standings

1. Appalachian State – 114.0
2. Campbell – 97.5
3. Chattanooga – 63.5
4. Gardner-Webb – 49.5
5. The Citadel – 44.5
6. Davidson – 23.0
7. VMI – 18.0
8. Presbyterian – 5.5
   125
   1st Place Match: Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga) Sr. over Drew West (Gardner-Webb) RS Jr. (MD
   14-2)
   3rd Place Match: Anthony Molton (Campbell) RS Sr. over Chad Bellis (Appalachian State) Jr.
   (Dec 14-10)
   133
   1st Place Match: Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) Sr. over Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) 24-8,
   RS Sr. (Dec 5-4)
   3rd Place Match: Dyson Dunham (VMI) So. over Tyson Lane (Gardner-Webb) 2-2, So. (Dec 8-5)
   141
   1st Place Match: Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga) Fr. over Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) Sr. (Dec 14-
   8)
   3rd Place Match: Jacob Silka (The Citadel) So. over Isaac Byers (Appalachian State) RS Fr. (Dec
   5-2)
   149
   1st Place Match: Cody Bond (Appalachian State) Sr. over Jeffrey Boyd (The Citadel) RS Jr. (Dec
   2-0)
   3rd Place Match: Zach Price (Gardner-Webb) Sr. over Justin Rivera (Campbell) Sr. (Dec 8-4)
   157
   1st Place Match: Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) Sr. over Tanner Peake (Davidson College)
   So. (Dec 9-2)
   3rd Place Match: Lincoln Heck (Chattanooga) RS Jr. over Hayden Watson (The Citadel) RS Fr.
   (MD 16-8)
   165
   1st Place Match: Will Miller (Appalachian State) Jr. over Domonic Baker (Campbell) So. (Dec 8-
   3)
   3rd Place Match: Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga) So. over Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson College) Sr.
   (Fall 2:42)
   174
   1st Place Match: Austin Murphy (Campbell) RS So. over Sergio Desiante (Chattanooga) So. (Dec
   5-4)
   3rd Place Match: Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State) Jr. over Braxton Lewis (VMI) So. (Fall 5:22)
   184
   1st Place Match: Tomas Brooker (Appalachian State) Fr. over Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) RS So.
   (Dec 5-4)
   3rd Place Match: Jha`Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) RS Fr. over Caleb Roe (Presbyterian
   College) RS Fr. (MD 11-0)
   197
   1st Place Match: Levi Hopkins (Campbell) RS Fr. over Patrick Brophy (The Citadel) RS Fr. (Fall
   0:30)
   3rd Place Match: Carson Floyd (Appalachian State) So. over Josh Evans (VMI) Jr. (MD 12-3)

285
1st Place Match: Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) RS Fr. over Jacob Sartorio (Appalachian State) RS Sr.
(Fall 5:40)
3rd Place Match: Ben Stemmet (The Citadel) RS Jr. over Jake Fernicola (Davidson College) Sr.
(SV-1 4-1)
Coach of the Year : John Mark Bentley, App State  
Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler : Taye Ghadiali, 285, Campbell
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Cody Bond, Sr., App State
Freshman of the Year : Isaiah Powe, 141, Chattanooga

March 15, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment