Takedown Report

No. 19 WVU Tops App State Wrestling in Debut for New-Look Varsity Gym

BOONE, N.C. — The opening home dual of App State Wrestling’s 2024-25 season featured more significant firsts.  
The Mountaineers won two matches and held late leads in two other high-profile battles during a 37-8 loss to No. 19 West Virginia on a cold, snowy Friday that didn’t deter an enthusiastic crowd. It was the debut for a new-look Varsity Gym, highlighted by the unveiling of a C. Philip Byers Scoreboard with video capabilities and a Barker Arena display. Spectators filled new premium bleacher seats on the main floor of Varsity, putting groups of fans on three sides of a new competition mat.  
“It was a really awesome atmosphere tonight, and I’m really thankful for our fans and all of App Nation that showed up,” App State head coach JohnMark Bentley said. “It was a great atmosphere to compete in. Obviously, I wish we would have performed a little better, but the venue was awesome.”  
Carson Floyd’s overtime takedown gave him a 4-1 decision over Rune Lawrence at 197 pounds, and Kaden Keiser’s 21-5 tech fall of Blake Boyers at 149 pounds produced five team points for the Mountaineers (0-2 with a pair of losses to top-20 opponents).  
West Virginia (3-0) earned bonus points in six of its eight wins. Finishing the first period on top, eighth-ranked Will Miller held a 3-1 lead with 1:41 in riding time entering the third period at 165 pounds against third-ranked Peyton Hall, a two-time All-American. Miller went up 4-1 on an escape early in the third and nearly followed that with a takedown, but Hall prevented a score and produced a tying takedown with 43 seconds left.  
With Miller’s riding time falling under a minute, he was unable to record a tiebreaking escape. Instead, Hall put Miller in a compromised position that led to a signal for back points before ending the match by fall with 11 seconds left.  
The other dramatic match started the dual, as App State’s Chad Bellis jumped out to a 7-1 … more at … https://appstatesports.com/news/2024/11/22/no-19-wvu-tops-app-state-wrestling-in-debut-for-new-look-varsity-gym.aspx

November 30, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | news, sports, wrestling