Appalachian State secures third-straight SoCon title, one individual title

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — App State Wrestling needed a reversal of fortune, and true freshman Stephan Monchery came through in the most clutch way imaginable.

With the Mountaineers shut out of championship round victories heading into the heavyweight finale but still in position to win the SoCon Championship tournament with one timely triumph, Monchery's deficit-erasing, trophy-deciding reversal with 14 seconds left gave him a 6-5 decision against The Citadel's Jonathan Chesser and lifted coach JohnMark Bentley's program to its third straight tournament title.

App State, which was ahead of The Citadel by 3.0 points going into the head-to-head showdown with the Bulldogs, totaled 79.5 team points. With a 3-2 record in championship finals, The Citadel finished with 73.5 points to place second in a tight team race that included third-place Campbell (68.5 points) and Chattanooga (63.0 points) entering the final day with a chance to win.

Eight of App State's 10 starters earned a top-three finish, with finalists Kaden Keiser (149), Will Miller (165) and Luke Uliano (174) being runners-up in their weight classes. Chad Bellis (133), Jeremiah Price (157), Logan Eller (184) and Carson Floyd (197) all had hands raised to conclude third-place matches. Aldo Hernandez (141) pulled an upset in his opening-round match Friday, and Bryson Terrell (125) collected a pin on the first day.

Of the Mountaineers' four finals matches, the first three were App State losses with the only takedown of each match occurring in the final minute of the third period or overtime. The second-seeded Monchery didn't know the team stakes when he took the mat against the fifth-seeded Chesser, who returned from injury to make his season debut in mid-February.

After a scoreless first period, Monchery quickly followed an escape to open the second period with a takedown for a 4-0 lead. Chesser executed an escape early in the third period and took a 5-4 lead on a takedown with 49 seconds remaining, but Monchery's two-point reversal 35 seconds later flipped the match.

A tying escape from Chesser occurred just after time expired, and the Mountaineers were able to start celebrating once a lengthy review concluded with no point awarded to him.

Displaced from its flooded locker room leading up to the season because of damage from Hurricane Helene, a group that started freshmen at five of 10 weights after losing two top-16 NCAA finishers to P4 programs via the transfer portal and having two other SoCon champions with NCAA experience suffer season-ending injuries in the first dual delivered the program's 13th SoCon tournament title and 28th overall SoCon title.

Under Bentley, the Mountaineers have won their fifth SoCon tournament title after earning a share of an eighth regular season title in his 16 seasons.

For several wrestlers, the next step is hoping for an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, as Monchery clinched the only automatic bid.

Keiser and top-seeded Carson DesRosier entered overtime of the 149 final tied at 1-all, and DesRosier won on a takedown 16 seconds into the Sudden Victory period.

Miller and second-seeded Thomas Snipes were also tied at 1-all late in the third period of the 165 final, and Snipes finished off a takedown in the final seconds of his 4-1 victory against the seventh-ranked Mountaineer.

After Uliano recorded an escape early in the third period to create a 1-all tie in the 174 final, second-seeded Sergio Desiante from Chattanooga broke the tie on a takedown with 49 seconds left in his 4-2 victory.

Bellis suffered a hard-to-swallow upset loss in a quarterfinal shortly after competition began Friday in Asheville but stormed back to take third with three straight wins: a first-period fall, an 8-6 decision to avenge a regular season loss to Campbell's Logan Heil and a 5-0 shutout of The Citadel's George Rosas. Wrestling against No. 2 seed Blake Boarman from Chattanooga in a true second place match for a second NCAA berth at 133 pounds, Boarman won 4-1 on an overtime takedown.

App State collected bonus points in the other three third-place matches, as Price had five takedowns in a 17-4 major decision against Gardner-Webb's Drew Pepin, Eller won by a medical forfeit and Floyd posted a 13-3 major decision against Bellarmine's Andrew Liber.

At Asheville, N.C., March 7-8

Brackets

1          Appalachian State, 79.5 points

2          The Citadel, 73.5 points

3          Campbell, 71.5 points

4          Chattanooga, 66 points

5          Gardner-Webb, 50 points

6          Bellarmine, 45.5 points

7          VMI, 10.5 points

8          Davidson, 6 points

9          Presbyterian, 5 points

1st – Gylon Sims (The Citadel)

2nd – Tyson Lane (Gardner-Webb)

3rd – Anthony Molton (Campbell)

4th – Jack Parker (Bellarmine)

1st – Gylon Sims (The Citadel) dec. Tyson Lane (Gardner-Webb), 7-6

2nd – Tyson Lane (Gardner-Webb) over Anthony Molton (Campbell), NC

3rd – Anthony Molton (Campbell) dec. Jack Parker (Bellarmine), 16-15

1st – Takeo Davis (Gardner-Webb)

2nd –  Blake Boarman (Chattanooga)

3rd – Chad Bellis (Appalachian State)

4th – George Rosas (The Citadel)

1st – Takeo Davis (Gardner-Webb) dec. Blake Boarman (Chattanooga), 5-4

2nd – Blake Boarman (Chattanooga) over Chad Bellis (Appalachian State), NC

3rd – Chad Bellis (Appalachian State) dec. George Rosas (The Citadel), 5-0

1st – Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb)

2nd – Shannon Hanna (Campbell)

3rd – AJ Rallo (Bellarmine)

4th – Eli Knight (Chattanooga)

1st – Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) over Shannon Hanna (Campbell), TB-1 3-2

2nd - Shannon Hanna (Campbell) dec. AJ Rallo (Bellarmine), 4-2

3rd – AJ Rallo (Bellarmine) maj. dec. Eli Knight (Chattanooga), 12-3

1st – Carson DesRosier (The Citadel)

2nd – Kaden Keiser (Appalachian State)

3rd – Wynton Denkins (Campbell)

4th – Joseph Giordano (Gardner-Webb)

1st – Carson DesRosier (The Citadel) dec. Kaden Keiser (Appalachian State), SV-1 4-1

2nd – Kaden Keiser (Appalachian State) over Wynton Denkins (Campbell), NC

3rd – Wynton Denkins (Campbell) forf. Joseph Giordano (Gardner-Webb)

1st – Noah Castillo (Chattanooga)

2nd – Chris Earnest (Campbell)

3rd – Jeremiah Price (Appalachian State)

4th – Drew Pepin (Gardner-Webb)

1st – Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) dec. Chris Earnest (Campbell), 4-2

2nd – Chris Earnest (Campbell) over Jeremiah Price (Appalachian State), NC

3rd – Jeremiah Price (Appalachian State) maj. dec. Drew Pepin (Gardner-Webb), 17-4

1st – Thomas Snipes (The Citadel)

2nd – Will Miller (Appalachian State)

3rd – Domonic Baker (Campbell)

4th – Jackson Hurst (Chattanooga)

1st – Thomas Snipes (The Citadel) dec. Will Miller (Appalachian State), 4-1

2nd – Will Miller (Appalachian State) over Domonic Baker (Campbell), NC

3rd – Domonic Baker (Campbell) dec. Jackson Hurst (Chattanooga), SV-1 8-5

1st – Sergio Desiante (Chattanooga)

2nd – Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State)

3rd – Riley Augustine (Campbell)

4th – Benjy Haubert (The Citadel)

1st – Sergio Desiante (Chattanooga) dec. Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State), 4-2

2nd - Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State) over Riley Augustine (Campbell), NC

3rd – Riley Augustine (Campbell) dec. Benjy Haubert (The Citadel), 11-8

1st – Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine)

2nd – Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga)

3rd – Logan Eller (Appalachian State)

4th – Braxton Lewis (VMI)

1st – Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) dec. Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga), 4-3

2nd – Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga) over Logan Eller (Appalachian State), NC

3rd – Logan Eller (Appalachian State) med. forf. Braxton Lewis (VMI)

1st – Levi Hopkins (Campbell)

2nd – Patrick Brophy (The Citadel)

3rd – Carson Floyd (Appalachian State)

4th – Andrew Liber (Bellarmine)

1st – Levi Hopkins (Campbell) dec. Patrick Brophy (The Citadel), SV-1 8-5

2nd – Patrick Brophy (The Citadel) over Carson Floyd (Appalachian State), NC

3rd – Carson Floyd (Appalachian State) maj. dec. Andrew Liber (Bellarmine), 13-3

1st – Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State)

2nd – Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel)

3rd – Daulton Mayer (Bellarmine)

4th – Josh Evans (VMI)

1st – Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State) dec. Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel), 6-5

2nd – Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel) over Daulton Mayer (Bellarmine), NC

3rd – Daulton Mayer (Bellarmine) dec. Josh Evans (VMI), 4-0