BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University wrestling will begin 2016 at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. on New Year's Day. The tournament will span two days with the championship matches ending on Jan. 2.

Appalachian has participated in the Southern Scuffle every year since its inaugural tournament in 2003.

LOOKING BACK: The Mountaineers (6-2, 1-0 SoCon) were last in action on Dec. 19 in a tri-meet with Clarion and Buffalo in Clarion, Pa. App State won both matches, first beating Clarion, 31-6, and then defeating Buffalo, 19-12. The pair of wins put the Apps on a three-match win streak and saw them receive top-25 votes in the USA Today/ NWCA poll.

SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: This season marks the 13th edition of the Southern Scuffle and the fifth time its being hosted by UTC. The highly-competitive, 28-team field features 11 teams in the latest Intermat Tournament Top 25. Ranked teams in the tournament include: No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Cornell, No. 9 Michigan, No. 14 Lehigh, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 22 Stanford, No. 23 Penn, No. 24 Duke and No. 25 Virginia. 

Non-ranked teams in the field include Army, Cal Poly, Campbell, Central Michigan, Chattanooga, The Citadel, Cleveland State, Drexel, Edinboro, Gardner-Webb, Michigan State, Navy, Northern Colorado, Utah Valley, West Virginia and Wyoming.

NATIONALLY RANKED MOUNTAINEERS:

174: Kee is ranked No. 19 in the Open Mat poll.
Hwt: Dejournette is ranked in a few national polls. He's ranked No. 8 in the Open Mat poll, No. 9 in the FloWrestling rankings, and No. 13 in the Intermat Wrestling poll. 

SoCon Wrestlers of the Week:

Nov. 18- Denzel Dejournette
Nov. 25- Denzel Dejournette
Dec. 9- Nick Kee
Dec. 16- Forrest Przybysz