BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Appalachian State University wrestling was on the road Tuesday night to take on Southern Conference foe Gardner-Webb. The Runnin' Bulldogs (4-5, 2-2 SoCon) upset the Mountaineers (9-3, 4-1 SoCon), 22-18, handing the Apps their first SoCon loss of the season and snapped their six-match winning streak.
The dual match started with the 125-pound weight class that featured Vito Pasone against Cortez Starkes. Pasone gave App State the lead with a 12-5 decision win. Jacob Grigg, at 133 pounds, dropped a hard-fought overtime match to Tyler Ziegler by a 4-2 tiebreaker to level the score at 3-3.
Michael Longo dominated the action in the 141-pound match against Ryan Hull. Longo would go on to win by technical fall, 23-7, to push the Apps back in front, 8-3. The Runnin' Bulldogs would quickly answer with bonus points of their own in the 149-pound bout when Christopher Vassar pinned Matt Zovistoski at the 4:12 minute mark.
Down by a score of 9-8, App State would drop two-straight decisions at 157 pounds and 165 pounds, allowing Gardner-Webb to stretch its lead to 15-8. First, David Peters-Logue was on the wrong end of a low-scoring, 3-1, decision to Ryan Mosley. Then, Austin Trott defeated Forrest Przybysz with an 11-4 decision.
Nick Kee delivered a much-needed bonus point win to close the Mountaineer deficit to three points. Kee smothered Brett Stein for a 14-3 major decision. Hunter Gamble put all the pressure back on Appalachian in the 184-pound match with a 10-2 major decision over Taylor Jackson. With the team score at 19-12, the Mountaineers would need to win both the final two matches for a chance to win.
In the do-or-die 197-pound match, Gray Jones used a late first-round takedown to edge Randall Diabe, 4-1, which sealed the Runnin' Bulldogs first-ever dual meet victory over Appalachian State.
Even though the match was out of reach, Denzel Dejournette had another strong showing in the heavyweight match versus No. 33 Boyce Cornwell. Dejournette pinned Cornwell 15 seconds into the second period. With the pin, Dejournette has now earned bonus points in his last seven dual matches.
The Mountaineers are back in action next on Feb. 5 to face long-time rival Chattanooga in Chattanooga, Tenn. Match time is set to start at 6:00 p.m.
Gardner-Webb 22, App State 18
125: #33 Vito Pasone (APP) dec. Cortez Starkes (GWU), 12-5 – 0-3
133: Tyler Ziegler (GWU) dec. Jacob Grigg (APP), 4-2 (TB-3) – 3-3
141: Michael Longo (APP) tech. fall Ryan Hull (GWU), 23-7 (5:11) – 3-8
149: Chris Vassar (GWU) pinned Matt Zovitoski (APP), (4:12) – 9-8
157: Ryan Mosley (GWU) dec. David Peters-Logue (APP), 3-1 – 12-8
165: Austin Trott (GWU) dec. #25 Forrest Przybysz (APP), 11-4 – 15-8
174: #21 Nick Kee (APP) major dec. Brett Stein (GWU), 14-3 – 15-12
184: Hunter Gamble (GWU) major dec. Taylor Jackson (APP), 10-2 – 19-12
197: Gray Jones (GWU) dec. Randall Diabe (APP), 4-1 – 22-12
285: #5 Denzel Dejournette (APP) pinned #33 Boyce Cornwell (GWU), (3:15) – 22-18
