The Mountaineers (12-4, 6-1 SoCon) trailed 77-73.5 to five-time defending champion Chattanooga going into the championship matches. 2016 SoCon Champions Michael Longo (Corona, Calif./Santiago) at 141 pounds, Nick Kee (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland) at 174 pounds, and Dejournette all secured wins to snap the Mocs run as champions.
“I'm so proud of this team, and how they battled today,†said 2015-16 SoCon Coach of the Year JohnMark Bentley. “This Championship took a team effort! Our focus now on getting some All-Americans.â€
Longo used a first round pin of Billy McClelland of Davidson to advance to the semi-final match at 141 pounds. Longo was down early but fought back to pin John Muldoon of SIUE in the second round to secure his spot in the finals. Longo defeated Mike Pongracz of Chattanooga in a low-scoring contest for the second-straight year. With the win, Longo is headed to New York for his second trip the NCAA Championship in as many seasons.
Kee dominated his opening match against Nathaniel Powers of Davidson, winning by 17-0 technical fall. Kee marched on the 174-pound final with a 13-4 major decision over Conner McMahon. Like Longo, Kee completed his unblemished SoCon season in the championship match, winning by 14-6 major decision over Sean Mappes. Kee will head to the NCAA Championship for the first time in his career.
Dejournette cruised to an opening round technical fall over Will Cooley of Davidson, winning 17-2. Dejournette continued to roll with a 12-2 major decision in the semifinal to set up a rematch of the 2015 heavyweight championship with Jared Johnson of Chattanooga. A late takedown gave Dejournette a 4-2 decision win, his third win of the year over Johnson
App State had two wrestlers finish as runner-ups for the second-consecutive year. Vito Pasone (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./E.L. Meyers) placed second at 125 pounds while Forrest Przybysz (Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson) placed second at 165 pounds.
Pasone needed just over a minute to rack up a 16-0 technical fall victory over Zamir Ode of Davidson. In the semi-final, Pasone notched his second technical fall of the afternoon over Alonzo Allen of Chattanooga to punch his ticket into the 125-pound final. Pasone lead for most of the first two periods, but came up just short of a trip to nationals and had to settle for runner-up. Alfredo Rodriguez took control in the third period and went on to win 17-10.
Przybysz shut out Davidson's Adam Flatt 12-0 in his opening round match to advance to the semi-final of the 165-pound bracket. Przybysz won a nail-biting semifinal match with a takedown in the overtime period to advance to a SoCon final for the second consecutive season. Przybysz competed hard all match and used a late flurry to tie the match in the third period against Austin Trott of Gardner-Webb. Trott's riding time proved to be the difference as he used the extra point to win, 5-4.
Along with the five wrestlers that were in the finals, the Apps had another four third-place matches. Irvin Enriquez (Aberdeen, N.C./Pinecrest) placed 3rd at 133 pounds and Matt Zovistoski (Paramus, N.J./St. Joseph Regional), Taylor Jackson (Lady Lake, Fla./The Villages) (Rutgers), and Randall Diabe (Greensboro, N.C./James B. Dudley) all placed fourth.
App State's three conference champions will be headed to New York Ciy for the NCAA Championship held at Madison Square Garden on starting on Mar. 17.
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