App State-VT Put on Show For Big Crowd; Duke Next Up Monday
BOONE, N.C. — In front of another impressive home crowd Sunday, App State Wrestling produced several moments that raised the volume in a packed Varsity Gym during a 30-11 loss to No. 11 Virginia Tech. Redshirt junior Luke Uliano posted the best victory of his career, recording a takedown in the first 10 seconds of a 19-3 tech fall against 20th-ranked Lennox Wolak, a returning All-American at 174 pounds. Will Miller delivered another ranked win, prevailing 2-1 against 20th-ranked Mac Church thanks to a point penalty for stalling in the second overtime Tiebreaker period at 165 pounds, while Kaden Keiser erased an 8-3 deficit by finishing a 15-10 decision with two takedowns in the final 90 seconds against Hunter Mason at 149 pounds.
App State dropped to 2-3 overall with nonconference losses to ranked Power Four programs NC State, West Virginia and Virginia Tech (4-2) in advance of Duke’s visit to Varsity Gym on Monday night for a 7 p.m. dual. Virginia Tech’s roster includes five All-Americans and ranked wrestlers at all 10 weights, including seven top-20 wrestlers who were in the lineup Sunday despite the absence of reigning national champion Caleb Henson (149).
was a signature victory for Uliano, who has wrestled tough against highly ranked opponents in the past but had yet to have his hand raised against someone with Wolak’s credentials. After his quick takedown to open the match, Uliano added four near fall points and nearly rode out the final 2:51 of the period in building a 7-1 advantage. Uliano had another takedown with 1:23 left in the second and finished that period on top, then followed a third-period reversal by Wolak with another takedown and near fall points.
The seventh-ranked Miller beat a top-20 opponent for the third time this season, with the only points in regulation being Miller’s second-period escape and Church’s third-period escape. Miller appeared to win in the Sudden Victory period of overtime with the call of a takedown, but an official’s review overturned the premature whistle of three match-ending points, with the unfortunate consequence being that Miller was in position to likely finish a clear-cut takedown if action had continued instead of being stopped. Instead, they resumed wrestling from a neutral position, and no takedowns pushed the match to a pair of 30-second Tiebreaker periods. From the top position, Church didn’t allow a Miller escape in the first 30-second segment, creating a scenario in which Miller would need to