App State Claims 2025 SoCon Wrestling Championship

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - App State won the 2025 Explore Asheville Southern Conference Wrestling Championship on Saturday at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, North Carolina. 

The Mountaineers successfully defended their 2024 title with their fifth league crown in 10 years. The Citadel’s head coach Ryan LeBlanc was voted Coach of the Year after leading his team to a runner-up finish in the conference tournament. Thomas Snipes, the 165-pounder from The Citadel, was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler after punching his way to the NCAA Tournament.  

App State won the tournament with 79.5 points, The Citadel came in a close second with 73.5 points. Campbell was third with 71.5 points, followed by Chattanooga (66.0), Gardner-Webb (50.0), Bellarmine (45.5), VMI (10.5), Davidson (6.0), and Presbyterian (5.0).  

App State picked up a critical individual title win with Stephan Monchery (HWT) to seal the tournament championship. The Mountaineers’ Chad Bellis was the tournament’s Knight Commission Pinnacle Award winner, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team. 
 

The tournament runner-up The Citadel picked up three individual titles from Gylon Sims (125), Carson DesRosier (149), and Snipes. 

SoCon Freshman of the Year, T.K. Davis, sealed the individual title at 133 pounds with a 3-0 decision. Runnin’ Bulldogs teammate Todd Carter (141) also became an individual champion on Saturday.  

Chattanooga captured a pair of gold medals with wins at 157 and 174, courtesy of Noah Castillo and Sergio Desiante, respectively. 

Campbell’s Levi Hopkins won his third straight individual title, after wrestling his way to gold in the 197-pound weight class.  

To round out the gold medalists, Bellarmine’s Devan Hendricks punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament at the 184-pound weight class, becoming the first Knight to be earn a SoCon individual championship. 

The 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship bouts will be announced Wednesday, March 12. The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championships will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 20 – 22.  
 
Team standings 
1. Appalachian State – 79.5 
2. The Citadel – 73.5 
3. Campbell – 71.5  
4. Chattanooga – 66.0  
5. Gardner-Webb – 50.0  
6. Bellarmine – 45.5 
7. VMI – 10.5 
8. Davidson – 6.0  

9. Presbyterian – 5.0  
 
Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers 
125 – Gylon Sims, The Citadel 
133 – T.K. Davis, Garnder-Webb 
141 – Todd Carter, Gardner-Webb 
149 – Carson DesRosier, The Citadel 
157 – Noah Castillo, Chattanooga 
165 – Thomas Snipes, The Citadel 
174 – Sergio Desiante, Chattanooga 
184 – Devan Hendricks, Bellarmine 
197 – Levi Hopkins, Campbell 
HWT – Stephan Monchery, App State 
 
Additional NCAA allocations 
133 – Blake Boarman, UTC

141 – Shannon Hanna, Campbell 

197- Patrick Brophy, The Citadel  
 
Southern Conference Coach of the Year 
Ryan LeBlanc, The Citadel 
 
Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler 
Thomas Snipes, The Citadel 
 
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team) 
Chad Bellis, App State