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App State Claims 2024 SoCon Wrestling Championship
14 SoCon wrestlers advance to the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships
BOONE, N.C. – App State won the 2024 Southern Conference Wrestling Championship on Saturday at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina. The 24th-ranked Mountaineers’ successfully defended their 2023 title with their fourth league crown in nine years, while denying Campbell, the league’s regular-season champion, its fifth overall tournament title. App State head coach, JohnMark Bentley, earned SoCon Coach of the Year for the seventh time, while Campbell’s Taye Ghadiali (HWT) was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler after taking home the 285-pound crown as a No. 1 seed.
App State won the tournament with 114 points, with No. 22-ranked Campbell coming in second place with 97.5 points. Chattanooga was third with 63.5 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (49.5), The Citadel (44.5), Davidson (23), VMI (18.0) and Presbyterian (5.5).
The Mountaineers picked up five individual titles from Ethan Oakley (133), Cody Bond (149), Tommy Askey (157), Will Miller (165) and Tomas Brooker (184). App State’s Cody Bond was the tournament’s Pinnacle Award winner, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
Tournament runner-up Campbell had three individual champions in Austin Murphy (174), Levi Hopkins (197) and Taye Ghadiali (HWT), along with three NCAA allocations - Domenic Zaccone (133), Dyson Dunham (133) and Domonic Baker (165). Hopkins and Ghadiali were the only wrestlers in the field to win each of their matches via pin during the championship.
Chattanooga saw Brayden Palmer (125) and Isaiah Powe (141), the SoCon Freshman of the Year capture individual titles, while The Citadel’s Jeffrey Boyd (149) earned an allocation after finishing second to the Mountaineers’ Bond.
Eight of the individual champions were named to the all-conference team earlier this week and came into the championship as the No. 1 seed in their respective weight class. Askey, Hopkins and Ghadiali each successfully defended their respective individual titles from a year ago and will be making their second consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 21-23.
Team standings
1. Appalachian State – 114.0
2. Campbell – 97.5
3. Chattanooga – 63.5
4. Gardner-Webb – 49.5
5. The Citadel – 44.5
6. Davidson – 23.0
7. VMI – 18.0
8. Presbyterian – 5.5
Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers
125 – Brayden Palmer , Chattanooga
133 – Ethan Oakley, App State
141 – Isaiah Powe, Chattanooga
149 – Cody Bond, App State
157 – Tommy Askey, App State
165 – Will Miller, App State
174 – Austin Murphy, Campbell
184 – Tomas Brooker, App State
197 - Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT – Taye Ghadiali, Campbell
Additional NCAA allocations
133 – Domenic Zaccone, Campbell
133 – Dyson Dunham, VMI
149 – Jeffrey Boyd, The Citadel
165 – Domonic Baker, Campbell
Southern Conference Coach of the Year
JohnMark Bentley, App State
Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler
Taye Ghadiali, 285, Campbell
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Cody Bond, Sr., App State
App State won the tournament with 114 points, with No. 22-ranked Campbell coming in second place with 97.5 points. Chattanooga was third with 63.5 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (49.5), The Citadel (44.5), Davidson (23), VMI (18.0) and Presbyterian (5.5).
The Mountaineers picked up five individual titles from Ethan Oakley (133), Cody Bond (149), Tommy Askey (157), Will Miller (165) and Tomas Brooker (184). App State’s Cody Bond was the tournament’s Pinnacle Award winner, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
Tournament runner-up Campbell had three individual champions in Austin Murphy (174), Levi Hopkins (197) and Taye Ghadiali (HWT), along with three NCAA allocations - Domenic Zaccone (133), Dyson Dunham (133) and Domonic Baker (165). Hopkins and Ghadiali were the only wrestlers in the field to win each of their matches via pin during the championship.
Chattanooga saw Brayden Palmer (125) and Isaiah Powe (141), the SoCon Freshman of the Year capture individual titles, while The Citadel’s Jeffrey Boyd (149) earned an allocation after finishing second to the Mountaineers’ Bond.
Eight of the individual champions were named to the all-conference team earlier this week and came into the championship as the No. 1 seed in their respective weight class. Askey, Hopkins and Ghadiali each successfully defended their respective individual titles from a year ago and will be making their second consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 21-23.
Team standings
1. Appalachian State – 114.0
2. Campbell – 97.5
3. Chattanooga – 63.5
4. Gardner-Webb – 49.5
5. The Citadel – 44.5
6. Davidson – 23.0
7. VMI – 18.0
8. Presbyterian – 5.5
Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers
125 – Brayden Palmer , Chattanooga
133 – Ethan Oakley, App State
141 – Isaiah Powe, Chattanooga
149 – Cody Bond, App State
157 – Tommy Askey, App State
165 – Will Miller, App State
174 – Austin Murphy, Campbell
184 – Tomas Brooker, App State
197 - Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT – Taye Ghadiali, Campbell
Additional NCAA allocations
133 – Domenic Zaccone, Campbell
133 – Dyson Dunham, VMI
149 – Jeffrey Boyd, The Citadel
165 – Domonic Baker, Campbell
Southern Conference Coach of the Year
JohnMark Bentley, App State
Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler
Taye Ghadiali, 285, Campbell
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Cody Bond, Sr., App State