1000 x 90

InterMat Ranks App Wrestling 17th in Nation

Appalachian State University wrestling continues to move up the various national polls, this week moving up three spots to No. 17 in the *InterMat* duals rankings on Tuesday. The Mountaineers remained at No. 21 in the *USA Today*/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll.

The Mountaineers (7-1, 3-0 Southern Conference) are coming off two big wins against SoCon foes Campbell and SIUE to improve to their best start since 2002-03. This week marks the 10th week that Appalachian has been ranked in the *USA Today*/NWCA poll Top 25 – all coming in the last two seasons.

With 83 total votes, App State remains the lone member of the SoCon in the  Top 25 for the third-straight week (Chattanooga is third in the “others receiving votes” category) and is one of only three schools to have at least six wins and no more than one loss, joining Nebraska and Rutgers.

Individually, the Mountaineers enter this week with four nationally ranked wrestlers. After downing back-to-back nationally ranked opponents, senior *Vito Pasone *(Wilkes-Barre, Pa./E.L. Meyers) rocketed to the Top 20 of the 125-pound weight class nationally, coming in at No. 18 in FloWrestling’s rankings.

Sophomore 149-pounder *Matt Zovistoski* (Paramus, N.J./St. Joseph Regional) also ranked highly, coming in at No. 15 (OpenMat), while junior *Nick Kee *(Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland) ranked No. 21 (TrackWrestling) in the 174-pound weight class. Senior heavyweight *Denzel Dejournette *(Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) continues to lead the way rankings-wise, pulling in a No. 8 ranking (*InterMat*).

The Mountaineers end the year on the road when they travel to play No. 5 Missouri on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The Black and Gold will then begin 2017 with the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Appalachian returns to Varsity Gym on Jan. 8 when they host a doubleheader of The Citadel and Clarion. Action for that match begins at 2 p.m.

The only way to guarantee a seat to the action of App State wrestling’s historic season is by purchasing season tickets. Prices for adults will be $30/each and for youth fans (ages 3-12) $15/each. Individual match prices will be $7 for adults and $3 for youth except for the Feb. 5 match against Chattanooga, which will be $10 for adults and $3 for youth.

To purchase tickets, visit *appstatesports.com/tickets <http://appstatesports.com/tickets>*, (828) 262-2079, or visit the Appalachian State athletics ticket office, located inside the Holmes
Center. Tickets are also available at the door on matchday.