The App State Dual Has Morphed into Christmas!

I've confirmed with the highest possible authorities at both Appalachian State and ILLINOIS that the scheduled App State dual on November 13 will not happen. Instead, the ILLINI will be part of the team-dual Mountaineer Invitational on November 14. 

And the list of participating teams ensures a couple of excellent duals for the good guys:




STORYLINES:  

*  The last time the ILLINI dualed Arizona State University was January 28, 2017. The victory went to ILLINOIS by the score of 26-9. 

*  The only returning wrestler from that dual will be Anthony Valencia, who lost by fall to IMAR. 

*  Never bet against Eric Barone and Kyle Langenderfer, as both got upsets in the dual for a combined 12-point swing. 

*  Arizona State's NCAA finalist Brandon Courtney is 0-1 against Justin Cardani.

*  Lucas Byrd pinned ASU's Michael McGee in the fifth-place match at the Big Dance.

*  McGee was a 2x State Champ for Plainfield East before starting off at Old Dominion then transferring to ASU.

*  To get to ASU, the ILLINI will likely have to beat a tough App State squad. 

*  The Mountaineers will have a built in advantage as they live and train at 3,333 feet elevation, whereas Champaign-Urbana is at 764 feet, and Tempe, Arizona is just over 1,000 feet in elevation. 

*  The assistant coach for App State, Ian Miller, was a 3x AA for Kent State, one of the participant schools in the dual tournament. 

*  "In 2021, App State set a school record with seven NCAA Championships qualifiers, including five who earned a top-20 seed...."

*  There'll be more to come as the day approaches. 


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