Aldo Hernandez and Kaden Keiser Deliver Clutch Wins in Competitive Mountaineer Quad

Morgantown, W.V.- The Appalachian State wrestling team had a long day at the Mountaineer Quad in Morgantown, West Virginia, where they faced tough teams including Princeton, West Virginia, and Glenville State. The Mountaineers lost to Princeton and No. 20 West Virginia but earned a strong 36-12 win over Glenville State, showing promise despite the challenges.

Coach JohnMark Bentley pointed out some key takeaways from the day. “We had some nationally ranked wins, which are really important for some individuals. I feel like as a team, we still have to find our identity. We're starting matches slow, and we're losing the bonus points battle in about every dual meet we're wrestling right now. We've got to fix that,” Bentley said. He acknowledged the strength of the competition but stressed the urgency of improving on defense and starting matches more aggressively. “You can't give up three pins, tech falls, and major decisions win dual meets,” he added.

Two wrestlers stood out for their performances against nationally ranked opponents. Aldo Hernandez defeated No. 29 Jordan Titus 4-2 in the finale against West Virginia. Reflecting on his match, Hernandez said, “Well I knew it was going to be a tough one, I knew he was going to come down to the wire, but I knew if I kept my head fight going the rest of my match would be fine and then the last minute or two whenever I got the last take down I knew I was really good at running corner so I kind of just wasn't really thinking and kind of just felt it and you know ended up getting behind and had a little matter turned to finish it off.” He also spoke about his comeback from injury: “I just got cleared about a month and a half ago so my confidence did some big things for that and then bouncing back after losing the first one felt nice.”

Kaden Keiser also had a notable victory, beating No. 15 Willie McDougald of West Virginia by a 7-3 decision. Speaking about his match, Keiser said, “Just staying composed especially during a bunch of blood breaks and a lot of looking at reviews, just staying composed and I think the coach does a good job of putting us in those mid-match scenarios in practice, you might be up by a certain amount of points, you know 30 seconds left or maybe down by a point, 30 seconds left, you got to get a takedown so, you know we put ourselves in that position in practice and played out.” When asked about his confidence after multiple ranked wins early in the season, he said, “It's huge but at the same time I know I can't overlook anybody, I got to go into every single match just fighting the same and respecting every single opponent like it's a ranked opponent.”

In addition to Hernandez and Keiser's wins, the Mountaineers collected other victories throughout the day, including notable performances by Anthony Conetta and Stephan Monchery. However, the team faces the continued challenge of reducing the number of bonus points they surrender and starting matches with more intensity.

Overall, while the Mountaineers proved they can compete with tough competition, their focus will be on tightening their starts and limiting bonus point losses to stay competitive moving forward. With leaders like Hernandez and Keiser making big impacts, Appalachian State wrestling looks to build momentum for the rest of the season.

Princeton 25, App State 9

125: No. 18 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) def. Cooper Foster (App State), 20-4 tech fall

133: Ethan Rivera (Princeton) def. Jarvis Little (App State), 4-3 dec.

141: Jake Mann (Princeton) def. Aldo Hernandez (App State), 8-0 maj. dec.

149: No. 15 Eligh Rivera (Princeton) def. No. 27 Kaden Keiser (App State), 8-5 dec.

157: Jeremiah Price (App State) def. Rocco Camillaci (Princeton), 4-1 dec.

165: No. 17 Ty Whalen (Princeton) def. Anthony Conetta (App State), 13-2 maj. dec.

174: Xavier Giles (Princeton) def. Colt Campbell (App State), 5-4 dec.

184: No. 16 Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) def. No. 31 Tomas Brooker (App State), 13-8 dec.

197: Logan Eller (App State) def. Conor McCloskey (Princeton), 4-0 dec.

Hwt: Stephan Monchery (App State) def. Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton), 5-2 dec. (SV)

App State 36, Glenville State 12

125: Cooper Foster (App State) def. Brady Layman (Glenville State), fall (3:50)

133: Hunter Ross (Glenville State) def. No. 27 Musa Tamaradze (App State), fall (2:06)

141: Joe Fongaro (App State) def. Ethan Hardy (Glenville State), 12-3 maj. dec.

149: No. 27 Kaden Keiser (App State) def. Gabe Onorato (Glenville State), 5-1 dec.

157: Jeremiah Price (App State) def. Jimmie Bailes (Glenville State), 18-2 tech fall

165: Anthony Conetta (App State) def. David Pento (Glenville State), 20-4 tech fall

174: Colt Campbell (App State) wins by forfeit

184: Alex Hopper (App State) def. Zachary Holstion (Glenville State), 8-1 dec.

197: Logan Eller (App State) def. Max Borton (Glenville State), 9-0 maj. dec.

Hwt: Nick Johnson (Glenville State) def. Gunnar Pool (App State), fall (3:47)

No. 20 West Virginia 31, App State 12

125: Louie Gill (West Virginia) def. Cooper Foster (App State), 18-2 tech fall

133: Gunner Andrick (West Virginia) def. Jarvis Little (App State), 11-3 maj. dec.

141: Aldo Hernandez (App State) def. No. 29 Jordan Titus (West Virginia), 4-2 dec.

149: No. 27 Kaden Keiser (App State) def. No. 15 Willie McDougald (West Virginia), 7-3 dec.

157: No. 3 Ty Watters (West Virginia) def. Jeremiah Price (App State), fall (5:57)

165: Anthony Conetta (App State) def. Shawn Taylor (West Virginia), 2-1 dec.

174: No. 21 Brody Conley (West Virginia) def. Colt Campbell (App State), fall (5:46)

184: No. 17 Ian Bush (West Virginia) def. No. 31 Tomas Brooker (App State), 17-4 maj. dec.

197: No. 26 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia) def. Logan Eller (App State), fall (2:41)

Hwt: Stephan Monchery (App State) def. Brock Kehler (West Virginia), 6-1 dec.