If you put a gun to my head on Thursday morning and asked me to tell you what school Austin Trotman went to and what weight he was at, I probably would be dead right now. Where in the heck did he come from? He slowed down big time against Bosak, but he was the best guy on his feet at 184. He took down Leblanc SIX TIMES.

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Two top4 placers from Appalachian State, I don't think anyone saw that coming. I didn't even know what state they were in, anyone have a little more detail on their program? I remember Mark Fee and they beat Michigan in football one year, that's literally all I know.

Boone, NC, western carolinas in the smokies. Beautiful country. Small college town. near border with TN & VA.

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I think iASU's performance this year is great! Wrestling isn't very big in the SE, so any signs of development there are encouraging. On the Div II level, Newberry, SC has been near the top all this past year. It's painful to think of former good programs in the SE that have been dropped over the years (Clemson, Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU).

It is actually where I went to college. ( I just graduated last may) So what would you like to know?

A little more detail about the wrestling program, which is clearly the best one in NC at this given moment. Is their 165 pounder a senior?

And any more detail about Trotman, who went from a guy I only knew the name to taking down Leblanc 6 times and making it look even easier against Loder. He looked like he could score every time he took a shot.

Blevins is a senior.

Trotman had qualified before but never could get over the hump an AA. He had a pretty tough draw. As far as high school goes trotman attended Mt. Tabor high school in Winston Salem, which is about an hour and a half from Boone. He was a three time state placer and two time state champion.

App's program is on the rise and has been building for this for a few years. The head coach John Mark Bently is in his 4th year as head coach at App. He was the head coach at Watauga High School in Boone before taking an assistant position at app state. Bently was a 4 time undeafted NC state champ. App State is define far the class of NC colleges right now and is getting all the kids who want to go D1 and stay in state. If you look at their roster it is full of NC kids compared to UNC or NC states rosters. So right now the NC wrestling community is really behind this program.

I remember Trotman from a few years back giving a highly seeded wrestler all he could handle in the early rounds of the NCAAs. Great interview with Quint K after his 3rd place win.
I agree he may have been the best wrestler at 184.
Maybe with a little more top level matches during the season he could have ended up as champion.