BOONE, N.C. — The recipient of top 25 votes, Appalachian State's wrestling team will open the 2017-18 season Wednesday with its Black and Gold exhibition in Varsity Gym.
The intrasquad match, pitting assistant coach Ryan LeBlanc's "Black" team against assistant coach Josh Roosa's "Gold" team, begins at 6 p.m. and is free to the public.
The Mountaineers had two voting points in the first USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released Tuesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. JohnMark Bentley has a 79-55-1 record entering his ninth season as head coach, and App State returns five starters from a team that enjoyed an unbeaten run to a Southern Conference championship while posting a 13-3 overall record in 2016-17.