BOONE, N.C. – Four Camels earned individual titles, and Campbell finished runner-up at the 2023 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Holmes Convocation Center.

Shannon Hanna at 141 pounds, Caleb Hopkins at 184, Levi Hopkins at 197 and Taye Ghadiali at heavyweight all went  perfect 3-0 in their brackets to take individual SoCon championships and automatic NCAA Championships berths, while Domenic Zaccone at 133 pounds won his true place match, also punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships.

Campbell's four individual champs were the most in the tournament for a single team, while Appalachian State, which claimed the team title, posted three individual champions. The Mountaineers' title ended a streak of four straight team championships for Campbell.

App State won the tournament with 103 points, with Campbell coming in second place with 78.5 points. Chattanooga was third with 52 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (42.5), The Citadel (33.5), Presbyterian (18.5), VMI (18) and Davidson (17).

App State head coach, JohnMark Bentley, earned SoCon Coach of the Year for the sixth time, while Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer (133) was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler after taking home the 133-pound crown as a No. 3 seed. Mountaineer Ethan Oakley was the tournament's Pinnacle Award winner, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.

Hanna, ranked No. 32 at 141 pounds, took his second straight SoCon crown, defeating No. 33 Zach Price from Gardner-Webb in the championship round, 6-3 in overtime. The senior started the day with a 26-10 tech fall (6:36) over Davidson's Joshua Viarengo, then defeated The Citadel's Jacob Silka in an 8-1 decision.

No. 30 Caleb Hopkins made it three consecutive SoCon championships, running through the 184 pound bracket, including a pair of shutout decisions, outscoring his opponents 11-3 on the day. Hopkins blanked No. 33 Jha`Quan Anderson 4-0 in the title bout after topping Davidson's Cameo Blankenship 4-3, and App State's Lucas Uliano 3-0.

At 197 pounds, No. 26 Levi Hopkins held off App State's Carson Floyd, 3-1, in the championship round, capturing his first SoCon title and first trip to the NCAA Championships. The redshirt junior also topped The Citadel's Mark Chaid 8-2, and Chattanooga's Jake Boyd 1-0.

The only wrestler to win each of his matches by pin, No. 15 Ghadiali topped App State's Jacob Sartorio in the championship match (1:42), after defeating PC's Morvens Saint Jean (0:56) and Chattanooga's Logan Andrew (4:06) on the way to his second straight SoCon title and third NCAA appearance.

Zaccone placed third at 133 pounds for the second straight season, downing The Citadel's George Rosas, 8-3 in the consolation championship. The No. 23 ranked wrestler then topping No. 24 Ethan Oakley from App State, 6-2, in the true place match to secure his NCAA bid.

Also finishing on the podium with third place finishes were Chris Rivera at 149 pounds, and Troy Nation at 157.

The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Wednesday, March 8. The 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 16-18.

CAMPBELL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
#31 Anthony Molton, 125 Pounds (1-2)
Logan Ashton (UTC) W Dec 3-1
Dominic Chavez (PC) L Dec 7-0
Blair Orr (Citadel) L Dec 5-2

#23 Domenic Zaccone, 133 Pounds (3-1, 3^rd Place)
Jacob Brasseur (PC) W Fall (1:47)
#22 Brayden Palmer (UTC) L Dec 3-1 SV-1
George Rosas (Citadel) W Dec 8-3
Todd Carter (GWU) W Dec 6-2
True Place Match
#24 Ethan Oakley (App State) W Dec 6-3

#32 Shannon Hanna, 141 Pounds (3-0, Champion)
Joshua Viarengo (Davidson) W TF 26-10 (6:36)
Jacob Silka (Citadel) W Dec 8-1
#33 Zach Price (GWU) W 6-3 TB-1

Chris Rivera, 149 Pounds (3-1, 3^rd Place)
Noah Frack (Davidson) W Dec 7-3
Noah Castillo (UTC) L Dec 8-3
Ethan Willis (Citadel) W Dec 3-2
Ryan Vigil (VMI) W Dec 7-1

Troy Nation, 157 Pounds (3-1, 3^rd Place)
Tyler Brignola (GWU) W TF 16-0 (2:53)
Tanner Peake (Davidson) L Dec 4-3
Lincoln Heck (UTC) W Dec 5-0
Job Chishko (VMI) W Dec 3-1

Dom Baker, 165 Pounds (1-2)
Braxton Lewis (VMI) W MD 13-5
#26 Will Formato (App State) L Dec 4-1
Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) L Dec 6-1

Cole Rees, 174 Pounds (0-2)
Benjy Haubert (Citadel) L Dec 3-1 SV-1
Zachary Wells (PC) L Dec 10-5

#30 Caleb Hopkins, 184 Pounds (3-0, Champion)
Cameo Blankenship (Davidson) W Dec 4-3
Lucas Uliano (App State) W Dec 3-0
#33 Jha`Quan Anderson (GWU) W Dec 4-0

#26 Levi Hopkins, 197 Pounds (3-0, Champion)
Mark Chaid (Citadel) W Dec 8-2
Jake Boyd (UTC) W Dec 1-0
Carson Floyd (App State) W Dec 3-1

#15 Taye Ghadiali, Heavyweight (3-0, Champion)
Morvens Saint Jean (PC) W Fall (0:56)
Logan Andrew (UTC) W Fall (4:06)
Jacob Sartorio (App State) W Fall (1:42)

Individual rankings according to NCAA coaches' panel (2/24/23)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Appalachian State – 103.0
2. Campbell – 78.5
3. Chattanooga – 52.0
4. Gardner-Webb – 42.5
5. The Citadel – 33.5
6. Presbyterian – 18.5
7. VMI – 18.0
8. Davidson – 17.0

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS/NCAA QUALIFIERS
125: Caleb Smith, App State
133: Brayden Palmer, Chattanooga
141: Shannon Hanna, Campbell
149: Jon Jon Millner, App State
157: Tommy Askey, App State
165: RJ Mosley, Gardner-Webb
174: Rocky Jordan Chattanooga
184: Caleb Hopkins, Campbell
197: Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT: Taye Ghadiali, Campbell

ADDITIONAL NCAA ALLOCATIONS
133: Domenic Zaccone, Campbell
174: Will Miller, App State

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
JohnMark Bentley, App State

TOURNAMENT MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER
Brayden Palmer, 133, Chattanooga

PINNACLE AWARD (STUDENT-ATHLETE WITH THE HIGHEST GPA ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING TEAM)
Ethan Oakley, R-Fr., App State