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Blue Devils Finish Eighth At The Beast Of The East
12/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 24, 2004
NEWARK, Del. - Behind one of the strongest upper-weight performances in recent memory, Duke took eighth place at the Third Annual Collegiate Beast of the East Tournament. A Duke wrestler placed at each weight class from 165 to heavyweight, with Levi Craig and Steve Smith leading the way, as each took home fourth-place finishes.
Smith continued his successful senior campaign, placing in his third tournament in as many tries at 165 punds. Smith, the fourth seed, beat Jake Blowers of Buffalo, 16-12, and came from behind to defeat UNC's Garrett Atkinson, 8-7. Smith suffered a loss to the eventual champion in the semifinals before recovering for a 5-3 win over Joe Maroney of Rider in the consolation semifinals. Smith then lost to Sherwood Fendryk of Sacred Heart by fall to finish fourth.
Captain Levi Craig was impressive at 174 pounds. He started out with a 16-10 win over Dan Keefe of Sacred Heart, then followed with a 6-4 win against Mark Himes of Duquesne. Craig dropped to the consolation bracket with a close 3-2 loss to Sean Jenkins of Rider, but came back with a pin and two decisions to gain a rematch with Jenkins. In an even tighter contest, Craig just missed picking up a winning takedown on multiple occasions before losing, 3-1, in the overtime period.
Fellow captain Frank Cornely recovered from an upset loss to the eventual champ to take fifth place at 184 pounds, scoring a 4-2 overtime victory to go out on a positive note. Cornely also had two wins that scored bonus team points, with a major decision and a pin. One weight class above, Mark Thompson placed for the fourth consecutive tournament, taking fifth place at 197. Thompson's first loss came in the quarterfinals, but he recovered to go 4-2 on the day, including a 2-0 win over teammate Konrad Dudziak. Dudziak went 2-2 on the day, with both losses coming against place-winners.
Rounding out the placing for the Devils was Venroy July at heavyweight. The former Tar Heel and ACC champion had a promising Duke debut, wrestling at the 285-pound weight class for the first time. July went 4-2 on the day and took fifth place with a 4-0 win over the fourth seed, Tyler Rees of Rider.
Duke's team performance was undercut by injuries. Both 133-pounders were injured, meaning Duke could not enter a wrestler at that class. Christian Smith managed a pin at 125 pounds, but after losing to Ryan Smith of Rider by a 4-3 score, he too had to default out of the tournament.
Other competitors for Duke at the Beast included Antwone Floyd and Brandon Foose, who picked up one pin at the 149 and 157-pound classes, respectively. Andrew Herbert and Dan Shvartsman each had one victory on the day and Adam Lesser and Patrick Keenum also competed.
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