Duke To Send Five To University National Championships

DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke wrestling team will have five wrestlers traveling to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the 2008 Asics University & Fila Cadet National Championships this weekend. The meet begins today and continues through Sunday afternoon at the Athletics Field House at the University of Akron.

This meet is considered an off-season meet for the Duke wrestlers competing and features two styles of wrestling-- Greco-Roman and Freestyle-- that are different from the normal collegiate folk style. The two styles are featured in Olympic competition, and the winner of the meet actually qualifies for the Senior Nationals, which is the beginning of the process of earning a bid to the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Greco-Roman wrestling is a disciplined style that forbids holding below the belt, trips and the use of legs in the execution of any action. Freestyle features exciting scoring opportunities where leg attacks are fair game, which creates a wide-open and fan-friendly exhibition of skill, strength and athleticism.

Leading the way in Akron for Duke will be John Barone, who became Duke's all-time single-season wins record holder this year with 35 victories. Barone's 11-second pin of Mike Walsh of Limestone College on Dec. 1, 2007, was the fastest fall in Duke history, breaking an 18-year-old school record. He posted 13 pins overall in 2007-08 and is now 70-24 overall as a Blue Devil, which is good for 10th place on Duke's all-time winning percentage list with a .758 clip. Barone is also tied for 18th on the career wins list with 70.

A quartet of young Blue Devils will also make the trip, including A.J. Guardado, Robert Holbrook, Colby Johnson and Willy Mello. Guardado was 13-15 this season overall and 11-9 in tournaments with three falls. He placed fourth at the Davidson Open on Dec. 1. Holbrook wrestled to an 11-13 mark, including a third-place showing at The Citadel Open on Nov. 4, and is now 15-16 in two years in Durham. Johnson only saw action in four matches this season and earned an even 2-2 record. Mello went 8-5 in 2007-08 with two pins and wrestled to a first-place finish at The Citadel Open.

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