Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championship
Saturday, January 31
Durham, N.C.
10:00 AM
Duke University
24
vs
13
Drexel
Blue Devils Shine in Return to Card Gym
1/31/2015 7:53:00 PM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.—The Duke University wrestling team returned home to Card Gymnasium with a bang Saturday, going 3-0 in a trio of thrilling duals. The Blue Devils downed Drexel, American and Appalachian State to improve to 8-4 on the year and 3-1 at home.
Duke, behind solid team efforts in each dual, upended Drexel 24-13 to start the day and added a convincing 30-9 victory over American and closed out the evening with a thrilling 24-17 comeback win over Appalachian State. The Blue Devils' triumph over Drexel marked the first in program history.
“These wins feel good for the program,” said head coach Glen Lanham. “The young guys went out there and stepped it up and wrestled really hard. It's good to see when you work on something all week and then guys get it and do it in the match. That's what we saw. I felt like every dual whether we won or lost we got after it. That's all we can ask for.”
The back half of Duke's lineup was outstanding on the day with Trey Adamson (174 pounds), Jacob Kasper (184) and Conner Hartmann (197) all going 3-0 to lead Duke to victory. Hartmann, ranked seventh nationally, was especially impressive in posting two falls and a major decision to score Duke 16 points overall.
“It feels good to have that confidence and that those three guys you're looking at are capable of doing some big things,” Lanham said. “You know you're going to have quality, consistent hard wrestling. I felt comfortable we would win the duals when we got to those three guys.”
Mitch Finesilver (133), Marcus Cain (149), Brian Dorsey (165) all went 2-1, while Brandon Gambucci (141) split his two matches.
The Blue Devils avenged last season's loss to the Dragons by winning each of the final four bouts with three of those coming by major decision. The dual started with a Drexel decision at heavyweight. Thayer Atkins, holding an early lead at 125, got six points for Duke with an injury default before Drexel went back ahead 13-9 heading into Dorsey's 165-pound bout.
Dorsey dominated Nick Elmer in the seven-minute match for an 11-0 major decision to tie the match with Adamson on deck. The redshirt junior followed with a major decision of his own to make it 17-13 and Kasper clinched the win with a 7-2 decision over Alex DeCiantis. Hartmann closed out the dual with a 10-2 major decision.
Duke and American were neck-and-neck at 9-9 after five matches. Redshirt junior Immanuel Kerr-Brown broke the tie for Duke with a fantastic finish for a 3-2 victory and a 12-9 Blue Devil lead over the Eagles. The rest of the match was all Duke with the quartet of Dorsey, Adamson, Kasper and Hartmann combining for 18 points for the lopsided 30-9 triumph.
Having already wrestled two tough matches, Duke came back in the evening to face a fresh Appalachian State squad. The Mountaineers, looking for revenge from last season's loss to the Blue Devils, dominated early in building an 11-4 lead. Finesilver was Duke's lone point scorer in the first four bouts. The true freshman put together a fantastic final four minutes for the 18-7 major decision at 133.
Appalachian State, after Duke rallied to within two, grabbed its largest lead of the evening 17-9 with three matches remaining. Needing at least a decision in the final three bouts, Duke took it two steps further with pins in two of the three.
Adamson sparked the Blue Devils with a hard-fought 10-7 decision. The Riverton, Utah native, leading 8-7 with 25 seconds left, scored a crucial takedown in the final 15 seconds to ice his 11th win of the year and seventh straight.
“I got a little bit tired at the end, but I knew I just had to turn it up,” said Adamson. “I knew I needed that last takedown and I was able to get it.”
At 184 pounds, Kasper got off to a tough start as Dominick Vetell scored the early takedown. Duke's wins leader responded with fury and rolled Vetell for the reversal and about 30 seconds later earned his second pin of the season to put Duke up 18-17. With his three wins, Kasper improves to 21-6 overall and 9-2 in duals.
Hartmann, as expected, followed in suit by pinning Tyler Radford in the second period for the six points. The 2014 All-American is 13-2 on the year and 9-1 in duals.
Duke has a quick turnaround as it hits the road for a midweek match at Gardner-Webb Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils return home Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m., versus Sacred Heart.
Duke 24, Drexel 13
285: Joey Goodhard (Drexel) dec. Brendan Walsh (Duke) – 3-2 Duke 0, Drexel 3
125: Thayer Atkins (Duke) injury def. Eric Ochoa (Drexel) Duke 6, Drexel 3
133: Kevin Devoy (Drexel) major dec. Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 13-3 Duke 6, Drexel 7
141: David Pearce (Drexel) dec. Evan Botwin (Duke), 11-7 Duke 6, Drexel 10
149: Marcus Cain (Duke) dec. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 5-4 Duke 9, Drexel 10
157: Noel Blanco (Drexel) dec. Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke), 10-8 SV-1 Duke 9, Drexel 13
165: Brian Dorsey (Duke) major dec. Nick Elmer (Drexel), 11-0 Duke 13, Drexel 13
174: Trey Adamson (Duke) major dec. Stephen Lois au (Drexel), 11-2 Duke 17, Drexel 13
184: Jacob Kasper (Duke) dec. Alex DeCiantis (Drexel), 7-2 Duke 20, Drexel 13
197: No. 7 Conner Hartmann (Duke) major dec. Brandon Litten (Drexel) – 10-2 Duke 24, Drexel 13
Duke 30, American 9
285: Brendan Walsh (Duke) dec. Chris McDarment (AU) – 3-1 Duke 3, American 0
125: No. 16 David Teramo (AU) fall Thayer Atkins (Duke) – 2:24 Duke 3, American 6
133: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Josh Teramo (AU) – 6-3 Duke 6, American 6
141: Brandon Gambucci (Duke) dec. Michael Sprague (AU) – 10-4 Duke 9, American 6
149: Tom Page (AU) dec. Marcus Cain (Duke) – 5-0 Duke 9, American 9
157: Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) dec. John Boyle (AU) – 3-2 Duke 12, American 9
165: Brian Dorsey (Duke) dec. Brad Munchkin (AU) – 5-0 Duke 15, American 9
174: Trey Adamson (Duke) fall Nicholas Carey (AU) – 0:25 Duke 21, American 9
184: Jacob Kasper (Duke) dec. Jerica Kaushik (AU) – 2-0 Duke 24, American 9
197: No. 7 Conner Hartmann (Duke) fall Brett Dempsey (AU) – 2:30 Duke 30, American 9
Duke 24, Appalachian State 17
285: Denzel Dejournette (App) dec. Brendan Walsh (Duke) – 4-1 App State 3p, Duke 0
125: Dominic Parisi (App) major dec. Thayer Atkins (Duke) - 11-3 App State 7, Duke 0
133: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) major dec. Vito Pasone (App) – 18-7 App State 7, Duke 4
141: Mike Longo (App) major dec. Brandon Gambucci (Duke) – 10-0 App State 11, Duke 4
149: Marcus Cain (Duke) tech fall Javon Johnson (App) – 16-0 App State 11, Duke 9
157: Zachary Strickland (App) dec. Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) – 7-4 App State 14, Duke 9
165: Nike Kee (App) dec. Brian Dorsey (Duke) – 13-6 App State 17, Duke 9
174: Trey Adamson (Duke) dec. Forrest Przybysz (App) – 10-7 App State 17, Duke 12
184: Jacob Kasper (Duke) fall Dominick Vetell (App) – 1:17 App State 17, Duke 18
197: Conner Hartmann (Duke) fall Tyler Radford (App) – 4:20 App State 17, Duke 24
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
157
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
197
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
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