Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
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Friday, March 19
St. Louis, Mo.
All-Day
Duke University
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Day Two at NCAA Championships
Finesilver Concludes Season with Two More Wins at NCAA Championships
3/19/2021 11:30:00 PM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C. – Despite putting together three straight wins to keep himself alive in the wrestleback bracket, redshirt junior Josh Finesilver concluded his season Friday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships after falling to No. 7 Jonathan Millner of Appalachian State.
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Finesilver was one victory shy of becoming Duke's fifth NCAA All-American in program history. After going 1-1 during Thursday's opening day, Finesilver kicked off Day 2 by defeating No. 5 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska (fall, 2:50) and No. 20 Joshua Heil of Campbell (Dec., 8-5) to set up a showdown with Millner for All-American status.
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In his opening bout with Lovett, Finesilver found himself quickly down 2-0 after a takedown. Following an escape, he turned the tides on his top-5 nationally ranked challenger with a decisive move and pinned him 2:50 into the match for his first win by fall this season. That victory was the first top-5 win by a Duke wrestler at the NCAA Championships since Jacob Kasper defeated No. 5 Sam Stoll in the 2018 consolation semifinals.
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The Greenwood Village, Colo., native next shifted his attention to Heil, who had beaten No. 32 Greg Gaxiola of Hofstra earlier in the day in the wrestleback bracket. Finesilver and Heil were evenly matched from the start, with Heil earning the first takedown. Finesilver responded with an escape and takedown of his own to pull in front 3-2. The two continued to battle but it was Finesilver who came out on top at the end of the final frame thanks to an 8-5 decision.
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Finesilver had one final match on Friday, and it was another tough one as he faced his third top-10 wrestler of the tournament when he matched up against Millner. App State's redshirt junior earned three takedowns and an escape to build a commanding 7-0 lead early. Finesilver would not go down without a fight though and responded with a deliberate comeback to shave the deficit down to 7-5. Millner then earned an escape before Finesilver added another takedown to cut the lead to just one late in the third period. Unfortunately, Millner answered with an escape point and a point for riding time to close out the 10-7 decision.
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Finesilver wrapped up the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 9-5, including a 3-4 mark against top-25 opponents.
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#GoDuke
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Finesilver was one victory shy of becoming Duke's fifth NCAA All-American in program history. After going 1-1 during Thursday's opening day, Finesilver kicked off Day 2 by defeating No. 5 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska (fall, 2:50) and No. 20 Joshua Heil of Campbell (Dec., 8-5) to set up a showdown with Millner for All-American status.
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In his opening bout with Lovett, Finesilver found himself quickly down 2-0 after a takedown. Following an escape, he turned the tides on his top-5 nationally ranked challenger with a decisive move and pinned him 2:50 into the match for his first win by fall this season. That victory was the first top-5 win by a Duke wrestler at the NCAA Championships since Jacob Kasper defeated No. 5 Sam Stoll in the 2018 consolation semifinals.
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The Greenwood Village, Colo., native next shifted his attention to Heil, who had beaten No. 32 Greg Gaxiola of Hofstra earlier in the day in the wrestleback bracket. Finesilver and Heil were evenly matched from the start, with Heil earning the first takedown. Finesilver responded with an escape and takedown of his own to pull in front 3-2. The two continued to battle but it was Finesilver who came out on top at the end of the final frame thanks to an 8-5 decision.
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Finesilver had one final match on Friday, and it was another tough one as he faced his third top-10 wrestler of the tournament when he matched up against Millner. App State's redshirt junior earned three takedowns and an escape to build a commanding 7-0 lead early. Finesilver would not go down without a fight though and responded with a deliberate comeback to shave the deficit down to 7-5. Millner then earned an escape before Finesilver added another takedown to cut the lead to just one late in the third period. Unfortunately, Millner answered with an escape point and a point for riding time to close out the 10-7 decision.
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Finesilver wrapped up the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 9-5, including a 3-4 mark against top-25 opponents.
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#GoDuke
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