CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Redshirt senior
Josh Finesilver took home his second tournament title of the season, winning the 149-pound bracket at the Southern Scuffle Sunday.
Finesilver becomes just the second Blue Devil in program history to win a title at the prestigious Southern Scuffle, joining two-time champion
Jacob Kasper (2017 & 2018). It also joins his bracket victory at the Battle at The Citadel in November.
The day began with a convincing victory from Finesilver, who downed Oklahoma State's Victor Voinovich in a 7-0 decision. The win was his 20th of the season and advanced him to his second tournament final of the campaign to face No. 22 Josh Edmond of Missouri.
Facing his third ranked opponent of the season, Finesilver earned his highest ranked win of the season, battling to an 11-10 decision over Edmond. The Greenwood Village, Colo., native earned an extra point for riding time to break the 10-10 stalemate, helping to contribute to Duke's ninth place finish out of 29 teams, with 46.5 points going to the winning school in each bracket.
Matt Finesilver dropped his semifinal bout and went on to place fifth in the 174-pound bracket, defeating Iowa's Brennan Swafford in a 14-0 major decision in the last match of the day to add to Duke's point total.
The Finesilvers and Duke wrestling return to dual match action Jan. 13, hosting Appalachian State at 7 p.m.
RESULTS
149:
Semifinal: No. 7
Josh Finesilver (Duke) def. Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) – Dec., 7-0
Final: No. 7
Josh Finesilver (Duke) def. No. 22 Josh Edmond (Missouri) – Dec., 11-10
174:
Semifinal: No. 13 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) def. No. 8
Matt Finesilver (Duke) – Fall, 2-0 (4:35)
Consolation Semifinal: Austin Brenner (North Dakota State) def. No. 8
Matt Finesilver (Duke) – SV, 6-4
Fifth Place: No. 8
Matt Finesilver (Duke) def. Brennan Swafford (Iowa) – MD, 14-0
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