Barket Named PNC Achievers Blue Devil of the Month
GoDuke The Magazine
This story originally appeared in the 15.6 Issue of GoDuke The Magazine - January 2024
After redshirting as a true freshman last season, Connor Barket’s collegiate career has gotten off to a promising start for coach Glen Lanham’s Duke wrestling program this season. Heading into the Blue Devils’ ACC opener on Jan. 26, Barket had amassed the most wins on the team at 13 and was named ACC wrestler of the week for the first time on Jan. 23.
Barket’s record of 13-11 included five wins in his last six dual matches, plus three wins at the Keystone Classic in the fall and three more wins at the Southern Scuffle, good for eighth place, during the holiday break. Three of his losses came early in the season against nationally-ranked opponents.
“Goal number one that I write down every day is making it to nationals this season,” said Barket, who was voted team captain for 2023-24 despite being in only his second year. “Our team has had a good streak of national qualifiers and I’m looking to build upon that. We’ve got a lot of guys trying to do that and I want to bring them along with me. We’ve got a bunch of guys hungry to get to nationals.”
Last summer after his redshirt season Barket spent time training in Durham and also competed at the U.S. Open U20 championships in Las Vegas, an event he’s taking aim at again this summer to try to qualify for a U.S. international team.
Barket had a 150-14 record as a high school wrestler in Indiana, with four conference titles and a spot in the state finals as a senior.
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