Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Coming off First NCAA Bid, Barket Hungry for More
5/15/2025 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.-- There were plenty of moments worth remembering during Connor Barket's 2024-25 season. The redshirt sophomore earned a top-five placement at the ACC Championship, four victories against ranked opponents and his first career appearance at the NCAA Championship this past March in Philadelphia.
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When recently asked to reflect on his breakout season, however, the heavyweight had only one moment in mind: wrestling on the NCAA Championship mats next season in Cleveland.
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"It's hard to get my mind off of it," said Barket. "I've just become obsessed with thinking about Cleveland next year and what I need to do."
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That type of obsession is what propelled Barket to one of the most successful years of wrestling in recent Duke history. After collecting 24 wins, the product of West Lafayette, Ind., now sits at fifth-place all-time in single-season wins by a Duke heavyweight.
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"Seeing the first weekend down at the Citadel and then all the way up to Nationals -- it's been an extremely long journey. Looking back, I can confidently say I've grown tremendously over the last season and even more so than I think I did last season."
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After an impressive freshman campaign in which he topped the team in wins with a 16-15 record, Barket began the year on a hot streak. He placed second at the opening Battle at the Citadel tournament, before wrestling his way to an undefeated record at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Pennsylvania.
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"I had a good tournament up there [at Journeyman]. I wrestled some decent competition and was getting into my stuff. And I kind of felt my system coming along."
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"I was like, alright, we're building up something."
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The weekend after Journeymen, during a Friday night dual against Michigan on November 22, Barket got to test his stuff against a top-25 program. But after giving up an early lead to the Wolverines' Ira Jenkins, he found himself down 5-4 at the beginning of the last period and needing a comeback.
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"I was able to just fight through and break that kid, pretty much," said Barket. "I got the takedown in the last couple of seconds, something I don't think I would have done the year before. And that just kind of proved to myself that, oh, this is a different year."
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Following his thrilling victory against Jenkins, Barket notched his first career win over a ranked opponent the very next morning. Facing Utah Valley's 33rd-ranked Jack Forbes, he clawed his way back yet again for an epic come-from-behind victory. His two takedowns in the last 30 seconds of the match gave him a 1-point victory and the realization that he could compete with the best.
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"Last year, that's not a win I would've had," Barket said.
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For his weekend heroics, Barket was tabbed ACC Wrestler of the Week on November 26.
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"Between those two weekends, I was like, alright -- we're the real deal. We're going to start winning. We're going start taking [matches]. We're going to get on that national mat. We're going to get to Philadelphia. That's when the vision became clear."
Â
Carrying a 15-2 record into the spring season, Barket seemed well on his way to Philly. But after a strong start in January that included a dominant tech fall win over 19th-ranked Stephan Monchery of Appalachian State, Barket lost three straight matches to ranked opponents to end the ACC regular season. Only five heavyweights in the ACC are given the chance to go to the NCAA Championship each year, so the Duke captain had his work cut out for him entering this year's ACC Championship in Durham.
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The heavyweight bracket began with a crucial quarterfinal matchup against North Carolina's 30th-ranked Nolan Neves, in a crowded Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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"[Neves] had been on a hot streak," Barket said. "He'd taken out a lot of good names and he was wrestling really, really well. I'd beaten him earlier in the year and I knew the right game plan, what I needed to do and I went out and executed just like I wanted to."
Â
Barket jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and pushed the lead to 4-0 with an escape in the second. He controlled the match the rest of the way for a 5-1 decision, giving him the home victory and a spot in the semifinals. After a couple of close defeats against two more ranked opponents in the semifinals and consolation semifinals, he punched his ticket to Philly with another win in the fifth-place match. The victory also secured Duke's first appearance at nationals in two years.
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"There were a lot of nerves going into ACC, a lot of pressure I didn't need to put on myself," Barket said. "But I'm proud of the way I fought through that match [against Neves] and was able to wrestle the way I wanted to, to secure the top-five placement and to send myself to nationals."
Â
In Philadelphia, Barket drew a tough matchup against eventual All-American Josh Heindselman from Michigan in round one. He then faced 11th-seeded Jimmy Mullen of Virginia Tech for the third time this season. After dropping both matches, he was eliminated, but not without another comeback in his final period against Mullen. His takedown with just 12 seconds left in the match cut the lead to one and proved that he could be competitive on the national stage.
Â
"It's been a very long journey, but it's been a very rewarding one and just to see myself go out on the national stage and wrestle on those NCAA mats was a bit of a surreal moment," Barket said. "I'm not sure I wrestled my first match quite the way I wanted to, because of the scenarios, but I felt comfortable moving on. Next year I'm going to be ready to fully lock in."
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In the meantime, Barket will spend his summer training in Geneva, Ohio, for the U-23 World Team Trials in May, before returning to Durham to train here and complete his summer internship with Fidelity. He hopes to put on a few more pounds before next season, while also improving his footwork.
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The trip to Ohio will hopefully be preparation for things to come, as the heavyweight hopes to return next March for the 2026 NCAA Championship in Cleveland.
Â
To stay up to date with Blue Devils wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWRES".
Â
#GoDuke
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When recently asked to reflect on his breakout season, however, the heavyweight had only one moment in mind: wrestling on the NCAA Championship mats next season in Cleveland.
Â
"It's hard to get my mind off of it," said Barket. "I've just become obsessed with thinking about Cleveland next year and what I need to do."
Â
That type of obsession is what propelled Barket to one of the most successful years of wrestling in recent Duke history. After collecting 24 wins, the product of West Lafayette, Ind., now sits at fifth-place all-time in single-season wins by a Duke heavyweight.
Â
"Seeing the first weekend down at the Citadel and then all the way up to Nationals -- it's been an extremely long journey. Looking back, I can confidently say I've grown tremendously over the last season and even more so than I think I did last season."
Â
After an impressive freshman campaign in which he topped the team in wins with a 16-15 record, Barket began the year on a hot streak. He placed second at the opening Battle at the Citadel tournament, before wrestling his way to an undefeated record at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Pennsylvania.
 "I had a good tournament up there [at Journeyman]. I wrestled some decent competition and was getting into my stuff. And I kind of felt my system coming along."
Â
"I was like, alright, we're building up something."
Â
The weekend after Journeymen, during a Friday night dual against Michigan on November 22, Barket got to test his stuff against a top-25 program. But after giving up an early lead to the Wolverines' Ira Jenkins, he found himself down 5-4 at the beginning of the last period and needing a comeback.
Â
"I was able to just fight through and break that kid, pretty much," said Barket. "I got the takedown in the last couple of seconds, something I don't think I would have done the year before. And that just kind of proved to myself that, oh, this is a different year."
Â
Following his thrilling victory against Jenkins, Barket notched his first career win over a ranked opponent the very next morning. Facing Utah Valley's 33rd-ranked Jack Forbes, he clawed his way back yet again for an epic come-from-behind victory. His two takedowns in the last 30 seconds of the match gave him a 1-point victory and the realization that he could compete with the best.
Â
"Last year, that's not a win I would've had," Barket said.
Â
For his weekend heroics, Barket was tabbed ACC Wrestler of the Week on November 26.
Â
"Between those two weekends, I was like, alright -- we're the real deal. We're going to start winning. We're going start taking [matches]. We're going to get on that national mat. We're going to get to Philadelphia. That's when the vision became clear."
Â
Carrying a 15-2 record into the spring season, Barket seemed well on his way to Philly. But after a strong start in January that included a dominant tech fall win over 19th-ranked Stephan Monchery of Appalachian State, Barket lost three straight matches to ranked opponents to end the ACC regular season. Only five heavyweights in the ACC are given the chance to go to the NCAA Championship each year, so the Duke captain had his work cut out for him entering this year's ACC Championship in Durham.
Â
The heavyweight bracket began with a crucial quarterfinal matchup against North Carolina's 30th-ranked Nolan Neves, in a crowded Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Â
"[Neves] had been on a hot streak," Barket said. "He'd taken out a lot of good names and he was wrestling really, really well. I'd beaten him earlier in the year and I knew the right game plan, what I needed to do and I went out and executed just like I wanted to."
Â
Barket jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and pushed the lead to 4-0 with an escape in the second. He controlled the match the rest of the way for a 5-1 decision, giving him the home victory and a spot in the semifinals. After a couple of close defeats against two more ranked opponents in the semifinals and consolation semifinals, he punched his ticket to Philly with another win in the fifth-place match. The victory also secured Duke's first appearance at nationals in two years.
Â
"There were a lot of nerves going into ACC, a lot of pressure I didn't need to put on myself," Barket said. "But I'm proud of the way I fought through that match [against Neves] and was able to wrestle the way I wanted to, to secure the top-five placement and to send myself to nationals."
Â
In Philadelphia, Barket drew a tough matchup against eventual All-American Josh Heindselman from Michigan in round one. He then faced 11th-seeded Jimmy Mullen of Virginia Tech for the third time this season. After dropping both matches, he was eliminated, but not without another comeback in his final period against Mullen. His takedown with just 12 seconds left in the match cut the lead to one and proved that he could be competitive on the national stage.
Â
"It's been a very long journey, but it's been a very rewarding one and just to see myself go out on the national stage and wrestle on those NCAA mats was a bit of a surreal moment," Barket said. "I'm not sure I wrestled my first match quite the way I wanted to, because of the scenarios, but I felt comfortable moving on. Next year I'm going to be ready to fully lock in."
Â
In the meantime, Barket will spend his summer training in Geneva, Ohio, for the U-23 World Team Trials in May, before returning to Durham to train here and complete his summer internship with Fidelity. He hopes to put on a few more pounds before next season, while also improving his footwork.
Â
The trip to Ohio will hopefully be preparation for things to come, as the heavyweight hopes to return next March for the 2026 NCAA Championship in Cleveland.
Â
To stay up to date with Blue Devils wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWRES".
Â
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
285
/ WrestlingConnor Barket Post ACC Championship
Monday, March 10
Season Opener Video
Friday, November 01
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
Welcome to Duke
Saturday, October 19
