Duke improves to 4-5 overall on the year and has won its past three duals. Brian Dorsey grabbed a crucial technical fall at 174 pounds to jumpstart the Blue Devils' comeback. Zach and Mitch Finesilver both had wins at 141 and 149, respectively, while Trey Adamson, Conner Hartmann and Brendan Walsh rounded out the Duke winners.
American (4-4) raced out to 7-0 lead with wins from eighth-ranked David Terao at 125 and Esteban Gomez-Rivera at 133 pounds. Thayer Atkins battled No. 8 Terao tough, pulling within two, 7-5, in the third period, but couldn't complete the comeback in an 11-7 decision.
Redshirt freshman Zach Finesilver put Duke on the board for the first time with an outstanding effort at 141 pounds. He came out of a scramble in the second period and finished the movement with a takedown for a 2-1 lead heading into the final stanza. The Colorado native dominated Scotton in the third period to get his second win of the day and 18th of the year.
At 149 pounds, Mitch Finesilver matched his twin brother with a decision to pull the Blue Devils within one, 7-6. Cole Moseley escaped for American in the third to tie the match 1-1, but it was all Mitch down the stretch as he put together one of his patented strong finishes for the 5-1 decision. He is the first Duke wrestler to 20 wins this season, sporting 20-5 record.
The Eagles scored six points with decisions at 157 and 165 to go ahead 13-6 with four matches remaining. Duke started mounting its comeback with a massive technical fall from Dorsey at 174 pounds. Dorsey was all over Michael Eckhart from the start, building a 6-1 lead in the first period. He extended his lead to eight points in the second and scored the clinching four-point nearfall in the final seconds of the bout to secure the bonus points for the Blue Devils.
Adamson put the Blue Devils in front for the first time of the match with an 8-4 decision over Jason Grimes. In an action-packed first period, Adamson broke open a 3-3 draw with a takedown to end the first and an escape to start the second for the 6-3 lead. The Riverton, Utah native remained in control in the final three minutes to put Duke ahead 14-13.
Duke iced the victory with an injury default at 197 as Jeric Kasunic suffered an injury 50 seconds into the match, resulting in a 20-13 Blue Devil lead.
Walsh completed the day with a thrilling 4-3 double overtime win over Jake Scanlan at heavyweight. Tied at 1-1 after regulation, the pair continued to trade escapes to head into double overtime. Needing an escape to the match 3-3 again, Walsh took it one step further with a reversal to score his 11th win of the year.
Overall on the day, the Finesilver brothers, Adamson and Hartmann both came away 2-0 on the day.
Duke returns to action at home Feb. 3 against Gardner-Webb. The Blue Devils will honor the seven seniors prior to the match. Opening bout is set for 7 p.m. on Blue Devil Network+.
Results:
125: No. 8 David Terao (AU) dec. Thayer Atkins, 11-5
133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) maj. dec. Brandon Leynaud, 9-1
141: Zach Finesilver (DU) dec. Tyler Scotton, 5-1
149: No. 12 Mitch Finesilver (DU) dec. Cole Moseley, 5-1
157: No. 11 John Boyle (AU) dec. Connor Bass, 6-4
165: Mitchell Wightman (AU) dec. No. 18 Jake Faust, 7-3
174: Brian Dorsey (DU) tech fall Michael Eckhart, 16-1 (7:00)
184: Trey Adamson (DU) dec. Jason Grimes, 8-4
197: No. 5 Conner Hartmann (DU) inj. def. Jeric Kasunic, 0:52
HWT: Brendan Walsh (DU) dec. Jake Scanlan, 4-3
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now