Competing without two of their top performers, the Blue Devils still wrestled their way onto the podium Sunday in Raleigh.
No. 25 Duke traveled across the Triangle for the Wolfpack Open, taking on a number of the top programs in the country in an all-day tournament. The Blue Devils placed seven wrestlers in the top six, with four in the top three. Redshirt freshman Zach Finesilver took home runner-up honors in the 144-pound weight class to lead Duke on the mat.
Finesilver recorded a 7-2 decision against No. 3 seed Tyler Sutton of American before falling to second-seeded Mike Pongracz of Chattanooga 9-2 to finish second. Competing in only his second tournament in a Duke singlet, Finesilver now owns a 9-4 ledger on the year for the Blue Devils.
A trio of Duke wrestlers placed third in their respective weight classes—Xaviel Ramos at 133 pounds, Mitch Finesilver—Zach’s twin brother—at 149 pounds and Brenden Walsh at 285 pounds. Thayer Atkins and junior Jacob Kasper both placed fourth in the Open at 125 and 184 pounds, respectively.
After starting the day off with two wins, Ramos fell in the semifinal round by a 6-2 decision. He ended the day with a major 10-1 rout over Tyler Zeigler of Gardner-Webb. The Hopatcong, N.J., native stepped up to the medal podium in third for the first time in his Blue Devil career.
Atkins began the day with two impressive victories before falling to North Carolina’s Cody Karstetter in the semifinal round by a 4-3 decision. Atkins finished in third place after losing an 8-2 decision in the consolation bracket. Atkins has improved however, after taking fourth place in the Hokie Open earlier in November.
Walsh and Kasper chose to wrestle unattached for the Blue Devils, and both made it the semifinal of the heavyweight division before falling. The Duke duo then chose not to wrestle each other in the third-place match.
Two other Blue Devils—third-ranked Conner Hartmann and 14th-ranked Jake Faust—chose not to compete in the Wolfpack Open. Faust had a huge day at the Hokie Open Nov. 8, upsetting fourth-ranked Jim Wilson of Stanford, which vaulted the redshirt sophomore into the rankings in anticipation of this weekend’s tournament.
Looking forward, the Blue Devils will take a small break from competition as the semester winds down and then will strap the headgear back on Dec. 15 for dual action at Appalachian State.
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