GREENSBORO — Frank Cornely proved once again that he knows how to be a champion.
Just like last year, Cornely entered the ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed in his weight class, and once again he reached the final to face a wrestler who had beaten him earlier in the season. Cornely came out on top again, this time defeating No. 1 seed Steve Borja from Virginia Tech 7-2 to claim the championship.
“Having to do the same thing last year, that experience definitely gave me the confidence to go out and win,” Cornely said. “It was one of my big goals of the season, and it was nice to get it done at the end.”
Duke had hoped to contend for the team title, and three finalists gave it the firepower to do so. But only 165-pound Steve Smith was able to get through the consolation bracket to take third, and the Blue Devils finished fifth. Cornely was the only Duke wrestler to advance to NCAAs.
Cornely was the aggressor from the opening whistle, and his efforts paid off with 37 seconds left in the first period. After Borja shot in and got a single leg, Cornely hit a cutback and stayed on top to lead 2-0 after the first. He increased his advantage with an escape and a takedown in the second period, then cemented the victory with one more takedown in the third.
“Frank finally wrestled at the level we knew he could all year,” head coach Clar Anderson said. “He has really turned it on at the end of the season, and I hope he continues to turn it on.”
Mark Thompson at 197 pounds and heavyweight Venroy July both upset higher seeds to reach the final in their respective weight classes, but both lost there in overtime.
Thompson, the No. 3 seed, beat Virginia’s Scott Smith 4-1 in the opening round and then beat No. 2 seed Zach Garren of N.C. State 5-3 in the semifinals. Thompson met North Carolina’s David Dashiell in the final, and each wrestler came close to earning a third-period takedown before the match went into overtime at 1-1.
After one scoreless overtime period, Dashiell held Thompson down in the second and then scored a reversal in the third. Thompson earned an escape, but it was not enough, and Dashiell won 3-2.
July, the defending conference champion at 197 pounds, had not won an ACC match all season and entered the tournament unseeded. July upset No. 2 seed Spencer Nadolsky of UNC 6-4 in overtime in the first round and then beat N.C. State’s Jainor Palma, the No. 3 seed, 4-2 in the semifinal.
Facing nationally ranked Mike Faust of Virginia Tech in the final, July came out aggressively, but Faust quickly took control of the match. After a 1-1 score at the end of regulation, Faust scored a double-leg takedown with 26 seconds remaining in overtime to win 3-1.
“Venroy has done a great job getting in shape and learning to compete at heavyweight, picking up a different style,” Anderson said. “It’s too bad he couldn’t get just one more win.”
Bryan Gibson, Antwone Floyd and Levi Craig all lost in the consolation final round to get fourth place.
“We knew we were going to have to win those matches and we knew those were going to be the tough ones,” Anderson said of the consolation finals. “Unfortunately, they just didn’t go our way.”
The ACC sends its champions and five wildcard entries to the NCAA Championship Tournament March 17-to-19. No Duke wrestlers were chosen by the coaches as a wildcard.
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