Duke will take on N.C. State Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the historic Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C., in what will be the Blue Devils’ first ACC duals match of the season.
Coming off a solid outing at the Southern Scuffle, Duke will look to keep the momentum going heading into conference play. The Blue Devils were led by redshirt junior Conner Hartmann, who finished second at 197 pounds to lead all Duke wrestlers at the tournament.
Hartmann won his first two matches before falling to No. 1 J’Den Cox of Missouri in the championship match. Hartmann was one of eight Duke wrestlers to advance to the second day of wrestling, three more than the Blue Devils advanced last season at the tournament.
Overall, Duke finished 18th with 32.5 points, as Brian Dorsey, Jake Faust, Jacob Kasper, Grant Leeth and Randy Roden all finished with at least 2-2 marks at the tournament.
No. 5 Hartmann and No. 18 Marcus Cain at 149 pounds enter Wednesday’s match as the only two ranked wrestlers for Duke. Hartmann’s loss to Cox marks his sole defeat of the year, as he boasts a 7-1 record heading into his clash with N.C. State’s Michael Boykin (12-3).
Cain will be taking part in his first action since a Nov. 22 win against Nebraska’s Justin Arthur. Senior Immanuel Kerr-Brown will look to retake his spot among the nation’s top 20 157-pound weight class wrestlers, as he dropped out of the rankings for the first time in nine weeks after going 2-2 in the Southern Scuffle—the record is slightly misleading, as one win came from a bye.
Going up against the Blue Devils, No. 22 N.C. State (7-2) will open ACC play coming off a 29-12 win against Appalachian State. The Wolfpack’s only losses came against two top-10 opponents in No. 7 Nebraska and No. 3 Cornell.
Leading the way for N.C. State on the mat will be second-ranked heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski, who boasts a perfect 16-0 record and will take on Duke’s Brendan Walsh (2-5). Max Rohskopf owns a 15-5 mark and is No. 15 in the nation at 165. At 141, Sam Speno (6-5) rounds out the Wolfpack’s ranked wrestlers, as he is 18th in the nation in his class.
Following Wednesday’s match, Duke will head to Pittsburgh Sunday, Jan. 11 to take part in the Pitt Duals. The Blue Devils will take on the Panthers in addition to Eastern Michigan and Lock Haven.
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