Get out the brooms—the Blue Devils are sweeping the mats in Card.
In the team’s first series of home matches in Card Gymnasium since Nov. 22, the Duke wrestling team defeated Drexel, American and Appalachian State in an action packed day of grappling. For the second time this season, the team competed in three duals in a single day and walked away undefeated.
“It feels good for the program,” head coach Glen Lanham said. “Our young guys went out there and stepped it up and wrestled really hard. It’s good to see when you work on something all week long and then guys get it and they do it in the match…. I felt like every dual, whether we won or lost, we got after it. That’s all we can ask for from our guys.”
The Blue Devils (8-4) did get after it in dominating fashion for much of the day, especially in the back portion of the lineup. Duke went undefeated at 174, 184 and 197, with three wrestlers—redshirt junior Trey Adamson, sophomore Jacob Kasper and No. 7 redshirt junior Conner Hartmann—each going 3-0.
The consistency in the back half was the key to the team’s success and propelled the Blue Devils to victory in every match.
“It felt good having that confidence of knowing that the guys you’re looking at—the last three guys—are capable of doing some big things,” Lanham said. “If I can just weather this and get to those three weights, I felt pretty comfortable that we would win the duals and we did. I was pretty pleased and comfortable with getting it to those three guys.”
In particular, Adamson built off of his first place triumph at last week’s Appalachian State Open to continue his individual improvement after taking last semester off. His three wins bring his record to 11-6 overall on the season, including seven straight.
“It’s good to always get those wins under my belt,” Adamson said. “Just putting everything together to just continue to build throughout the season—that’s our whole main goal—to prepare for ACCs and nationals.”
In the opening dual, the Blue Devils were seeking to avenge last year’s loss against a fiery Drexel squad. After falling behind 3-0 to the Dragons (6-8) in the opening heavyweight match, Duke took a 6-3 lead at 125 due to an injury default by freshman Thayer Atkins.
The Blue Devils proceeded to fall behind 13-9 heading into the 165-pound matchup—the heart of the lineup. The strength of the back half propelled the team to 15 straight points and a 24-13 win. Redshirt sophomore Brian Dorsey at 165, Adamson and Hartmann each garnered major decisions to round out the match.
“We had revenge on our mind against Drexel,” Lanham said. “We wanted to beat those guys.”
After falling to Drexel by criteria, American (5-8) lined up across the mats from Duke looking to make its trip to Durham worthwhile. But the Blue Devils were not phased by the challenge of the Eagles, taking eight of the ten matches in the dual—including the last five straight—to win 30-9.
Redshirt senior Immanuel Kerr-Brown sparked the impressive finish with a close 3-2 decision at 157—his lone victory on the day. After Kerr-Brown, Duke rattled off 18 points in the final four matchups—more than enough to send American packing without a win.
The final dual was a thrilling finish to the day’s action as Appalachian State (7-7) entered Card Gymnasium for its only match. Fatigue appeared to be a factor early for the home squad as the Blue Devils fell behind 17-9 with just three matches remaining.
When Adamson stepped up to the mat for his final match, the crowd rallied behind the Riverton, Utah, native to cheer him on to a 10-7 decision against Mountaineer Forest Przybysz, which included a crucial takedown in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.
“I got a little bit tired at the end, but I knew he’s not in my league and I just had to turn it up,” Adamson said. “I was just at the point in the match where I need to get this last takedown and I’m going to get it. When you put your mind to it like that, you know that you can get it.”
With the gym shaking from the roars of the home faithful, Kasper stepped up next. Although he fell behind on a quick takedown, the sophomore scored a reversal and subsequent pin—his second of the season—to give Duke the 18-17 lead. The Lexington, Ohio, native’s victory improved his season record to 21-6, including 9-2 in duals.
As the crowd rose to its feet for the final match, Hartmann finished strong for the Blue Devils, scoring a pin 4:20 into the bout to seal the dual for the home team, 24-17.
“Right away I told our guys [Appalachian State is] coming in and they’re going to be angry,” Lanham said. “We don’t have to be Superman up there—just wrestle tough. Go out there and compete hard and we’ll get the dual and that’s what we did.”
Looking to establish momentum from the three wins, Duke will prepare for a quick turnaround this week on the road against Gardner-Webb Wednesday at 7 p.m. Lanham refuses to overlook the Runnin’ Bulldogs and is preparing his squad for Wednesday’s dual with caution.
“Before we weren’t a big win,” Lanham said. “[Our] program is starting to arrive. Now people are gunning for [us]. I tell our guys we’re so used to being the hunter, now people are hunting us. We’ve got to stay on guard the whole time.”
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