Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championship
Frank Cornely Ready For Successful Senior Campaign
11/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 29, 2004
In his final year of eligibility, Duke captain Frank Cornely has been priming himself for a run at the All-American podium and even a shot at an NCAA title. Taking the fall semester off as has been his custom, Frank has been training both at home in New Jersey and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Coming off a season in which he won the ACC title and two matches at the NCAA Championship, the best performance ever for a Duke wrestler, Cornely has given plenty of indication that he will improve on that, placing highly in two quality fall tournaments while wrestling unattached.
Competing in the highly regarded Sunkist Open, a freestyle tournament featuring top collegiate and international level competition, Frank took a strong fourth place finish at the 84 kilogram weight class (185 lbs). His bid started out with a two-period-to-one victory over freestyle specialist Ken Cook. Frank then picked up a win by injury default over former NCAA All-American Mohammed Lawal. In the semifinals, Frank lost to another former All-American, but then recovered to defeat another freestyle specialist in Austen Palmer, a native of Durham. This led to a match against the two-time defending NCAA champ at Cornely's weight class, Greg Jones, for third place. In their last match, Jones beat Cornely 22-7. This time, in freestyle, Cornely opened the scoring with a takedown early before succumbing by close scores in each period, showing marked improvement.
More recently, as the rest of the Blue Devil team competed at the Keystone Classic, Cornely wrestled about an hour north in the East Stroudsburg Classic, a tournament known for drawing top competition from the mid-atlantic area. Wrestling in his normal 184-pound weight class, Frank came away with a 5-0 record and a first place finish, besting Josh Haines of the University of Maryland in the finals, 6-5. On his way to the finals Cornely had two major decisions and only one match within two points.
Having returned to the area to continue his training, Cornely will be wrestling on his own in the Carolina Open on Dec. 4th before making his Duke debut at the Beast of the East, Dec. 17th. Also in the senior's plans are to wrestle in the highly prestigious Midlands Tournament, held at Northwestern University Dec. 27th and 29th. With top collegiate competition as well as past All-Americans and National Champions, the tournament is considered to be the most prestigious in the country, outside of the NCAA Tournament. Cornely will be looking to make his mark on a national scene in hopes of gaining momentum for a seed at the NCAAs.
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ WrestlingConnor Barket Post ACC Championship
Monday, March 10
Season Opener Video
Friday, November 01
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
Welcome to Duke
Saturday, October 19
