Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championships on March 19, 2026 , , NTS
/
Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championships
Blue Devil Grapplers Kick Off Season With First Blue-White Scrimmage
12/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 3, 2004
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke Wrestling team hosted its inaugural Blue-White scrimmage. Drawing an impressive crowd, the Blue Devils took their only opportunity of the semester to showcase their talents at home while also competing for starting positions. While the matches were not conclusive, they gave strong indications of the improvement Duke looks forwards to this year, coming off their best season ever.
At 125 pounds, there were two separate exhibitions. Sophomore Christian Smith, the incumbent ACC champion, wrestled coach Tommy Hoang, a three-time NCAA qualifier during his time at Duke, to a 6-6 tie. Later freshman Kellan McKeon wrestled Hoang, tying his coach, 7-7.
The 133-pound weight class featured the most competitive match of the night, illustrating Duke's depth at that weight. Sophomore Brian Gibson and freshman Wes Kuser went blow for blow before Kuser came away with a comeback 8-7 victory.
At 149, there were two matches. First, two sophomores coming off of rehab years went at it, as Philip Wightman held off Michael Kecman, 7-4. Wightman took an early lead before withstanding a late Kecman surge, and both wrestlers looked good, especially in light of the time off. Two more sophomores followed, with Antwone Floyd opening up the scoring for a 14-2 victory over Zach Weisberg. Weisberg showed no nerves and almost caught Floyd for a big move early, but Floyd recovered and went on to have an impressive showing.
At 157, Adam Lesser, a redshirt freshman, opened with a strong performance in pinning Jason Matthews, a junior. Freshman Kevin Ward followed with a pin of Brandon Foose in front of the largely freshman crowd. Foose, a junior, suffered an injury, but looks to still be in the mix at the weight, along with Ward and Lesser.
In the 174-pound class, captain Levi Craig took on Scott Doerr. Craig, a junior and defending ACC champ, defeated Doerr, 4-1. In the last true wrestle-off of the night, Mark Thompson squared off with Konrad Dudziak at 197 pounds. Thompson is a redshirt junior coming off a year of injury and then a year off to play football. He looked good in his return against the impressive freshman, picking up an 8-1 victory. In the last match of the night, freshman 197-pounder Dan Tulley bumped up to give heavyweight Andrew Herbert a match. Herbert, a senior, used his size and experience to pick up a 2-0 win, serving as a strong end to the scrimmage.
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ Wrestling
PLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingPLAYER
/ WrestlingMonday, March 10
Friday, November 01
Saturday, October 19
Saturday, October 19
