Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championship
Blue Devils Fall To UNC-Greensboro, 22-13
2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 8, 2005
DURHAM, N.C. - Senior Frank Cornely led off the evening with a major decision for Duke, but a back-and-forth match did not go the way of the Blue Devils as they fell to UNC-Greensboro by a 22-13 score. Venroy July, Bryan Gibson and Steve Smith also posted wins for Duke.
The night began at 184 with Cornely's major decision. The defending ACC champion used an early takedown and three back points in the first period to build a lead and controlled the match from there. He picked up two takedowns in each of the final two periods and secured a 14-5 victory.
At 197, Mark Thompson took on Daren Burns. After a scoreless first period and a close second, Thompson fell victim to a late reversal and a late takedown to drop his decision. Duke rebounded at heavyweight with July's victory. The match was tied at 3-3 after two periods, but in the third, he picked up a takedown and a point for riding time and won, 7-4.
At 125, freshman Kellan McKeon continued to fill in for injured ACC champion Christian Smith, facing 15th-ranked Joe Kemmerer. McKeon kept it scoreless in the first period but was pinned late in the second, making the match score 9-7 in favor of the Spartans. At 133, Bryan Gibson brought Duke back. After falling behind, 4-2, in the first period, he picked up two takedowns in the second and went on to win, 8-5.
At 141, freshman Wes Kuser dropped a tightly-contested 3-2 decision to David Johnson. Kuser fought off an injury in the third period, but could not score a late takedown. In another very close and low-scoring affair at 149, Antwone Floyd was edged by Andrew Krieger in a 2-1 decision.
Philip Wightman stepped in at 157 and was unable to gain any momentum, losing a major decision, 16-5. With Duke down nine points with two matches to go, Steve Smith took an aggressive approach at 165. He posted four takedowns in the first period and six overall, but his opponents escapes added up enough to prevent the major decision, with Smith winning, 14-8. Levi Craig needed to pin his opponent to salvage a draw, but he could not wear him down and ended up dropping an 11-5 match.
Duke returns to action on Saturday with a dual event at Gardner-Webb. The match begins at 2 p.m.
UNC-G 22, Duke 13
184 Frank Cornely major dec. Joe Lowe, 14-5 4-0 197 Daren Burn dec. Mark Thompson, 9-2 4-3 HWT Venroy July dec. Brett Reed, 7-4 7-3 125 #15 Joe Kemmerer pinned Kellan McKeon, 4:45 7-9 133 Bryan Gibson dec. Chris Bencivenga, 8-5 10-9 141 David Johnson dec. Wes Kuser, 3-2 10-12 149 Andrew Krieger dec. Antwone Floyd, 2-1 10-15 157 O.T. Johnson major dec. Philip Wightman, 16-5 10-19 165 Steve Smith dec. Mark Ring, 14-8 13-19 174 Scott Fisher dec. Levi Craig, 11-5 13-22
Players Mentioned
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