Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championship
Frank Cornely Repeats As ACC Champion At 184 Pounds
3/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 6, 2005
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Frank Cornely put one of the final touches on his wrestling career, one of the strongest ever at Duke, with his second consecutive ACC title at 184 pounds, leading the Duke Blue Devils to a 5th place finish. Frank's 7-2 victory over Virginia Tech's Steve Borja was the first of three straight appearances in the finals by Duke wrestlers. Unfortunately, Mark Thompson and Venroy July both fell just short in overtime, each finishing in second place. For the second straight year, seven Blue Devils placed.
Cornely's bid started with a sudden pin near the end of the first period against Mike Maceroli of Maryland. He followed with a close 7-5 win over Justin Dobies of UNC to reach the finals, where he was matched up with Borja. Borja had won the first two meetings between the two, but Cornely turned the tables this time. A counter to Borja's shot gave Cornely a takedown late in the first period. Cornely scored another late takedown in the second, and then put on one more in the third for the comfortable final margin.
Thompson followed looking to avenge a loss to David Dashiell of UNC at 197 pounds. Despite numerous attempts, Thompson was unable to crack Dashiell's defense, leaving the score tied and the match in overtime. In the second overtime tiebreaker, Dashiell held Thompson down, and then promptly reversed him. Thomspon was unable to mount a comeback in the closing seconds and ended up in second place. He did take two victories on the way to the finals, including a strong 5-3 win over past NCAA qualifier Zach Garren of NC State.
Venroy July's day may have been the most impressive. With no seed and wrestling against consistently bigger opponents, July reached the finals by reversing two outcomes from the regular season. First he took out his former school's heavyweight, UNC's Spencer Nadolsky. Nadolsky scored in the first period on a takedown, but July erased the lead with a takedown in the third period and then came away with the win with a takedown in sudden victory overtime. His next match came against Jainor Palma, and he again turned things around, scoring two takedowns against the much bigger Wolfpack opponent. His upset bid for a second ACC title, after winning 197 pounds for the Tar Heels last year, came to an end at the hands of Mike Faust of Virginia Tech. The two wrestled to a standstill until the sudden victory overtime, when Faust surprised July with a leg attack and scored a takedown on the edge for a 3-1 win.
Steve Smith was the fourth senior to wrestle his last ACC matches and he also went out strongly, taking a solid third-place finish. Unseeded, Smith lost to Virginia Tech's Chris Stith in the first round before coming back with a pin against NC State's Ryan Nowicki and a 10-6 decision over top-seeded Jason Kiessling of Maryland. Smith finished his career on a high note, avenging an earlier loss to the Terrapin.
Three other Blue Devils placed. Brian Gibson took fourth at 133 pounds, the deepest weight class in the tournament. Gibson ended the year with 33 wins, a tie for the highest total in Blue Devil history. Antwone Floyd used a huge comeback against Jerad Villeco in the consolation semifinals, winning 10-8, but eventually lost to nemesis Chris Ramos of UNC to take fourth place at the 149 pound weight class. Levi Craig could not successfully defend his title, and took fourth place at 174 pounds, with a strong win over rival Luke Stauffer of Maryland.
Wes Kuser was the only other Blue Devil to win a match, defeating Jeff Breese 6-3 in his first-round bout. Kuser then lost to eventual champ Charlie Pinto of Maryland, and succumbed to Donnie Ooton of Virginia Tech in the consolation semifinals, ending his impressive freshman campaign. Kellan McKeon went 0-2 at 125 pounds, though again hanging tough with the wrestlers who went on to take third and fourth. Dan Shvartsman went 0-2 as well at 157 pounds, losing to the eventual champion, 5-3, in the first round.
North Carolina won the ACC team title, with Virginia Tech taking second place. Frank Cornely is the only Duke wrestler still in competition this season, as he will look to close out his career with All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, March 17-19.
Players Mentioned
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