Duke Takes 21st Place At The Prestigious Southern Scuffle

Saturday, December 29

Greensboro, N.C.

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Duke Takes 21st Place At The Prestigious Southern Scuffle

12/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The Duke Blue Devils went to Greensboro this weekend with high hopes to place a few wrestlers and improve upon their 26th place showing out of 32 teams in the 2006 Southern Scuffle. While the squad was able to secure 21st place out of 29 teams, an improvement from the previous season, they came up short of having any competitors place in the top eight in their weight class.

The Blue Devils strongest showings in the two-day meet were at 165 pounds. On Saturday junior captain Addison Nuding won two matches before dropping a decision to the eventual champion, which put him in the consolation round for Sunday. Nuding won a major decision on Sunday before losing to the tournament's sixth-place finisher. He is 16-6 overall this season and 38-33 in his Duke career.

Redshirt junior Aaron Glover went 1-1 on Saturday at 165 pounds, including a defeat to the eventual fourth-place finisher. Glover went 1-1 again on Sunday in wrestlebacks, coming a couple of wins short of placing in the top eight. He is now 6-3 on the year and 41-39 overall as a Blue Devil.

Captain Kellan McKeon continued his successful senior campaign with two wins at 125 pounds. After a tough defeat to the eventual sixth-place winner in his first match on Saturday, McKeon bounced back to win two matches in the consolation round and earn a chance to compete on day two. McKeon is now 16-8 on the season with three pins.

At 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore captain John Barone had a great start before two difficult losses ended his tournament. Barone pinned his first two opponents on Saturday, upping his total falls for the year to eight. His second pin came over Virginia Tech's Tommy Spellman, who up to that point had been the only wrestler to defeat Barone this season. Barone is now 21-3 on the year with a 56-19 career record at Duke. That mark translates to a .747 winning percentage, which ranks 10th on the all-time Duke list.

Picking up one win each for Duke at the Southern Scuffle were freshman A.J. Guardado at 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Robert Holbrook at 197 pounds, and redshirt sophomores Mike Tunick and Wade Van Sickle in the heavyweight division. All four of those victories helped Duke earn its 17 points and 21st place finish.

The Blue Devils have concluded the tournament segment of their season and will next compete against Campbell, Gardner-Webb and Anderson College at the N.C. State Duals on Saturday, Jan. 5, beginning at 12 p.m. The Blue Devils first home meet, and only one in January, is Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. versus N.C. State in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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