Barone And Dudziak Climb Into National Rankings

DURHAM, N.C.?Duke University wrestlers John Barone and Konrad Dudziak climbed into the national rankings this week after continuing their outstanding starts to the 2008-09 season last weekend at the Navy Classic. Barone and Dudziak are ranked 18th and 11th, in their respective weight classes by WrestlingReport.com.

Barone comes in at No. 18 at 184 pounds and joins Virginia's Rocco Caponi as the two ACC representatives in the weight class. The junior native of Shirley, N.Y., Barone is 15-0 overall on the season with three tournament titles to his name. He most recently captured top honors at the Navy Classic. He headed to Annapolis, Md. ranked 19th in the nation and seeded first in his division and allowed his four opponents to register just 13 overall points. He preceded his victory at the Navy Classic with wins at the Wolfpack Open and Hokie Open. Barone has two falls and four technical falls overall on the year.

Dudziak climbed to 11th after an equally impressive start at heavyweight. The redshirt junior sports a 14-0 mark and three tournament championships and is the lone wrestler from the ACC to earn a top 20 ranking at heavyweight. He turned in perhaps his best performance of the season last weekend when he captured the title at the Navy Classic. Seeded second in his class, Barone fought his way to the title match to take on then fifth-ranked Scott Steele of Navy. Dudziak remained perfect with a narrow 3-2 decision victory for first place honors. He also preceded his win at the Navy Classic with titles at the Wolfpack Open and Hokie Open. Overall on the season, Dudziak has three falls and one technical fall.

The Blue Devils resume action after a week off at the Davidson Open on Dec. 6.

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