Dudziak Earns Runner-Up Honors At Reno Tournament Of Champions

Thursday, December 18

Reno, Nev.

9 a.m.

Duke University

Reno Tournament

Dudziak Earns Runner-Up Honors At Reno Tournament Of Champions

12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Duke Sports Information

RENO, Nev.?Duke University junior wrestler Konrad Dudziak battled his way to a runner-up finish today at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Junior John Barone also placed in the tournament, grabbing fourth place in the 184-pound class.

Seeded third in the heavyweight division, Dudziak registered a fall in 1:03 in his opening match and defeated John Bates of Southern Oregon by decision 8-1 in the second round. Going up against Aaron Brown of the Citadel in the quarterfinals, Dudziak earned a 6-1 decision to earn a match against No. 2 seed Scott Steele of Navy. The native of Bayonne, N.J., edged ninth-ranked Steele 5-4 to earn a spot in the title tilt.

Dudziak met up with the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt in the championship match. In a hard-fought match, Rosholt narrowly defeated Dudziak 5-4 to take home the title. It was the first loss for 15th-ranked Dudziak, who now stands at 17-1 on the season.

Like Dudziak, Barone entered the tournament seeded third in his weight class. He opened the day winning by decision 9-5 over Kyle Sand of Adams State. He breezed through the next two matches, winning by decision 9-3 and major decision 13-5 to earn a spot in the semifinal round. Matched up against ninth-ranked Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro in the semifinal match, Barone lost his first dual of the season by major decision 12-2.

With one loss on the day, Barone moved into the semifinal of the wrestleback bracket. He rebounded in the wrestleback semifinals with a 4-1 decision over Jake Johnson of Stanford to garner the opportunity to take third or fourth place. Looking to capture third place, Barone was unable to get past Jared Shelton, losing by fall in 4:02. Barone pushed his record to 18-2 on the year with a 3-2 mark in the event.

Anthony Jorge put together a 4-2 record in his first action of the season at 141 pounds. He opened the day with a narrow 3-2 decision over Matt Lewendowski of Buffalo. After losing his next match, Jorge went on to win three more matches to advance to the semifinals of the wrestleback bracket. Jorge lost to eventual runner-up by decision 7-0.

Senior Aaron Glover also had a strong day, advancing to the wrestleback quarterfinals at 165 pounds. Glover opened with a pair of wins before falling to fourth-seeded Taylor May of Nebraska-Kearney. In the wrestleback bracket, he won the first match by fall in 2:58 and dropped a 6-5 decision to Dan Brascetta of Oregon State in the quarterfinals.

The Blue Devils return to action on Dec. 29-30 at the Southern Scuffle.

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