Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
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Duke Lands Five in NCAAs; Brackets Announced
3/11/2015 7:20:00 PM | Wrestling
DURHAM, N.C.—For the first time in program history the Duke University wrestling team will send five individuals to the NCAA Championship. The Blue Devils garnered four automatic spots during their fourth-place showing at the ACC Championship and picked up a final at-large bid for the program-best mark.
Redshirt senior Immanuel Kerr-Brown was the final piece of the puzzle for the Blue Devils as he grabbed one of the six at-large berths in the 157-pound division after his fourth-place showing over the weekend. Joining Kerr-Brown with automatic bids are Mitch Finesilver (133), Marcus Cain (149), Jacob Kasper (184) and Conner Hartmann (197).
The five individuals qualifying for the NCAA Championships are the most in Duke wrestling history, surpassing the four Duke sent in 2004. The Blue Devils have sent at least three to the NCAA postseason event three other times (1974, 1987, 2004). Head coach Glen Lanham now has nine NCAA qualifiers to his name in three seasons at the helm.
Hartmann headlines Duke's five selections as the No. 10 overall seed at 197 pounds. The returning All-American will wrestle Canaan Bethea of Penn with a 16-7 overall record. Bethea finished second at the EIWA Championship to earn his second NCAA Championship appearance. It will be the first meeting between Hartmann, who finished with a 26-2 record, and Bethea.
At 133 pounds, Mitch Finesilver will go up against No. 2 seed Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin. Finesilver earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship with a runner-up finish at the ACC Championship. The true freshman upset the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds en route to the second-place showing. Taylor, 23-3 overall, took second at the Big Ten Championship. Finesilver is the third true freshman to advance to the NCAA Championship in Duke history.
Making his first appearance in the NCAA Championship field, Cain is matched up against No. 5 seed Christopher Villalonga of Cornell. Cain heads to NCAAs with a 21-7 overall record and took third at the ACC Championship with a pin of Virginia's TJ Miller in the consolation final. Villalonga, 27-3 overall, captured his second straight EIWA crown and is a three-time NCAA qualifier.
Kerr-Brown, in his second straight NCAA Championship, will have a rematch against Maryland's Louis Mascola in the early-round action. The winner will take on No. 5 seed Cody Pack of San Diego State. The Blue Devils' veteran leader posted his second straight 20-win season with a 22-11 record. Mascola is 16-14 overall and earned an automatic spot. Kerr-Brown defeated Mascola in a 7-3 decision in the dual at the Grapple at the Garden.
Joining Cain and Finesilver as a first-time qualifier, Kasper will see No. 4 seed Jack Dechow of Old Dominion. Kasper took second at the ACC Championship and sports a team-high 24 wins. The redshirt sophomore and returning All-American is 29-1 overall and captured the MAC title. The matchup will be Kasper's seventh against a top 20 foe.
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Players Mentioned
149
/ Wrestling
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/ Wrestling
197
/ Wrestling
184
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149
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