Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championship on March 20, 2025 , , NTS
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Final
Wrestling
vs NCAA Championship
Sunday's Best: 7 More Days to Hokie Open
10/30/2016 9:10:00 PM | Wrestling
Sunday's Best is back with a final installment before the season gets underway. GoDuke.com will break down Duke wrestling heading into the Hokie Open Nov. 6. It will look into the final weights in the probable lineup week as well as take a peek into more small storylines to follow throughout the 2016-17.
174 – Alec Schenk or Connor Bass
Junior Alec Schenk is the likely starter for the Blue Devils at 174 pounds after starting five bouts last year. Schenk, a Perry, Ohio native, went 2-8 overall last year and defeated Kirk Johnson of Purdue in Duke's win over the No. 23 Boilermakers. As a rookie in 2014-15, Schenk won the freshman & sophomore division of the Hokie Open and finished fourth at the Wolfpack Open.
“Schenk had some good matches for us last year,” said Lanham. “I believe he can get in there as an NCAA qualifier for us.”
Bass wrestled at 157 pounds last season, going 7-8 in duals. The Yorkville, Ill., native finished 17-14 overall and went 2-3 against ACC foes in duals. Bass captured the Hokie Open title to start his 2015-16 season with a bang and turned in a memorable pin at North Carolina to help Duke upset the Tar Heels. The senior has great potential at being an NCAA qualifier with changes in the weight in the ACC. Bass recently won the wrestle-off in the Blue/White match.
184 – Araad Sarrami or Tyler Patrick
Duke will be young at 184 pounds with Sarrami and Patrick battling for the starting spot. Both will be first-time starters for the Blue Devils. Sarrami wrestled at heavyweight during his redshirt season last year. The local product went 5-6 overall in his 11 bouts.
Patrick, sitting behind Kasper for two seasons at 184 pounds, will look to jump into the starting lineup. He went 4-4 last season and is 11-11 overall for his career. He recently edged Sarrami in the wrestle-off for the starting spot.
197 – Alex Belaia-Martiniouk
Belaia-Martiniouk also will be a new face to the Duke lineup. He previously has wrestled at 174 and 184, but hard work in the weight room has pushed the North Olmsted, Ohio native up to the 197 weight class. He went 7-5 last season at 184 pounds, taking third at the Newberry Open. He is 12-12 overall for his career.
285 – Jacob Kasper
Kasper makes the move up two weight classes to heavyweight after spending last season training in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics and competing in whatever tournaments came his way. Having wrestled at 184 and qualifying for NCAAs at that weight in 2015, Kasper has gained nearly 50 pounds of muscle through his dedication in the weight room. He will be tested early in the season with a few tough November bouts as he looks to maintain his same style of wrestling. He hopes his quickness and strength at his size
New to the Duke Corner
A new face will be in Duke's corner this season. Brandon Nelsen joined the Blue Devil wrestling staff this summer after serving as a graduate assistant at the University of Indianapolis. A two-time NCAA qualifier for Purdue, Nelsen wrestled at 141 and 149 pounds for the Boilermakers. He finished his career with an 84-55 overall record and graduated sixth in career falls with 30.
Duke by the Numbers
3 - Falls in the Blue/White match Saturday – Cole Baumgartner (133), Zach Finesilver (141) and Xaviel Ramos (149)
4 – Wrestling events, either duals or tournaments, across three weekends Duke will compete in prior to the New Year.
5 – True freshmen who competed in the Blue/White match in Krzyzewskiville
Team Black Gets Win in Intrasquad Dual
Black 30, Blue 9
125 – Thayer Atkins dec. Josh Copeland – Black 3, Blue 0
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
133
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
165
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
165
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