Before the Hokie Open, Duke head coach Glen Lanham believed that the Blue Devils would surprise a lot of people. Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va., they did just that.
“Our guys competed well,” Lanham said. “We definitely surprised a lot of people here. I talked to a lot of coaches, and they said that the team looked unbelievable and had never looked that tough. I’m excited about that.”
Eight out of the 10 wrestlers representing Duke at the tournament posted winning records, and sophomore Conner Hartmann and senior Diego Bencomo finished in first and second place in the 197- and 184-pound weight classes, respectively.
Despite his team’s strong showing at the first tournament of the season, Lanham is not getting complacent.
“We made a lot of mistakes that we need to correct,” he said. “We were a little hesitant on offensive attacks. We accomplished two out of the three goals that we set.”
The three goals that the Blue Devils focused on were getting off on their offensive firsts, riding time in their matches and giving every match their all. On the whole, the team succeeded in being the first to the shot in their matches and riding time, Lanham said. He believes that the squad did not accomplish its third goal—giving complete effort in every match.
The brightest spots of Duke’s showing in the Hokie Open were the performances of Hartmann and Bencomo. Hartmann finished 4-0 on the afternoon, including three victories against wrestlers seeded in the top three. He clinched the 197-pound title with a 6-3 decision against the top seed in the bracket, North Carolina’s Antonio Giorgio. Bencomo, the third-seeded wrestler in the 184-pound division, earned runner-up honors after falling in the final bout to No. 1 seed Dan Rinaldi of Rutgers.
“Connor Hartmann is a surprise to a lot of people, but he works really hard, wrestles well and defeated some really good guys in this tournament,” Lanham said. “Diego competed really well. He really pushed the pace. I think some things were missed in the officiating of his final match, but I’m not going to cry about that.”
The other wrestlers to capture winning records in Sunday’s action were freshmen Trey Adamson, Marcus Cain, Andrew DeHart and Brendan Walsh and sophomores Tanner Hough and Randy Roden.
Senior Peter Terrezza and sophomore Brandon Gambucci, who took second in the 133-pound division last year, were sidelined due to injury. Lanham anticipates that both wrestlers, who were expected to make a statement in the Hokie Open, will return to the mat in approximately two weeks.
The Blue Devils continue their tournament schedule on the road at the Michigan State Open next weekend.
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