There has been a changing of the guard for the wrestling team this year.
For the past 31 years, Bill Harvey has been a constant as the head coach. This year, though, when the Blue Devils hit the mats for their first tournament, the Kutztown Invitational, Clar Anderson will be the new man in charge.
Bill Harvey took over as the head wrestling coach in 1966. He compiled a careerrecord of 220-195-4. Those 220 wins represent the third most in Atlantic Coast Conference history. But Harvey stepped down this year in order to devote all of his time to his new post as the Director of Recreational Facilities.
The man taking his place, Clar Anderson, has a pretty good track record himself. He is a three time All-American, once at Auburn and twice at Oklahoma State. He was the 1983 NCAA champion in the 134-pound weight class. Anderson had been assistant coach under Harvey for the past two years.
With a new coach, changes come. Although they have not been dramatic, the team has definitely felt their repercussions.
"Clar [Anderson] was a really successful college wrestler," senior Jon Seeber said. "He's made practice really intense and taught us some new techniques."
"Coach Harvey was a great coach for Duke wrestling," senior Jesse Raia said. "Clar [Anderson] has stepped in and will continue to do what Coach Harvey did for 31 years. He's just taking a different approach."
The team lost two excellent wrestlers to graduation, Jake Hart and Dan Covatta, but the Blue Devils feel they have the manpower to replace them.
"We lost some really valuable wrestlers, but we have a ton of good guys back," Seeber said.
Two of the returning standouts are senior Chris Heckel and redshirt freshman Deuce Harris. Heckel was an NCAA qualifier last year for the 126-pound weight class and should bring a tremendous amount of experience and leadership to the team. Harris, due to a foot injury, was out most of last season but showed exceptional promise last year in defeating Jason Foresman of VMI, who was ranked in the top 20 in the nation at the time.
Stepping in to replace Covatta at the 142-pound spot is Seeber. He saw limited action last year, moving into the 150-pound weight class for the last two matches and the ACC Tournament.
Although not all of the starting positions have been secured, most of them will be filled by returning members of the team. Seniors Raia and Dion Santo will be back in the 177-pound spot, while sophomore Alex Hunt returns to the heavyweight class.
Freshmen Sean Meekum and Justin Fishkin should make an impact as they battle for a starting position in their 134- and 158-pound weight classes, respectively.
Also contributing to the team is assistant coach Khalil Abdul-Malik, a 1997 North Carolina graduate who won last year's 142-pound ACC championship by defeating Covatta. He is taking an active role in the team's diet regimen as well as helping out in practice.
"He's taking a really active role in helping us reach our weight," Raia said. "He's helping us get to our weight a lot earlier so we'll be stronger when we're wrestling."
Duke will be tested this year as it faces a perennially tough conference schedule highlighted by UNC and Virginia.
"The ACC is a tough conference every year," Seeber said. "There are some real powerful teams, but we're right there with everyone."
Right now, though, the Blue Devils are concentrating on their three upcoming preseason tournaments and improving on their record from last year (7-5, 1-3 in the ACC).
"We're all really optimistic," Seeber said. "We're working really hard and are excited about what's coming up."
Duke opens its season at the Kutztown Invitational on Nov. 22.
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