A 7-21 record doesn't usually translate into optimism for the next season.
But with Sean Meakim's performance so far this year, that 7-21 mark might as well be tossed straight out the window.
After placing fifth in the West Virginia Open last weekend, Meakim won his 133-pound weight class with three straight wins at this weekend's Bloomsburg Invitational.
"[The win] proved to me that I can compete at this level," Meakim said. "The goal [of winning ACCs] that I set for myself in the preseason is realistic."
With his win, Meakim did something no Duke wrestler, including three-time NCAA qualifier Chris Heckel, has done in the last five years-win the Bloomsburg Invitational.
After winning decisions over VMI's Tremayne Austin and Bloomsburg's Gary Mikday, Meakim survived a tough final match with Bloomburg's Brian Chartowich despite suffering from stomach cramps. Chartowich took down Meakim in the match's waning seconds to knot the score at seven. Meakim, however, took the decision with a point for having over a minute of riding time.
"He's wrestling a lot smarter than he was last year, and he's also wrestling with a lot more confidence," coach Clar Anderson said. "The VMI coach came over to me and said he was very impressed with him."
Fueled by Meakim's performance, Duke finished sixth out of seven teams at the meet. Despite the somewhat low team showing, the Blue Devils received standout performances from a number of wrestlers in addition to Meakim.
Jason Gorski battled to a second-place finish at 141-lbs., while freshman Tom Cass, senior Jay Klug, freshman Deagan Smith and junior Alex Hunt all placed in their respective weight divisions.
Duke continues to deal with a depleted lineup that's missing three of its top wrestlers from last season-Matt Mapes, Bill Morris and Deuce Harris. Considering the team fielded a predominantly freshman lineup at Bloomsburg, Anderson was reasonably pleased with his team's performance.
"I'm real pleased with all of my wrestlers so far," Anderson said. "If our lineup was completely healthy, we might have even placed second or third."
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