The Blue Devils traveled to Pennsylvania this past weekend and took on the best.
Perhaps it did not have the same significance as David taking on Goliath, but as far as college wrestling is concerned, it's about as close as it gets.
Duke's fifth place finish at Penn's Keystone Classic this past weekend pitted the Blue Devils against the best competition that they will face all season.
"[Finishing fifth] was a real good showing for us," Duke coach Clar Anderson said. "I was real pleased with a lot of the performances."
Wrestling with less than a full lineup, the Blue Devils finished behind tournament champion Iowa State, ranked sixth nationally, 12th-ranked Penn, as well as powerhouses Rider and Brown. Seven of nine Duke wrestlers placed in the top six of their weight classes. Iowa State won five and Penn won four of the ten weight classes. Appalachian State's 133-pound Travis Drake won the remaining weight class by way of the tournament's biggest upset: Drake scored a 13-8 decision over Iowa State's Zach Roberson, who was ranked fourth nationally before the season began.
Asked if the team will benefit from the level of competition it faced this weekend, Anderson responded enthusiastically.
"Without a doubt," he said. "To have these guys go against Iowa State and Rider, the guys will attack a little bit more, be more aggressive, have more confidence in themselves. I hope that [our wrestlers realize] that they deserve to compete with these guys. We work them just as hard... and hopefully this weekend will put that [confidence] in them."
Senior 125-pounder Tommy Hoang started the Blue Devils off strong with a fourth-place finish. Hoang dropped a 5-3 decision to Boston University's Jose Leon in the consolation finals after losing 6-2 to Penn's Mason Lenhard in the semifinals. Lenhard, a sophomore who won the weight class, was a high school national champion and an NCAA qualifier last season.
Junior Mike Mitchell (165) also took fourth for the Blue Devils. Mitchell lost twice to Penn's Josh Henson by scores of 12-6 in the quarterfinals and 6-3 in the consolation finals.
Seniors Luke Palmisano (149), Daegan Smith (197) and sophomore Frank Cornely (184) all took fifth. Senior Harry Clarke (141) and sophomore Tim Marcantonio (174) took sixth.
"Harry was ahead, but got caught in a headlock," Anderson said of Clarke's fifth-place match. "He wrestled well, and was just a few one-point matches from the number-one guy."
The Blue Devils' performance Sunday was a bit of a contrast from Saturday's Bloomsburg Invitational. Although wrestling with only three-quarters of a team, Duke did not compete up to its potential, Anderson said.
"I would've liked more wins--I think we were a little flat," Anderson said. "I think some of the guys held back in anticipation of [Sunday]. Part of that could have been the mentality of knowing we had to wrestle [Sunday] also."
Anderson held Hoang, junior Andy Soliman (133), and Mitchell out of the Bloomsburg lineup to rest up for the Keystone Classic.
There were some bright spots for the Blue Devils on Saturday though. Senior Matt Hoover (165) continued his strong season with a second-place finish, the highest place for Duke on the day. Hoover easily won in the semifinals, beating VMI's Shannon Meehan 9-2, before losing a close 2-0 decision in the finals.
After wrestling an extremely tough weekend, the Blue Devils showed promise for the upcoming season.
"We really fought well. Some guys lost close matches to some real good kids," Anderson said. "It was a pretty hard weekend. They're banged up and bruised but they responded well."
The Blue Devils will take to the mat next Saturday, Nov. 24 in Chapel Hill at the UNC Open.
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