Frank Cornely’s goal from the beginning of the season was to become an All-American.
Duke’s 184-pounder had his chance this weekend but fell two wins short at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Cornely, who won a pair of matches at nationals last year and two more this weekend, finishes his career with four wins at NCAAs, the most ever for a Duke wrestler.
“I would have liked for it to turn out differently, but it just didn’t work out,” Cornely said. “Looking back, I did everything I could. I trained as hard as I could. I have no regrets, and I can walk away with my head held high.”
Cornely opened the tournament with a 10-4 first-round loss to No. 12 seed C.B. Dollaway of Arizona State. The loss sent Cornely to the consolation bracket, also known as the wrestle-backs, where he would need to win four straight matches to place in the top eight and earn All-American status.
“I think winning that opening match would have really helped for momentum and confidence,” head coach Clar Anderson said. “Coming through the wrestle-backs is brutal.”
Cornely was able to rebound from his opening loss with an 8-5 decision over Old Dominion’s Adam Wright to advance to the second day of the tournament. The win was Cornely’s second over Wright this season.
“I was upset about that first loss, but I knew I had to get over it quickly,” Cornely said. “I feel like I was mentally ready to wrestle again.”
Cornely began the second day the way he ended the first. Facing Indiana’s Andy Rios, Cornely survived a high-scoring first period and used a late takedown to earn a 14-13 victory. But Cornely was unable to continue his win streak, falling to No. 10 seed Roger Kish of Minnesota 7-2. The loss brought an end to Cornely’s Duke career.
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