The Blue Devils are no longer going to sneak up on anybody.
Duke will look for its fifth win in a row when it takes on Sacred Heart in a dual meet at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday at 7:30 p.m. A win against the Pioneers would give the Blue Devils their tenth win of the season and continue their recent dominance at home, where they are unbeaten since Nov. 22.
“Our guys used to be the ones that are constantly being the hunter, now people are hunting us,” head coach Glen Lanham said. “So now, it’s a different view.”
But Duke seemed to be on the hunt Wednesday, notching its first road win of the year against Gardner Webb. The Blue Devils (9-4) were able to claim a 25-15 triumph despite forfeiting two weight classes due to injury concerns.
“We’ve wrestled a lot of tough teams on the road…. We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Lanham said. “I saw, ‘Oh wow, we hadn’t had a road win in a while.’ I was like, ‘Really? Okay. Maybe we need to get one.’”
Sacred Heart (0-7) has yet to record a team win, most recently falling to Binghampton 42-0. The Pioneers will bring a young team to Durham, featuring many freshmen in the lineup. But Sacred Heart will be well rested heading in the contest, having not seen competition for a week.
By contrast, Saturday's dual meet will be the Blue Devils’ fifth in the same timeframe. Having faced tougher competition in many other duals this season, Duke has risen to the challenge of a strenuous schedule but still needs to find the right mindset to prepare for a matchup that—on paper—skews in the Blue Devils' favor.
“Now we’ve got to see if we’re capable of getting up for a team that’s lost to a couple of teams we’ve beaten,” Lanham said. “We’re hoping that we don’t overlook anybody and that we wrestle hard.”
After the Duke basketball team romped No. 10 Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier Saturday afternoon, the Blue Devils will look to deliver a similar punishing blow to the Pioneers in the nightcap.
Jacob Kasper's performance at the 184-pound slot has powered Duke during the team's four-match winning streak. The Lexington, Ohio, native has the best overall record on the team with 10 individual wins in duals and a total of 22 wins overall.
The Ronald McDonald House named Kasper their Duke Student-Athlete of the Week following his three wins Jan. 31 against opponents from Drexel, American and Appalachian State. The sophomore joins teammate Jake Faust as recipients of the honor this season.
“We have a lot of great athletes all over campus,” Kasper said. “It’s a really big deal, they do a lot of great things, so it’s definitely an honor.”
Redshirt junior Conner Hartmann and true freshman Mitch Finesilver have also dominated recently for the Blue Devils. Hartmann—ranked No. 7 in the 197-pound division—is 10-2 in individual duals this season. After beginning the season 0-3, Finesilver has won three straight at 133 pounds.
“We’re excited about his process. He’s probably one of the hardest wrestlers I’ve ever been with. The kid will work from sun-up to sun-down and then do what it takes academically too,” Lanham said. “I think he’s a robot. If you cut him, you might find metal.”
Young wrestlers such as Kasper and Finesilver are continuing the rise of the Blue Devil program keyed by Duke’s senior class. Brandon Gambucci, Immanuel Kerr-Brown and Randy Roden are all in their final year of eligibility and have been an important part of the program’s ascent.
Lanham plans to honor the seniors this weekend, as some put on a Duke singlet for the last time.
“Those guys were the foundation,” Lanham said. “Those were the guys that I tried to convince that Duke wrestling was going to be significant and going to be a sport that people are gonna talk about on campus. Those guys are the ones that bought into that.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.