Coming off an All-American season last year, redshirt senior Jacob Kasper picked up where he left off in Duke's first event of the season.
The preseason No. 6 heavyweight in the nation won his second straight Hokie Open title at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va., narrowly topping No. 15 Nathan Butler of Stanford in a 6-4 decision after earning a takedown with just three seconds. Kasper's title highlighted three first-place finishes for the Blue Devils Sunday.
Redshirt junior Mitch Finesilver, wrestling unattached, rolled through the 157-pound division with five wins, including four by either a major decision or a technical fall. Freshman Matt Finesilver, one of four Finesilver brothers on the team, won at 174 pounds in the freshman-sophomore division.
Senior Alec Schenk also had a strong finish to the day with five straight wins to take fifth place at 197 pounds in the open division. Other Duke competitors who won matches in the open division were sophomore Josh Copeland, who went 2-2 at 133 pounds, and redshirt junior Zach Finesilver, who went 2-2 at 165 pounds—three weight classes heavier than where he wrestled last season.
The Blue Devils will get back on the mat in two weeks at the Keystone Classic Nov. 19 in Philadelphia.
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