NC State
Duke
NC State Defeats Duke 25-18 In ACC Wrestling
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 23, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State got a pair of early first-period pins and rode those to a 25-18 decision over Duke on Wednesday night in Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling at Reynolds Coliseum. The victory snapped a two-match winning streak for the Wolfpack, which improved to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. Duke dropped to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
Alex Hernandez got the match started for NC State with a 10-7 decision over Antwone Floyd in a back-and-forth match at 149 pounds. Hernandez scored a pair of takedowns in the final period to gain the decision.
True freshman Kody Hamrah made it 7-0 with a 13-3 major decision over Duke's Zach Weisberg at 157. Hamrah took Weisberg down directly onto his back midway through the first period and nearly pinned Weisberg, settling for a three-point near fall and never looking back.
The takedown straight to the back quickly became a trend for the Wolfpack. At 165, Ryan Nowicki took down Duke's Adam Lesser midway through the first period, directly onto Lesser's back, and gained the pin at the 1:58 mark. Kevin Gabrielson did the exact same to Levi Craig at 174, taking Craig directly down onto his back, and Gabrielson got an immediate pin at the 0:43 mark.
The Wolfpack had to switch two wrestlers up in weight to 184 and 197 pounds when starting 197-pounder Zach Garren was unable to wrestle because of a skin condition. Duke took advantage, winning both matches. Frank Cornerly got six takedowns, a near fall and riding time to roll up a 19-7 major decision over Rick Brownlee at 184, and Mark Thompson pulled Duke to within 10 points at 19-9 with a technical fall over Jeremy Colbert, 15-0, on the strength of two takedowns and four near falls.
At heavyweight, the Wolfpack's Jainor Palma rode Venroy July for most of the second period to gain riding-time advantage, and took a 1-1 decision as the only other points scored in the match were for escapes. That gave NC State a 22-9 lead in the team scoring, and Garrett Cummings clinched the team victory for NC State with a 7-2 decision over Kellan McKeon at 125 pounds. That gave the Wolfpack a 25-9 lead with two matches remaining.
Bryan Gibson picked up six points for Duke with pin of Jeremy Hartrum at 133. Gibson broke open a close match with a takedown and a near fall in the third period, allowed an escape and then took Hartrum down and turned him on his back at the 6:29 mark. The Blue Devils' Wes Kuser defeated Jeff Breese 9-3 in overtime at 133.
NC State 25, Duke 18
149 - Alex Hernandez (NCS) dec. Antwone Floyd, 10-7
157 - Kody Hamrah (NCS) major dec. Zach Weisberg, 13-3
165 - Ryan Nowicki (NCS) pinned Adam Lesser, at 1:58
174 - Kevin Gabrielson (NCS) pinned Levi Craig, at 0:43
184 - Frank Cornerly (DU) major dec. Rick Brownlee, 19-4
197 - Mark Thompson (DU) tech fall Jeremy Colbert, 15-0, at 5:45
Hwt - Jainor Palma (NCS) dec. Venroy July, 2-1
125 - Garrett Cummings (NCS) dec. Kellan McKeon, 7-2
133 - Bryan Gibson (DU) pinned Jeremy Hartrum, at 6:29
141 - Wes Kuser (DU) dec. Jeff Breese, 9-3, ot
