The win, just the third for Duke over the Wolfpack since NC State established varsity wrestling in 1975, pushes Duke’s overall record to 8-9 for the year and to 1-4 to finish the ACC regular season. NC State falls to 5-6 overall and 0-5 against ACC opponents. The nine points scored by NC State are the fewest since Duke held the Pack to just six points in a pair of bouts in 1931 and 1949.
“This was a good win for us,” head coach Glen Lanham said. “We wrestled tough from start to finish. It was great for [Immanuel Kerr-Brown] to get back on the saddle and winning. Brandon Gambucci and Randy Roden both had great wins and overall I’m proud of how the guys wrestled hard tonight.”
Duke got off to a fast start with victories in each of the first four matches, including an overtime thriller at 184 pounds, for a 14-0 lead. The Blue Devils picked up major decisions by Trey Adamson and Diego Bencomo at 174 and 197, respectively to earn key bonus points.
The Wolfpack pulled within seven, 16-9, before redshirt freshman Marcus Cain put the match out of NC State’s reach with an 8-4 decision at 149 pounds. The win was Cain’s 21st of the season and the first of his career in the ACC.
Sophomore Randy Roden put Duke on the right track with an outstanding win over No. 27 Nijel Jones at 165 pounds. The Rome, Ga., native scored the first jumped all over Jones from the opening whistle and took a 4-2 lead after the first period. Neither wrestler scored in the second period, leaving Jones needing to make up ground in the final stanza. Jones escaped to start the third, but Roden answered right back with a takedown and stayed strong on top for the 6-3 win, his seventh of the year and his first career ACC win.
Riding the emotion of the upset win at 165, Adamson added four points to the scoreboard for the Blue Devils with a 15-5 major decision over Patrick Davis. In a rematch between the two from earlier in the season, Adamson dominated the match with four points in each of the first two periods and six in the final session to put Duke in front 7-0.
In perhaps the most thrilling match of the evening, Duke redshirt freshman Dylan Ryan registered a takedown with just 16 seconds left in the sudden victory overtime session for the 9-7 triumph over Keegan Cerwinski at 184. After an escape by Cerwinski in the final seconds of regulation, Ryan regrouped and scored the winning takedown for his first ACC victory.
At 197, Bencomo followed suit with a 16-5 major decision over Bill Cook. The win was Bencomo’s third straight at 197 and 14th win of the campaign.
The Wolfpack got on the board with a narrow 5-3 decision from Mike Kosoy over Duke junior Brian Self at heavyweight. Both wrestlers were issued one-point unsportsmanlike penalties, putting the Blue Devils’ lead to 13-2 through the first half of the match.
NC State added victories at 125 and 141 pounds, but the Blue Devils’ wins in the other three divisions iced the win for Duke. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Gambucci picked up a big win over No. 24 Sam Speno at 133 pounds. Gambucci, ranked 27th in the most recent NCAA coaches’ panel rankings, scored an early takedown and never let Speno a chance to score in the 5-0 decision.
Kerr-Brown, with the match in hand, wrestled freely and hard to regain his winning ways in an 11-10 decision. The Rome, Ga., native led 10-6 after five minutes of wrestling and built his riding time to over two minutes heading into the final period. NC State’s Matthew Nereim scored an escape early in the third and added a takedown in the closing seconds, but the riding time bonus point gave Kerr-Brown the 11-10 decision.
Duke returns to action Saturday, Feb. 23 at Franklin & Marshall. The Blue Devils will take on the host Diplomats at 9:30 a.m. and Lock Haven at 11:30 a.m.
Results:
165: Randy Roden (DU) dec. No. 27 Nijel Jones (NCSU), 7-2 (DU 3-0)
174: Trey Adamson (DU) major dec. Patrick Davis (NCSU), 15-5 (DU7-0)
184: Dylan Ryan (DU) dec. Keegan Cerwinski (NCSU), 9-7: SV1 (DU 10-0)
197: Diego Bencomo (DU) major dec. Bill Cook (NCSU), 16-5 (DU14-0)
285: Mike Kosoy (NCSU) dec. Brian Self (DU), 5-3 (DU 13-2)
125: Joe DeAngelo (NCSU) major dec. Peter Terrezza (DU), 12-3 (DU 13-6)
133: No. 27 Brandon Gambucci (DU) dec. No. 24 Sam Speno (DU), 5-0 (DU 16-6)
141: Tyler Hunt (NCSU) dec. Tanner Hough (DU), 5-0 (DU 16-9)
149: Marcus Cain (DU) dec. Thomas Gantt (NCSU), 8-4 (DU 19-9)
157: Immanuel Kerr-Brown (DU) dec. Matthew Nereim (NCSU), 11-10 (DU 22-9)
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