BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State took on its third consecutive ranked ACC opponent in No. 25 Duke on Tuesday night and won four of the final five bouts to defeat the Blue Devils by a score of 26-14.
The Mountaineers gained all the momentum early on with victories in both the 125 and 133-pound weight classes. At 125, Vito Pasone cruised to a 12-4 major decision over Thayer Atkins before Jacob Grigg won by forfeit at 133, and the Apps were already ahead 10-0.
However, Duke began to figure some things out and won two hard-fought decisions at 141 and 149. At 141, Michael Longo dropped a back-and-forth showdown with Zach Finesilver, 7-6, in which the score was tied 4-4 after one period and Longo was up 6-5 before the third.
At 149, Matt Zovistoski and Mitch Finesilver were scoreless through the first two periods before Finesilver got his takedown in the third. At that point, the score was 10-6 in favor of the home team, but David Peters-Logue lost an 11-0 major decision to Connor Bass at 157 to make it 10-10.
Then came the intermission, and that was just what Appalachian needed to regroup.
In the 165-pound bout, Forrest Przybysz scored a first-round takedown and later escaped to win 3-1 over Jake Faust. Defending SoCon Wrestler of the Week Nick Kee kept the momentum going for the Apps in the following match. Kee was up 2-1 after two periods before four takedowns and an escape in the third period spearheaded the 11-6 decision for Kee.
With the home team back up 16-10, Appalachian State's Taylor Jackson provided a spark for the Black and Gold at 184. Jackson was trailing Spencer Neff 7-5 with just a minute to go before he pinned Neff with 18 seconds left in the match. That fall at 6:42 pushed App State's advantage to 12, 22-10.
Randall Diabe fell to one of the best 197-pounders in the nation in Conner Hartmann by major decision, 8-0, but kept things out of reach for the visitors before Denzel Dejournette stepped onto the mat.
The junior grappler was in control throughout and took a 12-4 major decision to give App four more team points and a 26-14 victory over a ranked opponent.
Next up, the Mountaineers will travel to Clarion, Pa., on Saturday, Dec. 19, to take on both the Golden Eagles and Buffalo for their final action of 2015.
App State 26, No. 25 Duke 14
125: Vito Pasone (APP) def. Thayer Atkins (DUKE) MD, 12-4 (4-0 App)
133: Jacob Grigg (APP) wins by forfeit (10-0 App)
141: Zach Finesilver (DUKE) def. Michael Longo (APP) D, 7-6 (10-3 App)
149: Mitch Finesilver (DUKE) def. Matt Zovistoski (APP) D, 2-0 (10-6 App)
157: Connor Bass (DUKE) def. David Peters-Logue (APP) MD, 11-0 (Tied 10-10)
165: Forrest Przybysz (APP) def. Jake Faust (DUKE) D, 3-1 (13-10 App)
174: Nick Kee (APP) def. Brian Dorsey (DUKE) D, 11-6 (16-10 App)
184: Taylor Jackson (APP) def. Spencer Neff (DUKE) F, 6:42 (22-10 App)
197: Conner Hartmann (DUKE) def. Randall Diabe (APP) MD, 8-0 (22-14 App)
Hwt: Denzel Dejournette (APP) def. Brendan Walsh (DUKE) MD, 12-4 (26-14 App)