BOONE, N.C.— The Appalachian State wrestling team played host to the Duke Blue Devils Wednesday night at Varsity Gym. The Mountaineers fell to Duke by a team score of 25-19.
 
The match began at the 125-pound weight class. Appalachian started strong picking up three-straight wins. Vito Pasone  got the first six points of the evening due to a Duke forfeit at the 125-pound weight class. 
 
At the 133-pound weight class, senior Chris Johnson   grabbed momentum by earning a first-period fall (1:29) against Duke's Evan Botwin. The Mountaineers led 12-0.  
 
Jake Smith picked up a 9-3 decision at the 141-pound weight class and got the Apps up with a 15-0 lead. 
 
Duke refocused and began to take the momentum from the Apps. They pick up two-straight decisions at the 149 and 157-pound weight classes putting them on the board (15-6) and pulling closer to the Mountaineers.  
 
Next at 165, Zack Strickland proved why he was a 2013 NCAA qualifier. Strickland won convincingly by picking up an 8-0 major decision. App led 19-6. 
 
Although coming out strong, the Mountaineers cooled off losing the next four matches. Adrian Soto-Perez gave up a major decision to Trey Adamson, Nick Vetell and Kacee Hutchinson both lost by falls in the 184 and 197-pound weight classes, respectively. 
 
With the Mountaineers now losing by a score of 22-19, Denzel Dejournette wrestled a tough match against #19 nationally ranked Conner Hartmann. Hartmann picked up the 5-3 decision by last minute take down and Duke defeated Appalachian 25-19.
 
Appalachian will be back in action Saturday in Varsity Gym as they host the Appalachian Open starting at 9 a.m. The tournament will feature teams from the ACC and SoCon. 
 
 

Appalachian at Duke (1/22/14)

 125:  Vito Pasone won by forfeit (APP leads 6-0)

133:  Chris Johnson (APP) fall Evan Botwin (DUKE), 1:29 (APP leads 12-0)

141:  Jake Smith (APP) dec. Xaviel Ramos (DUKE), 9-3 (APP leads 15-0)

149:  Jake Faust (DUKE) dec. Aaron Scott (APP), 6-0 (APP leads 15-3)

157:  Immanuel Kerr-Brown (DUKE) dec. Nick Hall (APP), 9-7 (APP leads 15-6)

165:  Zack Strickland (APP) maj dec. Marcus Cain, 8-0 (APP leads 19-6)

174:  Trey Adamson (DUKE)  maj dec. Adrian Soto-Perez (APP), 23-9 (APP leads 19-10)

184:  Andrew DeHart (DUKE) fall Nick Vetell (APP), 1:35, (APP leads 19-16)

197:  Jacob Kasper (DUKE) fall Kacee Hutchinson (APP), 3:37 (DUKE leads 22-19)

HWT:  Connor Hartmann (DUKE) dec. Denzel Dejournette (APP), 5-3 (DUKE wins 25-19)