Barket Places Fifth at Heavyweight; Earns NCAA Championship Bid

Sunday, March 9

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Barket Places Fifth at Heavyweight; Earns NCAA Championship Bid

3/9/2025 8:20:00 PM | Wrestling

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DURHAM, N.C. — Duke wresting redshirt sophomore tri-captain Connor Barket turned in a fifth-place ledger Sunday at the ACC Championship, which was hosted in Cameron Indoor Stadium. With the placement, Barket earns one of five automatic bids to the NCAA Championship.

Barket placed at the ACC Championship for the first time as a Blue Devil. The NCAA Championship will take place March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Barket, who hails from West Lafayette, Ind., will make his first appearance.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the first round for heavyweight, sixth-seeded redshirt sophomore Connor Barket registered a 5-1 decision against North Carolina's Nolan Neves to move into the semifinals.Barket took a 3-0 lead in the first with a takedown and moved to 4-0 with an escape in the second.Neves registered an escape in the third period and Barket registered a riding time point to win 5-1.
Duke's 29th-ranked Aidan Wallace faced 28th-ranked Derek Fields at 165 pounds.Fields registered a takedown in the first period and moved the ledger to 4-0 with an escape through two periods.In the final frame, Wallace netted an escape, but Fields closed the bout with a takedown to win 7-1.
In the consolation round, Duke's Raymond Adams registered a 4-2 decision versus Tyler Chappell of Pitt to move into the semifinals.Adams led 3-1 early with a takedown, but Chappell inched closer by adding an escape in the second.The Blue Devil was able to hold on with a 4-2 victory to keep wrestling.
Wallace then faced Charlie Darracott in the consolation bracket.After Darracott posted a takedown in the first, Wallace got a point back with an escape.Trailing 5-1 in the third period, Wallace posted a reversal to cut into the Tar Heel lead, 5-3.Darracott was able to close it out with a 6-3 victory.
Barket next faced second-seeded and 13th-ranked Jimmy Mullen of Virginia Tech for a chance to advance to the finals.Mullen registered a takedown in the first and led 4-1 early, but Barket held strong trailing 4-1 heading into the third period.Mullen was able to post a couple of takedowns and won, 11-3.
In the consolation semifinals, Adams faced top-seeded and seventh-ranked Ethan Oakley.The first period was even, 0-0, before Oakley registered an escape to take a 1-0 lead.Trailing 1-0 in the third, Adams dropped three points on a takedown and ended up dropping a 4-1 decision to end his run.
Barket went up against Stanford's 25th-ranked Peter Ming in the consolation semifinals. Barket had a solid start with a takedown to go ahead, 3-0.Ming then started making a run with an escape and takedown to go ahead, 4-3, at the end of the first. Barket evened the ledger, 4-4, with an escape to start the second, but Ming went on a run to register a 10-4 victory.

NOTES

Connor Barket's victory in the first round marked his first career ACC Championship win.
Barket moved his season win total to 24 with the two wins on the day. His 24 wins ranks as the fifth-most by a heavyweight since the 1999 campaign.
Blue Devil redshirt freshman Aidan Wallace has a chance to receive an at-large selection to the NCAA Championship, which will be released Wednesday evening.

QUOTES

"It is something we have been working towards for years.It has been a very long journey, but it isn't over yet.I get to go to Philly and compete for Duke.We have bigger goals than this, but it is a good moment right now. We are going to work, get better.A couple of good matches today, a couple that sting a little bit.At the end of the day, we get to wrestle two more weeks and go get to represent Duke at the national tournament, which is an amazing feeling.We are proud, but not satisfied." – Redshirt Sophomore Connor Barket on earning a NCAA bid

WHAT IS NEXT

The NCAA Wrestling selection show will air Wednesday, March 12 at 8 p.m., live on NCAA.com.The NCAA Championship will take place March 20-22.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWRES".

ACC Championship

First Round
133: #11 Connor McGonagle (VT) tech fall over Raymond Adams (DU) 17-1 (6:33)
141: #19 Dylan Cedeno (UVA) tech fall over Christian Colman (DU) 21-5 (4:24)
149: #6 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) tech fall over SP O'Donnell (DU) 19-4 (4:47)
157: #15 Ed Scott (NCSU) tech fall over Nick Tattini (DU) 17-2 (1:36)
165: #28 Derek Fields (NCSU) decision over #29 Aidan Wallace (DU) 7-1
174: #5 Lorenzo Norman (Stan) major decision over Gaetano Console (DU) 12-1
184: #14 Dylan Fishback (NCSU) tech fall over David Hussey (DU) 19-1 (3:41)
197: #15 Nikolas Stemmet (Stan) tech fall over Kwasi Bonsu (DU) 22-5 (3:21)
HWT: #27 Connor Barket (DU) decision over #30 Nolan Neves (UNC) 5-1

Consolation
133: Raymond Adams (DU) decision over Tyler Chappell (Pitt) 4-2
141: #20 Jason Miranda (Stan) major decision over Christian Colman (DU) 15-1
149: #22 Finn Solomon (Pitt) tech fall over SP O'Donnell (DU) 20-3 (5:44)
157: #21 Dylan Evans (Pitt) tech fall over Nick Tattini (DU) 20-5 (4:49)
165: Charlie Darracott (UNC) decision over Aidan Wallace (DU) 6-3
174: Rocco Contino (UVA) tech fall over Gaetano Console (DU) 21-6 (4:01)
184: Justin Phillips (UVA) decision over David Hussey (DU) 8-4
197: Steven Burrell Jr. (UVA) major decision over Kwasi Bonsu (DU) 14-2

Semifinals
HWT: #13 Jimmy Mullen (VT) major decision over #27 Connor Barket (DU) 11-3

Consolation Semifinals
133: #7 Ethan Oakley (UNC) decision over Raymond Adams (DU) 4-1
HWT: #25 Peter Ming (Stan) decision over #27 Connor Barket (DU) 10-4

Fifth-Place Match
HWT: #27 Connor Barket wins by medical forfeit over #4 Isaac Trumble (NCSU)