He did it again.
Penn State wrestling commit PJ Duke— lack of college bouts be damned— started his day by beating an NCAA champ, then beat another one hours later.
Duke, who beat reigning champion Antrell Taylor at 70 KG in the U.S. World Team Trials, beat another champ in the semifinals. Late Friday afternoon, Duke punched his ticket to the championship bout by beating Ridge Lovett, Taylor’s former teammate 3-2.
Duke is well on his way to being a star at the college level.
In most recruiting classes, Duke would be the crown jewel. But nothing about Penn State wrestling is normal. Duke is the No. 2 recruit in the nation. The No. 1 recruit? Marcus Blaze. Where’s he committed? Penn State.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Blaze will be competing for a starting spot at either 133 or 141 pounds. If Duke is to make the starting lineup as a true freshman, he’ll likely have to do it at 157. The problem there is that Penn State has Tyler Kasak, who entered the NCAA Championships ranked No. 1 and ended up taking third as a sophomore.
It’s a win-win for Penn State.
If Duke ends up starting, Penn State has a guy with multi-time national champ potential ready to go as a true freshman. If it doesn’t, that just speaks to the depth that Cael Sanderson’s wrestling empire still has.
Duke will now face former Virginia Tech star Bryce Andonian in the finals. If he wins, he’ll move onto Final X, scheduled for June 14 in Newark, New Jersey.
