Durham will be represented by a group of former Duke wrestling standouts and an assistant coach at the upcoming 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The event, which will take place from September 16th to 24th, will see the Finesilver brothers, Josh, Matt, and Mitch, compete for Team Israel, while assistant coach Ethan Ramos will represent Puerto Rico.
Josh Finesilver, a four-time NCAA qualifier for the Blue Devils, will kick off the event in the 65kg weight class. His first opponent will be Spain’s Carlos Alvarez Inglesias in the preliminary round on Monday, September 18th. If Josh is victorious, he will go on to face Belgium’s Ayub Musaev in the round of 16. The qualifying rounds are scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. ET. This will be Josh’s second appearance at the World Championships, having previously competed in the 70kg weight class last year. He finished his collegiate wrestling career with a 79-45 record, competing in three different weight classes and becoming the third wrestler in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Matt Finesilver, Josh’s twin brother, will be making his debut in the senior division at the World Championships. He had previously competed in the U-23 World Championship in 2019 as part of Team USA. Matt will compete on the first day of the tournament, September 16th, in the round of 16 against Slovakia’s Boris Makoev. Having qualified as a starter for the Blue Devils three years ago at 174 pounds, Matt boasts an overall record of 80-29 and won a silver medal at the 2019 ACC Championship.
As for Mitch Finesilver, he enters the tournament as the number one seed in the 74kg weight class. He will face Kenya’s Masayo Mahavila in the round of 16 on Sunday, September 17th at 4:30 a.m. ET. This will be Mitch’s third appearance at the World Championships after qualifying in the same weight class in 2022 and 2021. During his time with the Blue Devils, Mitch achieved All-American status in 2019, qualified for the NCAA Championships four times, and ended his collegiate career with a 95-30 record, ranking him eighth on Duke’s all-time wins list.
Assistant coach Ethan Ramos will be competing in the 86kg freestyle event for the fourth time on the world stage. In the 2022 World Championships, he narrowly missed out on a place on the podium, finishing fifth. Ramos will begin his quest for success at the tournament by facing Pedro Fuentes of Venezuela in the qualifying round. Prior to joining Duke’s coaching staff, Ramos was a 2015 NCAA national champion and two-time ACC champion at 174 pounds during his collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, where he achieved an overall record of 106-39.
If you’re interested in watching the 2023 World Wrestling Championships, you can stream it on FloWrestling, and live results can be found on FloArena. Stay updated with Blue Devils wrestling news by following the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.