ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club announced on Thursday (Dec. 14) the addition of Mitch Finesilver. An NCAA All-American and ACC champion as a collegiate wrestler at Duke, Finesilver joins his younger brother, Matt, on the CKWC freestyle roster.
“We’re all very excited to add Mitch to our Cliff Keen Wrestling Club,” said Michigan head coach Sean Bormet. “He has great dedication, professionalism and passion to train and compete and will bring an exceptional work ethic and a lot of experience to our wrestling room. He is a tough competitor, and we believe we can help him reach his goals. This will be a great fit for Mitch, and we’re really excited to coach him.”
“Between the training partners and the coaching staff, Michigan is the all-around package for me to continue my Olympic career,” said Finesilver. “While I’m very thankful for my training situation before this, I made the decision to move [to Michigan] because it will give me the best chance to reach my Olympic dreams. I’m excited for what this next chapter of my life entails!”
Finesilver spent the last four years as a resident athlete with the NYC RTC. He represented Israel in the last three World Championships (2021, ’22, ’23) and last four European Championships, capturing 74kg bronze in 2021. He also claimed bronze medals at the 2022 Matteo Pellicone and 2023 Ibrahim Moustafa tournaments and fifth place at the last summer’s fourth UWW ranking tournament, at the Polyàk Imre Memorial.
As a collegiate wrestler at Duke (2015-19), Finesilver captured NCAA All-America honors with a fourth-place finish at 149 pounds as a senior (2019) and was just the second wrestler in Duke history to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years. He was an ACC champion and four-time finalist and, an evolutionary anthropology major, was named the 2019 ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year. Finesilver compiled a 95-30 career record, including a 33-5 mark as a senior, to rank eighth among the Blue Devils’ all-time program leaders.
