OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Old Dominion University wrestling team will have six wrestlers competing in the 2014 NCAA Division I Championships Thursday at the Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City.
Brandon Jeske (125), Chris Mecate (141), Alexander Richardson (149), Tristan Warner (157), Billy Curling (174) and Jack Dechow (184) will be making the trip to the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Jeske and Dechow will see their first action in the NCAA Tournament as freshman.
2014 NCAA Tournament Coverage
2014 NCAA Championship Info | ESPN 3
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2014 NCAA Divison I Wrestling Championships Schedule
Date | Time (ET) | Session | Mats | Network |
Thu, March 20 | Noon – 3:30 p.m. | First Session | Eight Mats | ESPNU/ESPN3 |
7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. | Second Session | Eight Mats | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
Fri, March 21 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Third Session - Quarterfinals | Eight Mats | ESPNU/ESPN3 |
8 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Fourth Session -Semifinals | Six Mats | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
Sat, March 22 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Fifth Session -Medal Round | Three Mats | ESPNU/ESPN3 |
8:00 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Sixth Session – Championship Finals | One Mat | ESPN/ESPN3 |
SEEDINGS AND MATCHUPS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125- Brandon Jeske (19-13) vs. Corey Keener of Central Michigan (19-12).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Jeske beat Keener 7-1 and 4-0 earlier this year. Jeske has won four of his last six matches (only losses to NCAA Qualifiers Dylan Peters and Jared Germaine).
141- No. 5 Chris Mecate (27-7) vs. Joey Delgado of Oregon State (24-13).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Mecate has won seven of his last eight matches and is coming off a second place finish at the MAC Tournament. ODU's highest seed has 11 wins over NCAA Qualifiers, was a No. 12 seed last year as a redshirt freshman and is 17-4 in 2014 (only losses to No. 1 Mitchell Port, No. 3 Zain Retherford, No. 11 Joey Lazor and NCAA Qualifier Nick Flannery).
149- No. 16 Alexander Richardson (25-8) vs. Justin Arthur of Clarion (26-14).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Richardson is 13-2 since Jan. 2 (only losses to No. 1-ranked Drake Houdashelt) and is coming off a second place finish at the MAC Tournament.
157- Tristan Warner (19-11) vs. No. 12 Luke Smith of Central Michigan (19-10).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Warner beat Smith by a 6-2 decision on Feb. 2 in their last meeting. The two did not meet at the MAC Tournament. Warner is 8-3 since Jan. 24 (only losses to NCAA Qualifiers Joseph LaVallee and Ian Miller).
174- No. 15 Billy Curling (17-8) vs. Shane Hughes of Colorado (22-8).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Curling has won nine of his last 10 matches after finishing in second place at the MAC Tournament.
184- No. 13 Jack Dechow (17-4) vs. Jonathan Fausey of Virginia (15-9).
Thursday Morning. Mat number TBD. Dechow beat Fausey by a 3-1 decision Jan. 19 at the Ted Constant Center. Dechow is the MAC Champion and has won 10 of his last 11.
WINS VS. NCAA QUALIFIERS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125- Brandon Jeske
1/2/14 125 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) W, 7-3 dec.
1/2/14 125 Caleb Richardson (Penn) W, 3-1 dec.
2/2/14 125 Corey Keener (CMU) W, 7-1 dec.
3/9/14 125 Corey Keener (CMU) W, 4-0 dec.
141- Chris Mecate
11/17/13 141 Sam Speno (NC ST.) W, 5-0 dec.
11/24/13 141 Gabe Moreno (ISU) W, 3-0 dec.
1/1/14 141 Edgar Bright (Pitt) W, 6-1 dec.
1/2/14 141 Evan Henderson (UNC) W, 3-2 dec.
1/2/14 141 Chris Dardanes (Minn) W, 4-3 dec.
1/10/14 141 Daniel Neff (Lock Haven) W, 6-1 SV-2
1/19/14 141 Joseph Spisak (UVA) W, 3-1 dec.
2/2/14 141 Zach Horan (CMU) W, 4-2 dec.
2/16/14 141 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) W, 2-1 dec.
2/23/14 141 Joey Lazor (UNI) W, 10-8 dec.
3/8/14 141 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) W, 4-3 dec.
149- Alexander Richardson
1/1/14 149 Dyllan Cottrell (Appalachian)
1/2/14 149 Mike Racciato (Pitt) W, 8-3 dec.
1/10/14 149 Macaulay Maldarelli (Lock Haven) W, 3-2 dec.
1/10/14 149 David Habat (Edinboro) W, 5-3 dec.
1/31/14 149 Robert Jillard (Northern Illinois) W, 7-5 SV-2
2/9/14 149 Tyron Claxton (Ohio) W, 4-3 dec.
3/8/14 149 Robert Jillard (NIU) W, 9-4 dec.
3/8/14 149 Tyron Claxton (Ohio) W, 5-3 dec.
157- Tristan Warner
11/17/13 157 Tommy Gantt (NC State) W, 4-2 dec.
12/6/13 157 Brandon Zeerip (EMU) W, 9-2 dec.
2/2/14 157 Luke Smith (CMU) W, 6-2 dec.
2/9/14 157 Spartak Chino (Ohio) W, 3-0 dec.
3/8/14 157 Spartak Chino (Ohio) W, 8-4 dec.
3/9/14 157 Brandon Zeerip (EMU) W, 9-2 dec.
174- Billy Curling
2/2/14 174 Mike Ottinger (CMU) W, 5-4 dec.
2/9/14 174 Cody Walters (Ohio) W, 7-2 dec.
2/16/14 174 Mike England (Mizzou) W, 10-3 dec.
2/23/14 174 Cody Caldwell (UNI) W, 9-6 dec.
184- Jack Dechow
11/10/13 184 Jackson Hein (Wisconsin) W, 13-5 MD
1/10/14 184 Fred Garcia (Lock Haven) W, 3-1 SV-1
1/19/14 184 Jonathan Fausey (Virginia) W, 3-1 dec.
2/23/14 184 Ryan Loder (UNI) W, 5-4 dec.
3/9/14 184 Ryan Loder (UNI) W, 4-2 SV-1
A Word from the ODU Head Coach Steve Martin:
Brandon Jeske- "He's had an extremely difficult schedule. He's been hot and cold during the course of the year. I think the highlight of his year was at the Southern Scuffle where he beat three or four top-20 kids. He beat Kilmara of Oklahoma State who is a seeded wrestler. He wrestled very consistent at the MAC Tournament and put a lot of points on the board. We are trying to get him to wrestle hard for seven minutes."
Chris Mecate- "He's the No. 5 seed and has been consistent all year long. He's beaten 15 of the top-20 guys in the country. His goal is simple, take it one match at a time and wrestle hard for seven minutes. He has a goal to win a national title. How that pans out depends on how hard he wrestles."
Alexander Richardson- "Lenny Richardson has been very good all year. His schedule gave him three losses to the No. 1 kid in the country, who he hit at the Southern Scuffle and went into overtime with last week. Lenny has beaten everyone in the country at his weight. He's capable of beating anyone in the field."
Tristan Warner- "Tristan Warner has been pretty consistent throughout the year. He's been in tight matches with the best kids in the country. We like his odds against anybody he's going against."
Billy Curling- "Billy Curling started off slow and then got off to a hot streak the last six weeks of the season. He beat five top-20 guys five weekends in a row, which put him in the national discussion. Billy has to worry about himself and not about his opponents. As long as he wrestles hard good things are going to happen."
Jack Dechow- "Jack Dechow was out for half of the season. He has been getting in shape the last couple of weeks and is 12-2 since he has been back. He can beat anyone in the field."
"We have a lot of hot wrestlers right now so we like our odds going in. All six of them believe they can beat anyone in the country and that's huge, we haven't had that for awhile. So we are looking forward to going out there and scrapping."
Old Dominion Qualifier Notes:
125- Brandon Jeske 19-13 overall, Defeated Three nationally ranked opponents as a true freshman. Placed Third in the MAC Championships and has won three of his last four matches.
141- No. 4-ranked Chris Mecate 27-7 overall, Defeated 10 nationally ranked opponents and qualified for his second straight NCAA appearance as a redshirt sophomore. Placed Second in the MAC Championships and has won 7 of his last 8 matches.
149- No. 14-ranked Alexander Richardson 25-8 overall, Defeated four nationally ranked opponents this season and qualified for his second straight NCAA appearance as a sophomore. Placed Second at the MAC Championships and has won 13 of his last 15 (only losses to No. 1-ranked Drake Houdashelt by 4-1 and 3-1 overtime decisions).
157- Tristan Warner 19-11 overall, finished the season winning eight of his last 11. Placed Fourth at the MAC Championships as a redshirt junior and qualified for his second NCAA appearance in the last three years.
174- Billy Curling 17-8 overall, finished the season winning 9 of his last 10 as a redshirt senior. Placed Second at the MAC Championships and qualified for his second consecutive NCAA Championships.
184- Jack Dechow 17-4 overall, finished the year with a 6-3 record against the nationally ranked top-20. Placed First at the MAC Championships and qualified for his first NCAA appearance as a redshirt freshman. Dechow has won his last four matches and is the only wrestler to beat UNI All-American Ryan Loder in the last two years Loder has wrestled (Dechow beat him twice this year).
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