NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling team placed three grapplers on the OpenMat.com Division I Individual Wrestling Rankings that were released on Oct. 15. Rankings are released every Tuesday during the regular season.
Jack Dechow, a redshirt sophomore from Richmond, Ill., was ranked second for the 184 lbs. weight class. He finished the 2013-14 season with a 21-6 overall record and 11-3 in duals, taking down nine national qualifiers in the process. He earned a bid to the 2014 NCAA Championships after winning the 184-pound MAC title by defeating Northern Iowa’s All-American Ryan Loder. He currently holds a 55-18 career record and has beaten 11 national qualifiers during his time as a Monarch. Jack is joined in the rankings by MAC opponent John Eblen (13th) of Missouri.
Chris Mecate was ranked 10th in his weight class of 141 lbs. Mecate came in ahead of MAC opponent Zach Horan (11) of Central Michigan and Lavion Mayes (14) from Missouri. He went 28-9 a season ago and placed second at the MAC Tournament at 141 lbs. and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the second-consecutive season where he entered as the No. 5 seed. Throughout his sophomore campaign, Mecate took down 11 NCAA qualifiers.
Alexander Richardson, a junior from Jersey City, N.J., was ranked 12th in the 149 lbs. weight class. Richardson came in one spot higher than MAC opponent Tywan Claxton (13) of Ohio and two spots ahead of Mike DePalma (14) of Kent State. The junior went 26-9 last season and recorded eight victories over NCAA qualifiers during the season. He finished second at the MAC Tournament and received a bid as the No. 16 seed for the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.
The Wrestling Monarchs open their season at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open on Nov. 9 and return home Nov. 23 for their season home opener featuring No. 6 Missouri.
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