NORFOLK, Va. – InterMat has released its preseason NCAA Division I Wrestling Rankings and the Old Dominion Monarchs were picked 19th in the Tournament Rankings and 20th in the Dual Meet Rankings. Three Wrestling Monarchs were also ranked in the top-12 of their respective weight class.
The wrestling Monarchs are coming off a solid 2013-14 campaign, in which the team compiled a 4-4 record within the Mid-American Conference and won five of their last seven dual meets as a first-year member of the conference. They also secured an impressive third-place finish at the MAC Tournament and sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City where they finished tied for 22nd with UVA.
Old Dominion has yet again prepared an incredibly challenging schedule, as it enters its second season of competition within the very deep Mid-American Conference. Head Coach Steve Martin and his squad will host six dual meets at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, including a showdown with perennial powerhouse Missouri.
Redshirt sophomore All-American Jack Dechow (Richmond, Ill.) picked his 5th-preseason second-place ranking at 184 lbs. Dechow sits right behind All-American Gabe Dean from Cornell after falling in the third-place match of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The two wrestlers will kick off the 2014-15 season with another showdown, this time at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 1. Jack 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.
At 141 pounds, redshirt junior Chris Mecate (Highland, Calif.) comes in at No. 6 after he went 28-9 a season ago. Mecate placed second at the MAC Tournament 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. For his career, he has posted a 68-20 overall record and defeated 20 NCAA qualifiers.
Coming in at No. 12 is Alex Richardson (Jersey City, N.J.) at 149 pounds. 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. During his two years as a Monarch, Richardson has recorded a 55-25 overall record and taken down 12 NCAA qualifiers.
The Monarchs will open the 2014-15 campaign at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open in Binghamton, N.Y. on Nov. 9. ODU returns home on Nov. 23 against No. 6 Missouri. Season ticket voucher books are on sale now. To order, please visit here. Make sure you are there for all the action!
Be sure to follow Old Dominion Wrestling on Twitter at twitter.com/ODUWrestling and find them on Facebook at facebook.com/OldDominionWrestling.