NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches announced the November weight class individual rankings in conjunction with the league office on Wednesday. Old Dominion was ranked second in the team standings, while seven wrestlers were ranked in the top-four of their respective weight class.
Old Dominion (18 pts.) sits in second place behind two-time MAC Champion Missouri Tigers (27 pts.), while Northern Iowa (16.0 points) ranks third. The November ranking also witnessed Ohio (13.0 points) in fourth, followed by Kent State (12.0 points) in fifth place and Central Michigan sixth overall. Rounding out the rankings were Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Buffalo.
Coming off another successful wrestling season that witnessed the ninth MAC Individual National Champion in league history, nine All-Americans and a Conference-best 43 wrestlers seeded in the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championship, the rise of MAC wrestling continues in preparation for the 2014-15 season. The MAC had nine All-Americans in 2013-14 and will see five of these All-Americans returning this season, including Ian Miller (Kent State, 157); J'Den Cox (Missouri, 197); Drake Houdashelt (Missouri, 149); Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, 125) and Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, 184).
Seven ODU wrestlers were ranked in the top-4 MAC Weight Class Rankings, which included: No. 3 Brandon Jeske (125), No. 1 Chris Mecate (141), No. 2 Alexander Richardson (149), No. 3 Tristan Warner (165), No. 1 Jack Dechow (184), No. 4 Kevin Beazley (197) and No. 3 Matt Tourdot (Heavyweight).
ODU returns to the mat on Nov. 16 when it travels to the NC State Open in Raleigh, N.C. The Monarchs return to Norfolk for their home opener on Nov. 23 when they take on No. 7 Missouri at 1:00 p.m.
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The rankings will be released each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) in January and February. The 2014-15 preseason rankings, voted on by the league's head coaches in an open forum are as follows:
2014-15 MAC Weight Class Rankings:
125 – 1. Alan Waters (Missouri, Senior); 2. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 3. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 4. KeVon Powell (Ohio, Junior).
133 – 1. Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa, Senior); 2. Mack McGuire (Kent State, Junior); 3. Vincent Pizzuto (Eastern Michigan, Junior); 4. Matt Manley (Missouri, Sophomore).
141 – 1. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion, Junior); 2. Zach Horan (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Lavion Mayes (Missouri, Sophomore); 4. Mike Shaw (Eastern Michigan, Junior).
149 – 1. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri, Senior); 2. Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion, Junior); 3. Mike DePalma (Kent State, Junior); 4. Tywan Claxton (Ohio, Junior).
157 – 1. Ian Miller (Kent State, Junior); 2. Lucas Smith (Central Michigan, Junior); 3. Joey Lavallee (Missouri, Sophomore); 4. Spartak Chino (Ohio, Junior).
165 – 1. Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 2. Harrison Hightower (Ohio, Senior); 3. Tristan Warner (Old Dominion, Senior); 4. Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois, Sophomore).
174 – 1. Cody Walters (Ohio, Junior); 2. Mikey England (Missouri, Senior); 3. Caleb Marsh (Kent State, Senior); 4. Collin Zeerip (Eastern Michigan, Senior).
184 – 1. Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 2. Johnny Eblen (Missouri, Senior); 3. Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa, Junior); 4. Tony Lock (Buffalo, Junior).
197 – 1. J'Den Cox (Missouri, Sophomore); 2. Phil Wellington (Ohio, Junior); 3. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois, Sophomore); 4. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion, Sophomore).
HWT – 1. Devin Mellon (Missouri, Senior); 2. Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa, Junior); 3. Matt Tourdot (Old Dominion, Senior); 4. Mimmo Lytle (Kent State, Sophomore).
The team rankings were also decided in the same forum. The nine schools were ranked based on the number of first through fourth-place votes that were earned in the individual voting system. A first-place vote was worth four team points; a second-place vote earned three team points; third-seeded votes were worth two team points, while a fourth-place tally earned one point in the team ranking system. The team rankings for the MAC are as follows:
2014-15 MAC November Rankings
1. Missouri (27.0)
2. Old Dominion (18.0)
3. Northern Iowa (16.0)
4. Ohio (13.0)
5. Kent State (12.0)
6. Central Michigan (6.0)
7. Eastern Michigan (4.0)
8. Northern Illinois (3.0)
9. Buffalo (1.0)
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