NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling team jump up six spots to No. 14 in the latest WIN Magazine Tournament Power Index (TPI), presented by Cliff Keen. The Monarchs were ranked No. 20 in the last poll. Three Old Dominion grapplers were also ranked in the top-10 in their weight class.
ODU is coming off a successful weekend, where it saw eight wrestlers place in their respective weight class at the 2014 NC State Open. Jack Dechow and Alexander Richardson both won their division, while Kevin Beazley and Jacob Henderson placed second in their division. Jacob Kingett, Matt Tourdot and TC Warner also placed for the Old Dominion Monarchs, as they each finished in the top-6 in their weight class. Devin Geoghegan rounded out the ODU placers, finishing in eighth place in the 157-pound bracket.
Dechow remains at No. 2 at 184 lbs. He kicked off the season claiming first place at the NC State Open, notching two decisions, one tech fall and one fall. Chris Mecate comes in at No. 6 at 141 lbs. after he went 28-9 a season ago. Mecate placed second at the MAC Tournament at 141 lbs. and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the second-consecutive season. Richardson enters the week as the No. 10 ranked wrestler at 149 lbs. Like Dechow, Richardson claimed the top spot at the NC State Open in his season opener. Richardson highlighted the day by recording a win by fall (5:21) over NCAA qualifier and No. 20 Kevin Birmingham.
WIN will announce a separate Dual Team ranking, beginning Dec. 1. WIN’s TPI will be updated on a weekly basis through the NCAA Division I qualifying tournaments in early March.
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