NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-American Conference released its December rankings on Wednesday afternoon and Old Dominion was picked second in the league. The Wrestling Monarchs also saw seven wrestlers ranked in the top-four of their weight class.
The rankings will be released each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) in January and February. 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 as the 2014-15 season moves into its second month.
Old Dominion enters the month of December coming off a successful first month of competition. The Monarchs opened up with season at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open in Binghamton, N.Y. and saw six grapplers place. Senior Tristan Warner led the way with a first-place finish in the 165-pound bracket. The Monarchs continued to shine as the team had eight wrestlers place at the NC State Open, headlined by Jack Dechow and Lenny Richardson who won their division.
ODU began conference action on Nov. 23 against Missouri, but the team fell to the top-ranked Tigers. The Monarchs bounced back and defeated LIU Post and No. 22 Purdue at the Northeast Duals. Dechow once again had a successful showing, going 3-0 on the day.
The Monarchs are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Cleveland, Ohio to participate in the Cleveland State Open. ODU returns home on Dec. 20 to take on top-25 ranked Chattanooga.
2014-15 December MAC Weight Class Rankings:
125 – 1. Alan Waters (Missouri, Senior); 2. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, Sophomore); 3. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 4. Max Soria (Buffalo, Senior).
133 – 1. Mack McGuire (Kent State, Junior); 2. Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa, Senior); 3. Matt Manley (Missouri, Sophomore); 4. Vincent Pizzuto (Eastern Michigan, Junior).
141 – 1. Lavion Mayes (Missouri, Sophomore); t-2. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion, Junior); t-2. Zach Horan (Central Michigan, Junior); t-4. Mike Shaw (Eastern Michigan, Junior); t-4. Tyler Small (Kent State, Senior).
149 – 1. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri, Senior); 2. Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion, Junior); 3. Tywan Claxton (Ohio, Junior); 4. Mike DePalma (Kent State, Junior).
157 – 1. Ian Miller (Kent State, Junior); 2. Joey Lavallee (Missouri, Sophomore); 3. Spartak Chino (Ohio, Junior); 4. Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan, Senior).
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. Curt Maas (Northern Iowa, Sophomore).
184 – 1. Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, Sophomore); 2. Willie Miklus (Missouri, Redshirt Freshman); 3. Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa, Junior); 4. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio, 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. Jake Henderson (Old Dominion, Senior); 4. Mimmo Lytle (Kent State, Sophomore).
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.
2014-15 MAC December Rankings
1. Missouri (31.0)
2. Old Dominion (16.5)
3. Northern Iowa (16.0)
4. Ohio (15.0)
5. Kent State (12.5)
6. Northern Illinois (3.0)
7. Central Michigan (2.5)
8. Eastern Michigan (2.5)
9. Buffalo (1.0)
The 2015 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 and hosted by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.
For an in depth look to everything Monarchs Wrestling, make sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter (@ODUWrestling) and YouTube and on ODUsports.com. Fans can join in on the conversation by using the hashtag #ODUWREST