NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling team is back in action on Monday, as they head to Evanston, Ill. to take part in the 52nd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The open will start at 10:30 a.m. EST and will feature many of the nation's top wrestlers at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Monday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Dec. 30.
Tickets to the event are available now online at NUSports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. Fans are encouraged to join the conversation via social media by using the hashtag #Midlands52. If you can’t make the event, it will be streamed for free on BTN2Go. The finals will also be streamed on BTN live at 7:00 p.m.
Seven ODU grapplers are seeded in the 52nd annual tournament held on the campus of Northwestern. Brandon Jeske enters as the No. 7 seed at 125 lbs. and is 3-2 on the season. Chris Mecate (141) and Alexander Richardson (149) are also in the field as they enter as the No. 5 and No. 4 seed, respectively. Mecate holds a 6-2 overall record, while Richardson is 8-2 on the year.
Tristan Warner, Kevin Beazley and Jake Henderson round out the ODU field. Warner is competing at 165 lbs. and is slated as the No. 7 seed, while Beazley enters as the No. 12 seed at 197 lbs. Dechow leads the Monarchs with a No. 2 seeding at 184 lbs. Warner is currently 9-0 on the year, while Beazley is 12-8 and Dechow is 8-1 on the season.
Following the championships, the Monarchs will travel to Lancaster, Pa. for the Franklin & Marshall Open that will start at 9:00 a.m.
Midlands Pre-Seeds
125
1 Jesse Delgado, Illinois
2. Thomas Gilman, Iowa
3. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech
4. Darian Cruz, Lehigh (Unattached)
5. Josh Martinez, Air Force
6. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
7. Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion
8. Kory Mines, Edinboro
9. Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan
10. Barlow McGee, Missouri (Unattached)
11. Stevan Micic, Northwestern (Unattached)
12. Ryak Finch, Grand View
Lucas Malmberg, Messiah College
133
1. AJ Schopp, Edinboro
2. Cory Clark, Iowa
3. Jarrod Garnett, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club
4. Zane Richards, Illinois
5. Geoffrey Alexander, Maryland
6. Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin
7. Danny Sabatello, Purdue
8. Kevin Norstrem, Virginia Tech
9. Robert Deutsch, Rider
10. Caleb Richardson, Penn
11. Ian Nickell, CSU Bakersfield
12. TBD based on entries
Dominick Malone, Northwestern
Josh Alber, Northern Iowa (Unattached)
141
1. Mitchell Port, Edinboro
2. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech
3. Richard Durso, Franklin & Marshall (Unattached)
4. Josh Dziewa, Iowa
5. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion
6. Todd Preston, Harvard
7. Shyheim Brown, Maryland
8. Mitch Bengsten, North Dakota State
9. Stephen Rodriquez, Illinois
10. Alex Kocer, South Dakota State
11. Joey McKenna, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club
12. Brandon Wright, Grand View
Jesse Thielke, Wisconsin
Nick Lawrence, Purdue
Jordan Laster, Princeton
Chuck Zeisloft, Rider
Jameson Oster, Northwestern
Alfred Bannister, Maryland
149
1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2. David Habat, Edinboro
3. Brody Grothus, Iowa
4. Lenny Richardson, Old Dominion
5. Adam Krop, Princeton
6. CJ Cobb, Penn
7. BJ Clagon, Rider
8. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
9. Laike Gardner, Lehigh (Unattached)
10. Ryan Lubeck, Wisconsin
11. Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech
12. Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois
Kevin Birmingham, Davidson
Nick Barber, Eastern Michigan
Gustavo Martinez, Grand View
157
1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
2. Cody Pack, South Dakota State
3. Markus Scheidel, Columbia
4. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown
5. Mike Kelly, Iowa
6. Chad Welsh, Rider
7. Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan
8. Doug Welch, Purdue
9. Edwin Cooper, Iowa
10. Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois
11/12. TBD based on entries
165
1. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin
2. Taylor Walsh, Indiana
3. Nick Moore, Iowa
4. Pierce Harger, Northwestern
5. Jackson Morse, Illinois
6. Nestor Taffur (Unattached)
7. Tristan Warner, Old Dominion
8. Adam Fierro, CSU Bakersfield
9. Jesse Stafford, Air Force
10. Jon Schleifer, Princeton
11. Connor Brennan, Rider
12. Pat Robinson, Purdue
Pat Smith, Minnesota
Connor McMahon, SIU-Edwardsville
174
1. Mike Evans, Iowa
2. Zac Brunson, Illinois
3. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech
4. Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield
5. Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State
6. Alex Meyer, Iowa
7. Brock Gutches, Southern Oregon
8. Nate Jackson, Indiana
9. Burke Paddock, Iowa
10. John Sebastian, Northwestern (Unattached)
11. Chad Welch, Purdue
12. Connor Lefever, Wabash
184
1. Lorenzo Thomas, Penn
2. Jack Dechow, Old Dominion
3. Sammy Brooks, Iowa
4. Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State
5. Ophir Bernstein, Brown
6. Vic Avery, Edinboro
7. Nikko Reyes, Illinois
8. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin
9. Austin Gabel, Virginia Tech
10. Clint Morrison, Rider
11. Brett Harner, Princeton
12. Zach Hernandez, Columbia
Patrick Kissel, Purdue
Riley Lefever, Wabash
197
1. Nathan Burak, Iowa (Unattached)
2. Alex Polizzi, Northwestern
3. Abram Ayala, Princeton
4. Braden Atwood, Purdue
5. Nathan Rotert, South Dakota State
6. Timmy McCall, Wisconin
7. Joe Rau, Minnesota Storm
8. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech
9. Lucas Sheridan, Indiana
10. James Fox, Harvard
11. Vince Pickett, Edinboro
12. Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois
Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion
Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan
Shane Siefert, UW Whitewater
Frank Mattiace, Penn (Unattached)
Canaan Bethea, Penn
285
1. Mike McMullan, Northwestern
2. Bobby Telford, Iowa
3. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
4. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech
5. Evan Knutson, North Dakota State
6. Tyler Deuel, Binghamton
7. Jacob Henderson, Old Dominion
8. J.J. Everard, South Dakota State
9. Ray O'Donnell, Princeton
10. David Ng, Harvard
11. Garrett Ryan, Columbia
12. Brooks Black, Illinois
Marcus Malechek, Air Force
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.