NORFOLK, Va. – After a dominant 4-0 showing at the 35th annual Virginia Duals, redshirt sophomore Jack Dechow (Richmond, Ill.) was named the Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week. This marks Dechow’s third career honor.
No. 2 Dechow went a perfect 4-0 at the Duals, helping Old Dominion to a third-place finish overall. In the first match against No. 3 (Division II) Nebraska-Kearney, Dechow handled his competition, taking down Chance Bila by a 17-1 tech fall earning five points for the Monarchs. Against No. 15 Bucknell, Dechow defeated Thomas Sleigh by an 8-3 decision, earning three more team points.
In the toughest match of the weekend, Dechow faced NCAA qualifier Austin Gabel from No. 6 Virginia Tech. Dechow came out on top by a 6-3 decision, again earning three team points. ODU fell to Virginia Tech by a close 19-15 margin and faced No. 10 Edinboro in the third-place match.
Dechow faced No. 12 Vic Avery in his final bout and earned his 12th-consecutive win by an 8-1 decision. ODU went 3-1 overall at the duals and earned third place. Dechow earned 14 team points over the weekend, totaling 29 for the season.
He is now 17-1 on the season and 8-1 in dual action and has claimed the NC State Open title and was crowned the Midlands champion this season. The 2014 All-American has highlighted the season with wins over No. 13 Vic Avery (Edinboro), No. 16 Benjamin Stroh (Wyoming), No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa) and No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn).
The Monarchs return to the mat on Sunday, as they travel to American for a 2:00 p.m. match.
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