NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion University wrestling team will send seven grapplers to St. Louis next week for the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, tying the school record that was set in 2012. The event will be held on March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center.
Chris Mecate (141), Lenny Richardson (149), Tristan Warner (165), Jack Dechow (184), Kevin Beazley (197) and Jake Henderson (285) earned automatic bids to the national tournament following their performance at the Mid-American Conference Championships last weekend. Sophomore Brandon Jeske (125) was awarded an at-large berth by the NCAA selection committee and will make his second–straight appearance on the national stage.
A returning All-American, No. 2 Dechow punched his ticket to the big show after claiming his second-consecutive 184-pound title at the MAC tournament last weekend. He avenged his only loss of the season to Willie Miklus of Missouri by notching a 6-4 decision over the runner-up. Dechow will enter the NCAA tournament with a 25-match winning streak.
No. 10 Mecate, No. 7 Richardson and No. 11 Warner each secured their qualifying spot after placing second at the conference tournament. All three grapplers will be making their third trip to the national tournament. Beazley and Henderson also qualified after finishing in third place. This marks the first qualification for both wrestlers. Jeske wrestled tough competition throughout the season, which proved to be enough to give him a wildcard selection.
Old Dominion has sent at least two athletes to the NCAA Championships in each of head coach Steve Martin’s 11 seasons. Overall, Martin has coached 49 qualifiers over the years. This year marks the second time, and first time since 2012 that ODU has sent seven wrestlers to the national tournament.
The seeds for the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be released tonight at 6:00 p.m. More information about the national championships will be released on odusports.com soon.
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