NORFOLK, Va. – Out of the seven wrestlers representing Old Dominion University at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, four received a top-15 seed. The championship event will be held on March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
All-American and two-time MAC Champion Jack Dechow earned the No. 4 seed at 184, and MAC runner-up Lenny Richardson is the No. 8 seed at 149. Now three-time NCAA qualifiers, Chris Mecate (141) and Tristan Warner (165) were awarded the No. 11 seed at their respective weight classes.
Brandon Jeske, Kevin Beazley and Jake Henderson will enter the tournament unseeded. Jeske drew Alan Waters (Missouri), the No. 1 seed in the opening round of the 125-pound bracket. Beazley will face the No. 7 seed in Abram Ayala (Princeton), while Henderson will take on No. 15 Ross Larson (Oklahoma).
The Wrestling Monarchs sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships last season in Oklahoma City where they finished tied for 22nd with the University of Virginia.
The NCAA Championships begin at 11 a.m. (CT) on Thursday, March 19 with Session I inside the Scottrade Center. Monarchs’ fans can follow the action live online at ESPN3. The finals will air live on ESPN in Sunday.
ODU’S FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHUPS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – Brandon Jeske (ODU) vs. #1 Alan Waters (Missouri)
141 – #11 Chris Mecate (ODU) vs. Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 – #8 Lenny Richardson (ODU) vs. Chris Perez (Princeton)
165 – #11 Tristan Warner (ODU) vs. Mike England (Missouri) or Tyrel White (Columbia)
184 – #4 Jack Dechow (ODU) vs. Jacob Kasper (Duke)
197 – Kevin Beazley (ODU) vs. Abram Ayala (Princeton)
285 – Jake Henderson (ODU) vs. Ross Larson (Oklahoma