COLUMBIA, Mo. – Old Dominion wrestling completed day one of the Mid-American Conference Championships and saw four wrestlers make it to the championship finals. After the final bouts were done, the Monarchs ranked second in the team standings with 76.5 total points.
“For the most part, I think we wrestled pretty loose and we are looking forward to getting in the zone tomorrow,” said Head Coach Steve Martin. “Staying loose has been a big emphasis pretty much all year and I think they followed that game plan today, but we have to be ready to go tomorrow. Slots to get to the NCAA tournament will be on the line and we have to perform. There are 14 days left in the season and tomorrow is a very important day. It is a qualifier to get to the NCAA’s and once you get there anything can happen!”
“Missouri probably has wrapped up the tournament, but it is a privilege to be in the same conference as the No. 1 team in the country,” said Martin. “I don’t think too many people know they are No. 1 right now. It’s a good feeling anytime our guys can beat a Mizzou wrestler.”
Chris Mecate (141) was the first ODU wrestler to punch his ticket to the championship finals, as he won both of his matches on the day. He took down Tyler Argue from Northern Illinois by a 7-1 decision and then followed with an exciting sudden victory win over Lavion Mayes from Missouri. Mecate will face Zach Horan from Central Michigan tomorrow in the championship final round.
“Mecate wrestled well today,” noted Martin. “It was good to see him beat Lavion Mayes in overtime, but I wasn’t shocked he came out with the win because we were 2-1 against Mayes coming into this tournament.”
Lenny Richardson had a good showing as the No. 2 seed in the 149-pound bracket. He defeated Gunnar Wolfensperger (UNI) with a 12-3 major decision in the quarterfinals to start his day. He advanced to the championship final bout after defeating Mike DePalma from Kent State by a 5-2 decision. Lenny will face the No. 1 seed in Drake Houdashelt from Missouri tomorrow.
“Richardson looked really solid today,” said Martin. “He almost had a pin against DePalma and also had a bonus point match against Wolfensperger. Overall he looked very good today.”
Tristan Warner also advanced to the championship finals, increasing his winning streak to 16 matches. He first took down Devan Marry (EMU) by a 15-4 major decision and then returned to the mat to defeat Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) by a 7-4 decision. Warner will take on Cooper Moore from Northern Iowa tomorrow.
“Warner looked solid against his opponents,” noted Martin. “We have seen these guys so many times that we know what they are going to do and Warner took advantage of that.”
Jack Dechow is making his second appearance in the final round, finishing as the 184-pound champion last season. He started out the day with a 14-5 major decision over Quinton Rosser from Northern Illinois. He followed that with another huge win, as he took down Jerald Spohn by a 16-0 tech fall. Jack will enter the final round with a 24-match winning streak and will face Willie Miklus from Missouri. Miklus handed Dechow his only loss of the season in November.
“Dechow did what he does best, which was put points on the board,” said Martin. “Overall our four finalists wrestled very well today. All of them, during the course of the day, put a lot of points on the board and that is what we have been preaching to them.”
“We have another five guys alive in the tournament and their goal is to come back and get third,” noted Martin. “We want to punch these guys through and put them in the best shape possible for NCAA's. We are preaching to them that what happened today happened. Whether you won or lost, you need to put it behind you and start moving forward tomorrow.”
Brandon Jeske, Kevin Beazley and Jake Henderson all won their first round matches, but fell in the semifinals to their respective opponents. Jeske won his first round bout against Del Vinas from Kent State, but fell to No. 2 seed Dylan Peters by an 8-2 decision. He will face Brent Fleetwood from Central Michigan in the consolation second round. Beazley upset Anthony Abro from Eastern Michigan in tie-breaker 2 (3-2), but fell to Phil Wellington from Ohio by a 6-1 decision. Henderson defeated Gage Hutchison from Eastern Michigan by a 2-0 decision, but fell to Blaize Cabell, the No. 1 seed, by a 4-2 decision. Beazley will take on Basil Minto (UNI), while Henderson will face Jesse Webb (Ohio) in the consolation second round.
Despite losing their quarterfinal match, Michael Hayes and Austin Coburn are still alive. Hayes fell to Tyler Keselring of Central Michigan (2-0 dec.) in the first round, but bounced back to defeat Leighton Gaul from Northern Iowa in the consolation round one by a 12-6 decision. Coburn suffered a tough overtime loss to Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan, but advanced to the second round of the consolation bracket with a 5-3 decision over Curt Maas (UNI).
Geoghegan faced the No. 1 seed in Ian Miller (KSU) in the 157-pound bracket and fell by a 14-5 major. In the consolation round one, he fell to Cody LeCount by a 3-1 decision.
Day One Team Standings:
1. Missouri 122.0
2. Old Dominion 76.5
3. Northern Iowa 63.0
4. Ohio 55.0
5. Central Michigan 54.5
6. Kent State 48.5
7. Eastern Michigan 24.5
8. Northern Illinois 23.5
Day One Results:
125 - Brandon Jeske (Consolation Round Two)
Brandon Jeske (ODU) over Vinas (KSU) 7-2 dec.
Dylan Peters (UNI) over Brandon Jeske (ODU) 8-2 dec.
133 – Michael Hayes (Consolation Round Two)
Tyler Keselring (CMU) over Michael Hayes (ODU) 2-0 dec.
Michael Hayes (ODU) over Leighton Gaul (UNI) 12-6 dec.
141 – Chris Mecate (Championship Finals)
Chris Mecate (ODU) over Tyler Argue (NIU) 7-1 dec.
Chris Mecate (ODU) over Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) 3-1 SV-1
149 – Lenny Richardson (Championship Finals)
Lenny Richardson (ODU) over Gunnar Wolfensperger (UNI) 12-3 major dec.
Lenny Richardson (ODU) over Mike DePalma (KSU) 5-2 dec.
157 – Devin Geoghegan
Ian Miller (KSU) over Devin Geoghegan (ODU) 14-5 major dec.
Cody LeCount (CMU) over Devin Geoghegan (ODU) 3-1 dec.
165 – Tristan Warner (Championship Finals)
Tristan Warner (ODU) over Devan Marry (EMU) 15-4 major dec.
Tristan Warner (ODU) over Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) 7-4 dec.
174 – Austin Coburn (Consolation Round Two)
Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) over Austin Coburn (ODU) 4-2 SV-2
Austin Coburn (ODU) over Curt Maas (UNI) 5-3 dec.
184 – Jack Dechow (Championship Finals)
Jack Dechow (ODU) over Quinton Rosser (NIU) 14-5 major dec.
Jack Dechow (ODU) over Jerald Spohn (KSU) 16-0 tech fall
197 – Kevin Beazley (Consolation Second Round)
Kevin Beazley (ODU) over Anthony Abro (EMU) 3-2 TB-2
Phil Wellington (Ohio) over Kevin Beazley (ODU) 6-1 dec.
285 – Jake Henderson (Consolation Second Round)
Jake Henderson (ODU) over Gage Hutchison (EMU) 2-0 dec.
Blaize Cabell (UNI) over Jake Henderson (ODU) 4-2 dec.