COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Old Dominion wrestling team saw redshirt sophomore Jack Dechow named MAC champion, while three others earned second place and two earned third place laurels. Based on the final results, ODU will send six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, just one shy of a school record.
“We wrestled alright today,” said Head Coach Steve Martin. “There were a couple of matches that we could have stolen. Overall, the kids wrestled hard and gave it all they had. But again, I want to stress that this is a qualifying tournament for NCAA’s. You have to get there to be able to be on the podium to claim a national title. We are really looking forward to going to the Scottrade Center in a couple of weeks and competing."
“We punched through Chris Mecate at 141, Lenny Richardson at 149, Tristan Warner and 165, Jack Dechow at 184, Kevin Beazley at 197 and Jake Henderson at heavyweight. We have six going right now and there is a possibility for Brandon Jeske to get an at-large at 125.”
Missouri won the tournament crown with 139.5 total points, while ODU ranked second with 97.5 points. Ohio claimed third with 85.5, Kent State was fourth with 75.5 and Central Michigan rounded out the top-5 with 74.5 points. Northern Iowa (72.5), Northern Illinois (40.0) and Eastern Michigan 28.5 completed the team results.
“Overall, it was the best we have ever done at the MAC Tournament so we are all happy with that. We placed second behind Missouri, who will contend for a national title. This conference tournament will definitely prepare us for the NCAA Tournament.”
Dechow was crowned champion for the second time of his young career. He faced Willie Miklus from Missouri in the final bout, the only wrestler to hand Dechow a loss this season. Dechow recorded the early takedown to hold a 2-0 lead, but Miklus escaped 11 seconds later. Dechow chose down to start the second period and escaped with ease, but Miklus notched a takedown to tie the score up a 3-3. Dechow never gave up and escaped from Miklus to hold a 4-3 lead at the end of the second period. Miklus escaped from Dechow to start the third period and made the score 4-4 with 1:45 left. With about three seconds left Dechow took down Miklus to earn two points and the 184-pound crown for the second-straight year.
“Jack did what he does best again, which is just put points on the board,” said Martin. “He has been having a very successful season. He will contend for a national title, which will be interesting to see in a couple of weeks.”
Chris Mecate, Lenny Richardson and Tristan all had chances to take the title at their respective weight classes, but fell in the championship finals to take home second place. All three grapplers qualified for the NCAA Championships that will be held in St. Louis on March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center.
Mecate wrestled hard and sent his match into overtime after accruing over a minute of riding time, but No. 1 seed Zach Horan (CMU) recorded a takedown in sudden victory to earn the 5-3 win. Richardson faced Drake Houdashelt of Missouri in the final bout, but Houdashelt was the one to come out on top by a 5-2 decision. Warner took on Cooper Moore from UNI and fell by a 7-1 decision to earn second place.
Kevin Beazley and Jake Henderson each punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament by placing third in their weight class. Beazley started the day out strong, defeating Basil Minto of Northern Iowa by a 6-3 decision to advance to the third-place match. He then went on to win the third-place bout by injury default over Shawn Scott from Northern Illinois. Henderson took down Jesse Webb from Ohio, for the second time this season, by a 4-0 decision to advance. In the third-place bout, he defeated Mimmo Lytle of Kent State by a 2-1 decision to make his first trip to the NCAA tournament.
Brandon Jeske and Michael Hayes each picked up a fifth-place finish on the day. Jeske fell to Brent Fleetwood of Central Michigan in the consolation semi-finals by a 4-2 decision, while Hayes dropped a 5-2 decision to Kagan Squire from Ohio. Both came back to win the fifth-place match. After trailing much of the match, Jeske came back late in the third period to pick up a 5-4 decision over Del Vinas from Kent State. Hayes picked up the fifth-place finish after Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) forfeited.
Austin Coburn rounded out the placers for ODU, as he finished in sixth place. He fell to Caleb Marsh in the consolation semifinals by a 10-0 decision. In the fifth-place match, he fell by a narrow 5-4 decision to Trace Engelkes from Northern Illinois.
Final Team Scores:
1. Missouri 139.5
2. Old Dominion 97.5
3. Ohio 85.5
4. Kent State 75.5
5. Central Michigan 74.5
6. Northern Iowa 72.5
7. Northern Illinois 40.0
8. Eastern Michigan 28.5
Results:
125 - Brandon Jeske (Fifth Place)
Brent Fleetwood (CMU) over Brandon Jeske (ODU) 4-2 dec.
Brandon Jeske (ODU) over Del Vinas (KSU) 5-4 dec.
133 – Michael Hayes (Fifth Place)
Kagan Squire (Ohio) over Michael Hayes (ODU) 5-1 dec.
Michael Hayes (ODU) over Vincent Pizutto (EMU) For.
141 – Chris Mecate (Second Place)
Zach Horan (CMU) over Chris Mecate (ODU) 5-3 SV-1
149 – Lenny Richardson (Second Place)
Drake Houdashelt (Mizzou) over Lenny Richardson (ODU) 5-2 dec.
165 – Tristan Warner (Second Place)
Cooper Moore (UNI) over Tristan Warner (ODU) 7-1 dec.
174 – Austin Coburn (Sixth Place)
Claeb Marsh (KSU) over Austin Coburn (ODU) 10-0 major dec.
Austin Coburn (ODU) over Trace Engelkes (NIU)
184 – Jack Dechow (First Place)
Jack Dechow (ODU) over Willie Miklus (Mizzou) 6-4 dec.
197 – Kevin Beazley (Third Place)
Kevin Beazley (ODU) over Basil Minto (UNI) 6-3 dec.
Kevin Beazley (ODU) over Shawn Scott (NIU) Inj. Def.
285 – Jake Henderson (Third Place)
Jake Henderson (ODU) over Jesse Webb (Ohio) 4-0 dec.
Jake Henderson (ODU) over Mimmo Lytle (KSU) 2-1 dec.