RALEIGH, N.C. -- Despite splitting five matches with No. 3 NC State (11-0), Old Dominion (2-3) fell by a 26-15 score Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina after the Wolfpack picked up bonus points in four matches.
"We wrestled a lot tougher tonight than in any of our other matches and showed a lot of fight," head coach Steve Martin said. "Brooks Climmons picked up a good win and did what he needed to do. Jack Dechow overcame a lot of adversity in a hostile environment, giving up a locked hands, caution and stalling point, but never quit and broke his guy in overtime to secure a big win for us. Emilio Saavedra continues to improve and wrestle tough, and he just has to keep improving on a few technical areas. He is quite a competitor. Richardson controlled his match and got the job done at 149. Chris Mecate pushed the pace against Jack, who is a tremendous competitor. He put points on the scoreboard, and it was fun to watch. I was impressed with how we got off bottom, dictated the pace in overtime and were in good shape tonight. The guys who lost need to stop giving up bonus points, as we split five matches with the No. 3 team but lost on bonus points. This gives us something to build off of heading into Midlands next week."
In the featured bout of the night, a rematch of the 2015 NCAA fifth-place bout at 141, Chris Mecate avenged last season’s loss to Kevin Jack, defeating the nation's second-ranked wrestler 5-3 OT. Jack went up 2-0 in the second with a reversal, but Mecate responded with an escape and a takedown of his own to go up 3-2. After a Jack escape, the bout went to overtime where Mecate scored another takedown to earn the sudden victory.
Starting at 165, NC State’s sixth-ranked 157-pounder Tommy Gantt bumped up a weight class and defeated ODU freshman Seldon Wright by a 21-6 tech fall. Wright scored the opening takedown, but Gantt stormed back to earn the bonus-point win for the Wolfpack.
Trailing 5-0 in the dual score, Old Dominion’s Brooks Climmons earned a 2-1 victory over Nicky Hall at 174 to get the Monarchs on the board. At 184, Jack Dechow trailed 9-3 in the third period but battled back to tie the bout and send it to overtime at 9-9. In the sudden victory period, Dechow outlasted No. 15 Pete Renda to claim the thrilling 11-9 OT victory and give the Monarchs their first lead, 6-5.
The Wolfpack’s No. 18 Michael Boykin claimed a 9-4 victory over Austin Coburn at 197, and two-time defending NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski picked up a first period fall at 285 over Andrew Snyder to give NC State a 14-6 lead heading into the intermission.
At 125, NC State’s Sean Fausz was leading Brandon Jeske 6-5 in the third period when a quick fall was called in the midst of a scramble to give NC State a 20-6 lead. Emilio Saavedra secured a 3-1 decision at 133 over Jamal Morris on the strength of a second period reversal to cut the Wolfpack lead to 20-9 heading into the final three matches.
Alexander Richardson defeated Beau Donahue by a 3-2 score at 149 before Chad Pyke defeated Austin Eads by disqualification in the night’s final match to give the Wolfpack a 26-15 win.
Next up for the Monarchs is the 53rd Annual Midlands Championships at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. Competition will begin Tuesday, Dec. 29 and will conclude on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
NC State 26 Old Dominion 15
125: Sean Fausz (NCS) over Brandon Jeske (ODU) (Fall 5:56)
133: Emilio Saavedra (ODU) over Jamal Morris (NCS) (Dec 3-1)
141: No. 3 Chris Mecate (ODU) over No. 2 Kevin Jack (NCS) (SV-1 5-3)
149: No. 4 Alexander Richardson (ODU) over Beau Donahue (NCS) (Dec 3-2)
157: Chad Pyke (NCS) over Austin Eads (ODU) (DQ)
165: No. 6 (at 157) Thomas Gantt (NCS) over Seldon Wright (ODU) (TF 21-6 5:51)
174: Brooks Climmons (ODU) over Nicky Hall (NCS) (Dec 2-1)
184: No. 3 Jack Dechow (ODU) over No. 15 Pete Renda (NCS) (SV-1 11-9)
197: No. 18 Michael Boykin (NCS) over Austin Coburn (ODU) (Dec 9-4)
285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCS) over Andrew Snyder (ODU) (Fall 0:51)
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