HAMPTON, Va. -- The Old Dominion wrestling team (2-3) is set to compete in the Virginia Duals this weekend at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia on Friday, Jan. 7 and Saturday, Jan. 8. On Friday, ODU will compete in the Poquoson River Pool of the National College Bracket and will square off with Campbell at 11 a.m. before taking on Arizona State at 1 p.m.
The Monarchs head into the annual Virginia Duals after placing seventh as a team at the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern last week. Individually, redshirt Emilio Saavedra stormed onto the national scene by capturing the 133 lb. title, knocking off three nationally ranked wrestlers along the way. Also placing in the event for the Monarchs were Brandon Jeske (eighth at 125) and Chris Mecate (eighth at 141).
In the latest national rankings, ODU boasts five top-20 wrestlers, as Jack Dechow is listed as high as No. 3 by The Open Mat, Chris Mecate is ranked No. 5 by FloWrestling, Alexander Richardson is as high as No. 6 by The Open Mat and Emilio Saavedra is now ranked as high as No. 8 by The Open Mat.
The Campbell Fighting Camels enter the Virginia Duals with a 0-6 dual meet record and an 0-1 mark in Southern Conference action. Campbell is coming off a 14th place finish at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 where two Fighting Camels notched top-eight finishes, as Nathan Kraisser took fourth at 133 and Paul Duggan placed eighth at 165.
The Arizona State Sun Devils enter the weekend with a record of 4-4. The Sun Devils have notched wins over Campbell, Northern Colorado, SIUE and Drexel but have fallen to Illinois, Boise State, Ohio State and West Virginia. Arizona State recently finished in 17th place at the Midlands where 285-pounder Tanner Hall secured a runner-up finish, dropping a narrow 4-3 decision to two-time NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State.
The Monarchs will resume action at the conclusion of the Poquoson River Pool matches in either the Gold, Silver or Bronze Bracket. Silver and Bronze Bracket matches will begin Friday at 3 p.m. while Gold Bracket matches continue Saturday at 2 p.m.
Campbell Probable Starters (11 a.m. on Friday)
125: Collin Stewart or Daniel Ariola
133: Nathan Kraisser
141: Lucas Stewart or Zack Barker
149: Zane Knight or Kaleb Warner
157: Quentin Perez or Daniel Richardson
165: Paul Duggan or Monte Britton
174: Matthew Olauson
184: Ville Heino
197: Austin McNeill or Willie Bivens III
285: Jere Heino or Jeffrey Keyton
Arizona State Probable Starters (1 p.m. on Friday)
125: Ares Carpio
133: Dalton Brady or Cord Coronado
141: Robbie Mathers
149: No. 17 Matthew Kraus
157: Oliver Pierce
165: Jacen Peterson
174: Zach Smith or Preston McCalmon
184: No. 9 Blake Stauffer
197: Josh DaSilveira
285: No. 9 Tanner Hall
Old Dominion Probable Starters
125: Brandon Jeske (5-6)
133: No. 8 Emilio Saavedra (13-2)
141: No. 5 Chris Mecate (8-3)
149: No. 6 Alexander Richardson (9-2)
157: Devin Geoghegan (8-6)
165: Seldon Wright (11-7)
174: Brooks Climmons (4-6)
184: No. 3 Jack Dechow (7-1)
197: Austin Coburn (4-8)
285: John D’Agostino (1-5)
COVERAGE
Live streaming of the event will be provided by FloWrestling (subscription required), and TrackWrestling will also provide live updates from the matches. As always, follow @ODUWrestling on Twitter for live in-match updates as well.
NEXT UP
ODU opens up the MAC dual slate when they host Northern Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. in the Ted Constant Center.
VOUCHER BOOKS
Take advantage of the great offer to attend ODU wrestling matches through the ODU Wrestling Season Ticket Voucher Book available online here. Voucher books can also be purchased at the gate prior to any home event. Each voucher book contains 12 vouchers. These vouchers are good for any regular season ODU home wrestling match during the 2015-2016 season.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For an in-depth look to everything Monarchs Wrestling, make sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter (@ODUWrestling) using the hashtag #ManeFocus and on YouTube and ODUsports.com.