HAMPTON, Va. -- The Old Dominion wrestling team dropped its final dual meet of the 2016 Virginia Duals to Kent State, 23-13, to finish second in the silver bracket with a 2-2 record for the tournament. Brandon Jeske and Chris Mecate finished the weekend undefeated at 4-0.
"We were very impressed with Brandon Jeske this weekend," head coach Steve Martin said. "He really got back in his groove and dominated his first three opponents. It was good to see him putting up bonus points. We come to the Virginia Duals because it always pits us against high-level competitors and gives us the opportunity to wrestle teams we wouldn't normally run into until the NCAA tournament. We took away a lot of things to work on from this weekend and will continue to build for the NCAAs in March which is our main focus."
Beginning at 125, Brandon Jeske earned a takedown in the last 10 seconds of his bout against Kent State's Del Vinas to win, 3-1. The Golden Flashes responded at 133 as tenth-ranked Mack McGuire used a first period takedown, second period escape and a riding time point to upend the Monarchs' Emilio Saavedra, 4-2.
In the 141 bout, Chris Mecate finished the weekend undefeated with a third period rideout of Anthony Tutolo. The fifth-year senior yielded a stalling point in the final minute but was able to keep Tutolo from escaping to claim the 2-1 victory.
Alexander Richardson dominated Chance Driscoll, 11-2, at 149 to extend the Monarchs' lead to 10-3, but Kent State responded with a major decision of their own at 157 as Casey Sparkman defeated Austin Eads, 14-5.
At 165, Kent State's Tyler Buckwalter used a third period takedown and a four-point nearfall to rack up an 11-2 major decision over ODU freshman Seldon Wright to give the Golden Flashes their first lead of the dual meet, 11-10, but Brooks Climmons' 6-2 victory over Mike Vollant put Old Dominion back out in front, 13-11.
Kent State went on to win three straight matches at 184, 197 and 285 to defeat the Monarchs, 23-13.
ODU finished second in the silver bracket with a 2-2 record for the 2016 Virginia Duals with victories over Campbell and Rider.
The Monarchs will square off against Kent State again on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. in Kent, Ohio.
#15 Kent State 23, #14 ODU 13
125: #19 Brandon Jeske (ODU) dec. Del Vinas (KENT), 3-1
133: #10 Mack McGuire (KENT) dec. #8 Emilio Saavedra (ODU), 4-2
141: #5 Chris Mecate (ODU) dec. Anthony Tutolo (KENT), 2-1
149: #6 Alexander Richardson (ODU) maj. Chance Driscoll (KENT), 11-1
157: Casey Sparkman (KENT) maj. Austin Eads (ODU), 14-5
165: Tyler Buckwalter (KENT) maj. Seldon Wright (ODU), 11-2
174: Brooks Climmons (ODU) dec. Mike Vollant (KENT), 6-2
184: Cole Baxter (KENT) pin. Terrell Forbes (ODU), 1:56
197: Kyle Conel (KENT) dec. Austin Coburn (ODU), 6-2
285: Devin Nye (KENT) dec. Andrew Snyder (ODU), 3-0
NEXT UP
ODU opens up the official MAC dual slate when they host Northern Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. in the Ted Constant Center during Alumni Weekend.
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.
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