Video Interview with Chris Mecate
NEW YORK -- Chris Mecate put an exclamation point on his decorated wrestling career Saturday morning, downing Solomon Chishko from cross-state rival Virginia Tech, 5-3, to finish fifth at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships before 19,147 fans at Madison Square Garden. Mecate became ODU's seventh two-time All-American and finished with a career record of 115-37, which moves him into a tie for eighth place on the school's all-time wins list.
"We are extremely proud of Chris Mecate for once again earning All-American status," head coach Steve Martin said. "After a hard-fought loss in the closing seconds of the quarters yesterday, he rebounded in a big way by pinning Abidin from Nebraska and beating Joey Ward from UNC. He has gone through a lot of adversity this season and has made so many sacrifices to compete in this weight class. He turned in a very impressive performance this weekend."
In Saturday morning's consolation semifinals, Stanford's second-seeded Joey McKenna used a first period takedown and a point for an illegal hold to down Mecate, 3-1. Later that session, despite giving up a second period reversal, Mecate notched a takedown in the final thirty seconds to break a 3-3 deadlock and claim a 5-3 win over No. 7 Chishko to earn fifth place.
As a team, the Monarchs will finish in a tie for 25th place with Northern Iowa with 17.5 points. ODU has now placed in the top 25 for three consecutive seasons.
With Mecate's fifth place finish, ODU extended its All-American count to 29. The Monarchs have now had at least one wrestler clinch All-American honors in three consecutive seasons.
Steve Martin has now coached eight NCAA Division I All-Americans and has led 54 Monarchs to the NCAA Championships.
"Aside from Mecate's impressive performance, we were really happy with the way Brandon Jeske wrestled," Martin continued. "He knocked off a returning All-American and the No. 2 seed in Joey Dance from Virginia Tech, and he was seconds away from beating another All-American in Darian Cruz from Lehigh. We were not happy with Jack Dechow's draw in the bracket. He got a pigtail and then had No. 1 seed Gabe Dean from Cornell. He battled him closer than anyone the entire tournament, but then he fell into the consolations against the returning national finalist. Jack is already refocused for next year and is ready to be on the top of the podium next season. Lastly, we felt a little short-handed without Alexander Richardson competing here for us, as we felt like he could have been in contention for a national championship."
ODU RESULTS -- DAY 2
Cons. Semi - Joey McKenna (Stanford) 27-3 won by decision over Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 26-8 (Dec 3-1)
5th Place Match - Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 26-8 won by decision over Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) 30-7 (Dec 5-3)