Missouri Freshman J'Den Cox Wins National Championship
2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships Final Brackets
Missouri freshman J'Den Cox defeated Ohio State's Nick Heflin, 2-1, to win the NCAA National Championship Match at the 197 weight class. Cox entered the championsip match seeded No. 2 against the No. 1 seed Heflin. With the win, Cox becomes the ninth MAC wrestler to become a National Champion and the first since Kent State's Dustin Kilgore (197 lbs.) in 2011.
For just the 14th time in the NCAA Championships 84-year history, a true freshman has been crowned national champion. Mizzou's No. 2-seed J'den Cox stormed to the top of a 197-pound weight class that featured three seniors in the final four, engraving his name in Mizzou lore with a 2-1 decision over No. 1 Nick Heflin Saturdaynight. Cox becomes Mizzou's youngest national champion, joining Tiger greats Ben Askren, Max Askren and Mark Ellis. Cox's title is the fifth in program history.
Cox broke the scoreless tie in thesecond period of the 197-final, escaping in four seconds after starting the period in the down position. Heflin escaped to tie in the third, but Cox continued to shoot and Heflin was hit for his second stall call, giving Cox the 2-1 lead and eventually the title.
MAC National Champions
1952 Harry Lanzi, Toledo – 191
1964 Harry Houska, Ohio – 191
1971 Greg Wojciechowski, Toledo – Hwt.
1974 Doug Wyn, WMU – 167
1978 Andy Daniels, Ohio – 118
1998 Dwight Gardner, Ohio – 158
1999 Casey Cunningham, CMU – 157
2011 Dustin Kilgore, Kent State - 197
2014 J'Den Cox, Missouri - 197
2014 All-Americans:
Joe Roth, Central Michigan, finished 7th at the 133 weight class
Ian Miller, Kent State, finished 4th at the 141 weight class
J'Den Cox, Missouri, finished 1st at the 197 weight class -- National Champion
Drake Houdashelt, Missouri, finished 5th at the 149 weight class
Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa, finished 6th at the 125 weight class
Joe Colon, Northern Iowa, finished 3rd at the 133 weight class
Joey Lazor, Northern Iowa, finished 6th at the 141 weight class
Jeremy Johnson, Ohio, finished 7th in the heavyweight class
Jack Dechow, Old Dominion finished 4th in the 184 weight class
Central Michigan:
All-American Roth Wins Finale, Places 7th at NCAA
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – He walked off the mat a winner, and an All-American. Central Michigan University’s Joe Roth defeated Cody Brewer of Oklahoma, 8-6, Saturday to place seventh at 133 pounds at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena. By virtue of finishing in the top eight, Roth earned All-America honors and closed his senior season 28-9 and his career 100-37.
“It’s awesome,” Roth said. “That’s something that nobody will ever be able to take away from you.
“I remember on my recruiting visit when I was a junior in high school and the All-American plaques were hanging on the wall across the hall from (the coaches) office and I was like, ‘Oh man, it would be cool to have one of those.’
“It’s cool to be a part of that. It’s definitely gratifying to see all that hard work pay off. I played some other sports when I was a kid and when I was in high school. Nothing compared to wrestling, the gratification of winning. It’s a full-time job and to see your hard work pay off, that was important to me.”
Roth was seeded 12th entering the tournament. He finished 5-2 in the three-day event, and his ledger included victories over over the fourth seed and the seventh seed.
“He was seeded 12th so he (started) four spots from even being on the podium,” CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. “He had to wrestle a really good tournament and he had to upset some people he wasn’t supposed to beat and he did that.
“You know all the things that these kids go through, the ups and downs. There’s a lot involved in this sport so you’re just glad that when it’s all over with that they can be happy.”
There were many more ups than downs for Roth in Oklahoma City. He opened with an 11-3 major win over Kevin Devoy of Drexel, then dropped a 10-5 decision to fifth-seeded Tyler Graff of Wisconsin. Graff is scheduled to wrestle for the championship Saturday night against third-seeded Tony Ramos of Iowa.
The loss to Graff dropped Roth into the wrestlbacks. He began the rugged road back with a 15-4 major over Chuck Zeisloft of Rider, setting up a showdown with old nemesis Jonathon Morrison of Oklahoma State.
Both Roth and Morrison are Illinois natives, and Morrison was seeded fourth in the tournament. Roth pulled out a 5-4 victory, his first ever over Morrison. Morrison had defeated Roth, 3-2, on Jan. 1.
“Beating Morrison in the second round of the wrestlebacks was really big,” Borrelli said. “They’re both from the state of Illinois. I don’t know how many times they wrestled each other in high school or in middle school or in youth wrestling, and Joe had never beaten him in his life.”
Roth then faced seventh-seeded Chasé Quiroga of Purdue. The winner would be guaranteed a top-eight finish, and All-America status. Roth emerged with a 5-3 victory, after which he euphorically leaped into Borrelli’s arms.
“Coach Borrelli’s done a heck of a job of just drilling into my mind that you can’t let others’ opinions become your reality,” Roth said. “To me that’s what the rankings are. Once you get out of the regular season, you start back over and everyone’s 0-0. It’s any man’s game.
“I just stuck to my game plan. I did everything right in practice and it carried over to the national tournament.”
A 6-1 loss to sixth-seeded Mason Beckman of Lehigh left Roth in the seventh-place match on Saturday morning. Roth wrestled a near-flawless match against Oklahoma’s Brewer, who was seeded 13th.
The win over Brewer unfolded much as the entire week did for Roth, who said that, in retrospect, he may have wrestled the best tournament of his career.
“As far as not making mistakes and just wrestling well, it was,” he said. “There was a little bit of pressure at the beginning of the tournament, at the beginning of the season, but I’m happy with my performance, this weekend especially. And I feel like I wrestled a really good tournament.
“There’s a couple of matches that I wish I could re-do, but that is what it is now. But overall, I’m happy with my performance.”
Roth is the lone senior among the five Chippewas who qualified for the NCAA Championships. Four of those CMU student-athletes won at least two matches in the tournament.
Roth extended CMU’s streak to 12 of having at least one wrestler earn All-America status.
“I’m proud of that, but you always want more,” Borrelli said. “You think you’re capable of more. The program’s capable of a lot more. This was a tough year for us. It was up and down, we never really had the consistency we wanted. We had some really tough losses dual-meet wise, but we’re moving in the right direction. It’s still going to be a lot of work, but we’re getting to where we want to be.
“We have some young guys in the room who we feel like with some seasoning and some hard work this spring and summer, we think they can really contribute.”
Kent State:
Miller Knocks Off Defending Champion in Fourth Place Finish
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kent State sophomore Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) won over the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd Saturday morning with an action-packed 14-9 victory over defending NCAA champion Derek St. John of Iowa. Miller then settled for a fourth place finish, falling to top-seeded James Green of Nebraska in the consolation finals.
Miller used five different moves for five different takedowns, including four in the first period against St. John. Working from his patented underhook, Miller hoisted St. John high in the air with one leg to set up his opening takedown and catch the attention of thousands of fans. He soon followed with an outside single leg shot that knocked St. John over.
After being awarded a penalty point, Miller took St. John for another ride, this time with a double leg shot, giving him a 7-3 lead. A lightning fast duck-under gave Miller a commanding 9-3 lead after one period. Miller scored a pair of escapes in the second, another takedown in the third and secured a riding time point.
"He really mixed it up," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said of Miller's offense. "When he gets guys to come at him like that it's easier for him to hit all those different types of moves. Any time you get an Iowa guy out there, everybody's going to be watching. He was really explosive and took some fancy shots that created a lot of excitement for the fans."
A more rested Green won his consolation semifinal by forfeit Saturday morning, before downing Miller 13-1. Green jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with a double leg takedown and a tilt.
"Taking fourth is good at this tournament, but he was literally 20 seconds away from being in the finals," Andrassy said. "I'm real proud of him. And now he's got to improve. I think the redshirt last year helped him and now he realizes how close he is to being a national champion. The four guys at the top of his weight class are all really close."
Miller joins Dustin Kilgore as just the second Kent State wrestler since 1985 to place in the top four at the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Michael DePalma also showed promise at the NCAA Championships, going 2-2 with an upset of No. 7 seed Gus Sako of Virginia.
"Mike was literally a headlock away from having three wins here," Andrassy said. "And who knows what could happen from there. To come here and get two wins in your first year in the lineup puts him right on pace with some of the best guys we've had in recent years. We have to get him and Ian in the room together as much as we possibly can. It's going to make both of them better."
Missouri:
True Freshman Cox Crowned National Champion; J'den Cox becomes the youngest national champion in Mizzou Wrestling history
OKLAHOMA CITY - For just the 14th time in the NCAA Championships 84-year history, a true freshman has been crowned national champion. Mizzou's two-seed J'den Cox stormed to the top of a 197-pound weight class that featured three seniors in the final four, engraving his name in Mizzou lore with a 2-1 decision over No. 1 Nick Heflin Saturdaynight. Cox becomes Mizzou's youngest national champion, joining Tiger greats Ben Askren, Max Askren and Mark Ellis. Cox's title is the fifth in program history.
"It feels amazing. I've worked so hard," said Missouri's fifth national champion. "I was telling all these guys, losing here means I've got to push the restart button again. I didn't feel like doing that at all in this tournament, and came through all the training. Everything I've gone through this summer, morning practices, two-a-days, everything, it's come down to this, winning the gold."
Cox broke the scoreless tie in thesecond period of the 197-final, escaping in four seconds after starting theperiod in the down position. Heflin escaped to tie in the third, but Cox continued to shoot and Heflin was hit for his second stall call, giving Cox the 2-1 lead and eventually the title.
"I didn't just imagine it. I dreamed it. This is a dream of mine. It's something I put all of my heart and work to and I always tell people there's no point -- I see it this way: There's no point to do something if you're not going to push yourself to try to do it to the best of your ability."
"I'm so happy for him," said Head Coach Brian Smith. "He's an amazing athlete and such a student of the sport. He's was so confident and focused coming in after high school and then he lost (to Wellington). He is always focused but after that it was this incrediblyintense focus, and he just kept getting better and better and better. He's an amazing kid."
In five matches in Oklahoma City, Cox never gave up a takedown. A 10-4 decision over Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) and a 19-6 major over No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue) on Thursday sent Cox to Friday's quarterfinal round, where he would become the youngest Tiger to claim All-American honors with a 5-1 decision over Duke's Conner Hartmann. The first-year Tiger scored three points in the second period of the semifinal bout versus No. 14 Chris Penny (VT) and added a point for ride time to set up Saturday's title match.
The Mizzou champion's .950 winning percentage (38-2) in 2013-14 is the best mark posted by a freshman in Mizzou Wrestling history, surpassing Ben Askren's 32-5 freshman campaign. It also sits as the third-best winning percentage in program history, with Askren boasting two perfect seasons (2006, 2007).
Cox opened up 2013-14 with 10 straight victories and two open tournament titles at 197 pounds at the Daktronics Open and Joe Parisi Open. Cox's first loss since his freshman year of high school came in his first career home dual at Mizzou to Ohio's No. 15 Phil Wellington, a 6-4 decision on December 6. Cox would become champion in four of five tournaments throughout his true freshman campaign, with his lone setback coming at the Southern Scuffle where he finished third. Cox fell to No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) in sudden victory of the semifinals for his second loss of theseason. Despite his third place finish, he picked up two signature wins over No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) on day two of the Scuffle including an 8-2 trumping of the Nittany Lion in the third place match, catapulting him up the 197-pound rankings.
The Columbia, Mo.-native finished 11-1 in dual play, starting each of Mizzou's 12 duals. Down in Norman, Okla., Cox jumped to the No. 2-spot in the country after a 6-1 disposal of No. 3 Travis Rutt (Oklahoma). At the MAC Championships, Cox cruised to the finals with a21-6 tech fall over Jackson Lewis (Central Michigan) and an 11-1 major decision over NIU's Shawn Scott to set up a rematch with Ohio's Wellington. Cox would avenge his first collegiate loss by way of a 10-1 major. His championship performance earned him the MAC Championship's 'Most Outstanding Wrestler.'
Mizzou junior-captain Drake Houdashelt won a 3-0 decision over Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh) to take fifth place at 149 pounds at the 2014 National Championships Saturday morning. Houdashelt's podium finish gives him All-American status for the second time in as many years. He took sixth in last year's NCAAs in Des Moines, Iowa.
With Brian Smith at the helm, 20 All-Americans have now come through Columbia, Mo., claiming 33 total medals. Cox's and Houdashelt's 2014 finishes make it 55 Mizzou All-Americans at the NCAA Championships since the programs beginning in 1923. Smith's squads have had 13 consecutive winning seasons after posting a 10-2 dual record in 2013-14. The program also picked up their third-consecutive conference title in comeback fashion earlier this month, edging out top-10 program UNI with 118.5 team points.
The Tigers finished the 2014 NCAAs in 14th place with 40.5 points. The Penn State Nittany Lions won their fourth-consecutive team title with 109.5 team points.
RESULTS
133 - Matt Manley
Champ. Round 1: Matt Manley decision over Mack McGuire (KentState) in sudden victory 2, 7-5.
Champ. Round 2: No. 1 Joe Colon (UNI) decision over Matt Manley, 5-1.
Cons. Round 2: Mark Grey (Cornell) decision over Matt Manley, 3-0.
141 - Lavion Mayes
Champ. Round 1: No. 2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) fall over Lavion Mayes at 2:48.
Cons. Round 1: Lavion Mayes major decision over Avery Garner(Utah Valley), 15-5.
Cons. Round 2: Lavion Mayes decision over Laike Gardner (Lehigh), 9-5.
Cons. Round 3: Luke Vaith (Hofstra) decision over Lavion Mayes, 6-2.
149 - No. 1 Drake Houdashelt - ALL-AMERICAN (FIFTH)
Champ. Round 1: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt major decision over Alex Kocer (SDSU), 12-3.
Champ. Round 2: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt major decision over No. 16 Alex Richardson (ODU), 13-0.
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt decision over No. 9 Eric Grajales (Michigan), 3-1.
Semifinals: No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (NW) decision over No. 1 Drake Houdashelt in tie-breaker 1, 2-1.
Cons. Semifinal: No. 8 David Habat (Edin) decision over No. 1 Drake Houdashelt, 5-4.
Fifth Place Match: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt decision over No. 15 Mitchell Minotti, 3-0.
157 - No. 14 Joey Lavallee
Champ. Round 1: No. 14 Joey Lavallee decision over Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke), 10-3.
Champ. Round 2: No. 3 Alex Dieringer (OSU) fall over No. 14 Joey Lavallee at 1:38.
Cons. Round 2: No. 14 Joey Lavallee technical fall over Johnny Greisheimer (Edinboro), 22-7.
Cons. Round 3: No. 14 Joey Lavallee major decision over PaulHancock (Army), 14-4.
Cons. Round 4: No. 1 James Green (Neb) major decision over No. 14 Joey Lavallee, 12-2.
165 - Zach Toal
Champ. Round 1: No. 7 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) fall overZach Toal at 3:31.
Cons. Round 1: Austin Wilson (Nebraska) decision over Zach Toal, 6-1.
174 - Mikey England
Champ. Round 1: No. 2 Andrew Howe (Oklahoma) technical fall over Mikey England, 19-4 in 5:58.
Cons. Round 1: Shane Hughes (Columbia) fall over Mikey England at 3:00.
197 - No. 2 J'den Cox - ALL-AMERICAN (CHAMPION)
Champ. Round 1: No. 2 J'den Cox decision over Mario Gonzalez (Illinois), 10-4.
Champ. Round 2: No. 2 J'den Cox major decision over No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue), 19-6.
Quarterfinals: No. 2 J'den Cox decision over Conner Hartmann (Duke), 5-1.
Semifinals: No. 2 J'den Cox decision over No. 14 Chris Penny (VT), 4-1.
Finals: No. 2 J'den Cox decision over No. 1 Nick Heflin (Ohio State), 2-1.
HWT - Devin Mellon
Champ. Round 1: No. 9 Connor Medberry (Wisconsin) major decision over Devin Mellon, 11-2.
Cons. Round 1: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) decision over Devin Mellon in sudden victory 1, 6-4.
Mizzou's Houdashelt Takes Fifth at Nationals; Drake Houdashelt is a two-time All-American in his three trips to the NCAAs
OKLAHOMA CITY - Mizzou junior-captain Drake Houdashelt won a 3-0 decision over Mitchell Minotti (Leh) to take fifth place at 149 pounds at the 2014 National Championships Saturday morning. Houdashelt's podium finish gives him All-American status for the second time in as many years. He took sixth in last year's NCAAs in Des Moines, Iowa.
Houdashelt got things going with a quick escape in the second period and tacked on another two points with a takedown a minute and a half later. That's all he would need, as the Tiger junior finishes the season with an outstanding 38-3 record. Houdashelt's third loss of the season came at the hands of No. 8 David Habat (Edinboro) in the wrestleback semifinals, 4-3.
With only three losses in 41 matches, Houdashelt finishes his junior year with a .927 winning percentage. His successes put him in seventh all-time for winning percentage in a single season. Houdashelt is the 15th multi-All-American winner out of Mizzou's 36 All-Americans. Drake led all Tigers in bonus point victories on the season (24), and his 12 majors ties for most in a season which he set last year. He finishes 2014 with 97 career wins, just three shy from joining Missouri's elite 100-win club.
Northern Iowa:
Joe Colon Takes Third to Lead Wrestlers at 2014 NCAAs
OKLAHOMA CITY – UNI wrestler Dylan Peters became the highest placing freshman at the NCAA national tournament since assistant coach Mark Schwab was fifth in 1986. Joe Colon, Joey Lazor and Peters earned their first All-America titles. Colon led the team with his third-place finish. Last time UNI had three All-Americans was 2002.
“We have to win tough matches in tough situations, and Colon is the guy who did that for us,” said head coach Doug Schwab.
UNI hasn’t had a freshman earn All-America honors since Cedar Falls standout Tony Wieland took eighth in 1996.
The team was in 13th place heading into the finals. UNI hasn’t cracked the top 10 since 1992.
“We not just taking short cuts,” Colon said. “We are building, and we know what we have to do to win. We have to go out there and fight and we have to scrap and that’s what we are doing in the room. And we have to carry that out on the mat.
125 – DYLAN PETERS 6th
Peters, who has never given up bonus points in a match, held on to fight off a near fall against No. 16 Joey Dance. Peters countered back and was within one point nearing the end, but Dance prevailed with the 10-8 decision. Dance is the first true freshman to pick up All-American honors for Virginia Tech.
Peters had to settle for sixth place as Cory Clark earned a decision, winning 8-1.
133 – JOE COLON 3rd
Colon dominated his first match to beat Mason Beckman of Lehigh 4-0 and won the rematch with A.J. Schopp of Edinboro. Colon’s rise in the rankings came after a win earlier in the season when Colon beat Schopp and Ramos in back-to-back matches at the Midlands en route to a championship.
“It hurts, just like yesterday hurt,” Colon said. “I don’t have another chance to be a national champ, but I can go get bigger things in life: coach someone to a national championship, help some of the guys in the room become a nation champ, help this team – help UNI - become national team champs. I don’t know where that it is going to take me just going to take the same path I’ve been taking and keep my head up.”
141 – JOEY LAZOR 6th
Lazor suffered an injury early in the first period against No. 9 Evan Henderson. He closed the gap but was unable to close out the win, losing 11-8. Lazor was unable to return to the tournament, giving No. 3 Zain Retherford of Penn State the forfeit and fifth place.
RESULTS
125: No. 5 DYLAN PETERS
Day 1: Peters dec. Nick Roberts (Ohio State), 9-3; Peters dec. No. 12 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 7-5
Day 2: Peters dec. Earl Hall (Iowa State), 4-2 SV; No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. Peters, 9-6
Day 3: No. 16 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec Peters, 10-8; No. 8 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Peters, 8-1
133: No. 1 JOE COLON
Day1: Colon maj. dec. Vincent Delleface (Rutgers), 9-1; Colon dec. Matt Manley (Missouri), 5-1
Day 2: Colon maj. dec. No. 8 David Thorn (Minnesota), 19-9; No. 5 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. Colon, 6-4
Day 3: Colon dec. No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 4-0; Colon dec. No. 2 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro), 1-0
141: No. 11 JOEY LAZOR
Day 1: Lazor dec. Sam Speno (North Carolina State), 6-0; Lazor dec. No. 6 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 10-8
Day 2: No. 3 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. Lazor, 5-2; Lazor dec. No. 8 Luke Vaith (Hofstra), 1-0; Lazor fall No. 13 Stephen Dutton III (Michigan), 3:27
Day 3: No. 9 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) dec. Lazor, 11-8; No. 3 Zain Retherford wins by medical forfeit over Lazor
Ohio:
Johnson Places Seventh at NCAA Championships; Bobcat senior closes 2013-14 campaign with a 41-5 record
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Senior heavyweight Jeremy Johnson concluded his record-breaking Ohio University career Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over Oklahoma State's Austin Marsden during Session V of the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships. With the win, Johnson (Broadview Heights, Ohio) finished seventh overall at heavyweight for the second time in his career.
His win over Marsden also gave him his 41st win on the year and his 143rd career victory. His 41 wins are a single season career best. Johnson finished the year by winning 20 of his final 22 bouts to close out the year en route to picking up his second career All-America honor.
Through five sessions at the NCAA Championships, Ohio is in 35th place in the team standings. Minnesota owns the team lead with 104 points. Final round competition begins tonight at 8 p.m. EST inside Chesapeake Arena. ESPN will provide exclusive live coverage of the event. The Parade of All-Americans will begin at 7:35 p.m. EST.
Old Dominion:
DECHOW PLACES 4TH AT NCAA'S AND IS CROWNED AN ALL-AMERICAN
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – On Saturday, Old Dominion University’s Jack Dechow split his two matches and finished fourth in the 184-pound bracket of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, becoming the 26th All-American in school history and first ever at his weight class, while undoubtedly being one of the youngest to ever to accomplish such an astonishing feat.
With just the 10 National Championships remaining, Steve Martin’s Wrestling Monarchs currently sit in 23rd place with 18.5 points in the Team Standings, which is tied with the University of Virginia.
For a chance to wrestle in the Third Place Match, No. 13 seeded Jack Dechow had a showdown with No. 7 seeded Kevin Steinhaus of Minnesota, who has qualified for three NCAA Tournaments and earned All-American status at all three.
Just over a minute into the first period, Dechow scored a takedown, in which Steinhaus would later escape, giving ODU’s Richmond, Illinois’ native a 2-1 advantage after the first three minutes.
Dechow started the second period on bottom and escaped just four seconds in. Old Dominion’s redshirt freshman then took Steinhaus down again at the 1:11 mark to give Dechow a 5-2 lead heading into the third period.
Steinhaus escaped for a third time in the match to start the final period, before Dechow sealed the deal with yet another takedown, lifting him to a 8-4 victory over Minnesota’s redshirt-senior.
The win landed Dechow in the Third Place Match.
Third Place Match – 184
In the Third Place Match, No. 13 seeded Jack Dechow faced the No. 3 seed from Cornell, Gabriel Dean, who compiled an impressive 39-3 record entering the match as a true freshman.
Dean started off the scoring with a takedown 17 seconds into the first period. At the 1:34 mark, Dechow managed to escape, bringing the score to 2-1 heading into the second.
Dean kicked off the second period with an escape after six seconds of starting on bottom and that would be the only point scored in the second, as Dean held a 3-1 lead after two periods with a riding-time point in his back pocket.
Dechow maneuvered his way into another escape after 16 seconds of starting on bottom, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Dean would then pick up his fourth point on an escape. ODU’s redshirt freshman answered back and struck again to tie the score at 4-4; however, it wasn’t enough due to Dean’s riding-time point, as Dean held onto a gut-wrenching 5-4 decision.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED
Cornell’s Gabriel Dean will be the highest placed 2014 All-American entering next season at 184-pounds, while Jack Dechow ranks second on that list.
--- SATURDAY’S RESULTS ---
Wrestleback Semifinal Match - 184
No. 13 Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 8-4
Third Place Match – 184
No. 3 Gabirel Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 13 Jack Dechow (ODU) 5-4
JACK DECHOW’S MAGICAL RUN AT THE 2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Championship First Round 184
Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. Jonathan Fausey (UVA) 7-5
Championship Second Round - 184
Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. No. 4 Max Thomusseit (PITT) 3-1 SV
Championship Quarterfinal Round - 184
No. 13 Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. No. 12 Ophir Bernstein (Brown) 7-5
Championship Semifinal Match - 184
No. 1 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) dec. No. 13 Jack Dechow (ODU) 3-2
