ODU wrestling goes 3 for 3

Norfolk - NORFOLK, Va. -- The Monarchs hosted a trio of opponents for the ODU Quad on Sunday and came away with three victories, dropping UNC Greensboro, Purdue and George Mason. ODU improves to 5-4 with the wins and notched its first conference victory of the season by beating the Patriots, 26-9. Juniors Chris Brown (165) and Jesse Strawn (197) earned a pair of huge victories against top ten opponents for the Boilermakers en route to a 22-12 victory. Purdue went 2-1 on the day, George Mason 1-2 and UNCG 0-3.

In the first pair of matchups, ODU hosted UNC Greensboro and put away the Spartans 33-6. On the second mat, Purdue bested George Mason 25-14. In the second matchup, ODU dropped Purdue, 22-12, while George Mason grabbed a win against Greensboro, 25-16. Finally, ODU won 26-9 against George Mason in each teams first CAA dual of the year while Purdue dropped UNCG, 30-9.

"Obviously, we won three matches, which is good for everyone's confidence," said head coach Steve Martin. "but more importantly we wrestled hard at all ten weights for the first time all year. I'm really proud of how hard we worked today."

ODU won eight matches against the Spartans, including pins from Strawn and Kyle Hutter (133) and a technical fall from Chris Brown.

Against Purdue, ODU won the first three matchups with a major decision from James Nicholson (125) and a decision from Hutter, followed by a medical forfeit win for senior Ryan Williams. Purdue followed with a pair of decisions to cut the lead to 13-6, but Brown would follow with a huge win at 165 lbs to give ODU the big lead again.

Luke Manuel, ranked 9th in the nation, faced Brown at 165 lbs and the pair battled to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. In the first sudden victory period, Brown took a shot and scored a takedown for the upset win.

"Purdue is a very good win for us, and we got key wins at 165 and 197. We almost got another at 184, but Budi thought he was leading at the end of the match and lost on the riding time point," Martin said. "It's a very big win, and I was pretty unsure about it coming in because of how they crushed at the Midlands, but the guys worked hard for the win."

Strawn's win came at 197 lbs, as he faced the 10th ranked Logan Brown. Strawn posted a 4-2 win over the nationally ranked foe and continues to wrestle well. He posted a fifth place finish at Midlands last week.

In ODU's first conference dual of the season, the Monarchs won seven bouts against the George Mason Patriots. Strawn nearly grabbed another victory over a top ten guy, as he faced #6 Cayle Byers, but the Patriot grappler scored a 2-point win, 5-3.

The league's top ranked 125-pounder, Nicholson, faced the #2 in Brian Wright in the first match. Nicholson won the match 9-3 to get ODU going. Hutter, Williams and Kaylen Baxter followed with wins before Mason got on the board with a riding time advantage win by Frankie McLaughlin at 157 lbs.

Joe Budi (184) and David Wilson (HWT) earned their first conference wins as Budi won a 5-1 decision against Jimmy Webb and Wilson won by forfeit in the heavyweight matchup.

ODU improves to 5-4 on the season and 1-0 in the CAA led by 3-0 days posted by Nicholson, Hutter, Williams, and Brown. The team will head to the Virginia Duals next weekend at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia and then will take to the road for the CAA Duals and matches against Bucknell and Central Michigan. The team returns home on February 8 at 5:30 pm as they host Virginia.