In their first trip to Nationals, Rechul and Odom turned in great performances that gives them much to look forward to in the future seasons.

"I am so happy with these guys," Weiss said . They are skipping steps in the progression. They are not just going out there--they are going out there and winning matches the first time around."

Both wrestlers were randomly chosen to wrestle in an extra "wrestle-in" match prior to the first round. At heavyweight Rechul easily commanded this opening match, grappling to an 11-2 major defeat over Matt Fisher of Duquesne. In the first round, he gave No. 3 Wes Hand of Iowa a run for his money keeping him within a point until the last twenty seconds. Hand, who pulled out the match 7-3, went on to capture second in the tournament.

"Dawid wrested a smart bout against Hand," Weiss said. "He took his wrestling to a new level."

In the wrestlebacks, Rechul posted a 12-7 victory over John Devine of Cal-Bakersfield before losing 13-3 to Penn State's Mark Janus.

"After I beat the first guy, I felt pretty positive but I came up short a couple of times. I lost my focus in the last match," Rechul said. "It was all a learning experience, especially that last match. I'm happy in that I know I'm not light years away from where I want to be. The tournament showed me what I need to focus on next year."

At 149-pounds, Odom turned had a terrific tournament, as the freshman went 3-2 in his first trip to NCAAs. Also forced to grapple in a "wrestle-in" match, Odom's career at nationals had an auspicious start as he pinned Old Dominion's Dennis Whitby in 2:59. Unfortunately, this placed Odom in the first round against the Tony Davis of Iowa, the No. 1 seed. Odom wrestled an aggressive match, but got caught for the pin at the end of the third period.

Davis would go on to claim the championship title.