FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason wrestling team competed in the Green and Gold Wrestle-Offs on Saturday at the George Mason Field House, with the gold team earning a 24-20 victory over the green team.

In the first match of the afternoon, freshman Victor Echeverria led 4-1 after the first period and built a 6-2 advantage midway through the second period against classmate Talha Farooq at 125 pounds. 

Farooq tied the match 7-7, scoring four near-fall points early in the third period, but Echeverria went on to an 11-7 decision for the gold team.

At 149 pounds, freshman Bryce Reddington won by fall 55 seconds into the match over sophomore Justin Yorkdale as the gold team built a 9-0 match score advantage.

Mason freshman Jose Tapia then recorded an 8-2 decision over sophomore Trevor Mello at 133 pounds to cut the lead to 9-3.

Junior Tejon Anthony led sophomore Lio Quezada 4-2 after the first period and 5-2 after a defensive second period.  Anthony went on to an 8-3 decision at 141 pounds to make the score 12-3 for the gold team.

"I thought the guys competed very hard, they got after it and they tried to score points," Mason head coach Frank Beasley said of his team.  "They wrestled an aggressive style.  I thought it was a good start and good kickoff to the year."

In a defensive match, junior Brendan May earned a 4-2 decision over freshman Austin Wilkerson at 165 pounds.

Mason freshman Levko Higgins won by fall 50 seconds into the match against junior Jacob Boisseau at 174 pounds to pad the gold team's lead to 18-6.

At 184 pounds, junior Austin Harrison and freshman Philip Stolfi entered overtime tied 2-2.  Harrison went on to score a takedown in sudden victory for a 4-2 win.

With the gold team holding an 18-9 match score lead, freshman Eli Spencer pulled the green team closer with a 10-2 major decision over freshman Devin Rolon at 197 pounds.

At 125 pounds, senior Ibrahim Bunduka built a 5-0 lead in the second period over Echeverria, who was wrestling his second match of the day.  Bunduka posted a 12-3 major decision for the green team to cut the match score lead to 18-17.

"I like the way they competed," said Beasley of his team's effort.  "A lot of guys went out and went for the win.  They went to score points and not hold on to a lead or to squeak out a win, so I really enjoyed seeing that.  I felt like they did a pretty good job going out and attacking positions they needed to be in.  Overall, I was pleased with the good warmup of competition going into the season."

In the second 149 pound matchup of the afternoon, sophomore Matthew Raines led Reddington 3-0 midway through the third period.  Reddington's takedown midway through the third made the score 3-2 before Raines claimed a 5-2 decision to give the green team its first lead of the day, 20-18.

In the final match of the day, freshman Creed Lumpp took a 9-3 advantage at 157 pounds over Justin Yorkdale into the final period before winning by fall at 6:59 to give the gold team a 24-20 victory.

"Some of our guys were coaches for the dual and I saw a lot of fire out of them," Beasley said.  "They did a great job rallying their teams and being leaders.  That was exciting to see.  When one team got in a hole, they responded.  They came back and it came down to the wire.  That was an enjoyable match."

The Patriots begin the season on the road, facing The Citadel at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3 in Charleston, S.C.

Team Gold 24, Team Green 20

125 | Victor Echeverria (Gold) decision over Talha Farooq (Green), 11-7 | 3-0 Team Gold
149 | Bryce Reddington (Gold) fall over Justin Yorkdale (Green), :55 | 9-0 Team Gold
133 | Jose Tapia (Green) decision over Trevor Mello (Gold), 8-2 | 9-3 Team Gold
141 | Tejon Anthony (Gold) decision over Lio Quezada (Green), 8-3 | 12-3 Team Gold
165 | Brendan May (Green) decision over Austin Wilkerson (Gold), 4-2 | 12-6 Team Gold
174 | Levko Higgins (Gold) fall over Jacob Boisseau (Green), :50 | 18-6 Team Gold
184 | Austin Harrison (Green) SV-1 over Philip Stolfi (Gold), 4-2 | 18-9 Team Gold
197 | Eli Spencer (Green) major decision over Devin Rolon (Gold), 10-2 | 18-13 Team Gold
125 | Ibrahim Bunduka (Green) major decision over Victor Echeverria (Gold), 12-3 | 18-17 Team Gold
149 | Matthew Raines (Green) decision over Bryce Reddington (Gold), 5-2 | 20-18 Team Green
157 | Creed Lumpp (Gold) fall over Justin Yorkdale (Green), 6:59 | 24-20 Team Gold