Jan. 23, 2008

MANHEIM, Pa. - Fresh off an impressive performance at last weekend's CAA Duals at the Fieldhouse, freshman Cayle Byers (Chugiak, Alaska/Chugiak) has cracked the national rankings for the first time in his young career, earning a ranking of 17th at 197 pounds in the latest InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings, released on Jan. 22.

Byers put on a show at the Duals, finishing the weekend with a 3-1 record with a pair of falls to help the Patriots post a 3-1 record in conference dual meets at the two-day event. The freshman's most impressive victory was a 5-2 decision over Rider's T.J. Morrison, ranked No. 11 by AWN and No. 16 by InterMat at the time of the match. The win helped lead Mason to their first win over the Broncs in school history.

Against Hofstra, Byers nearly earned another impressive victory over a nationally-ranked wrestler in Joe Rovelli, who entered the match ranked eighth in the nation by InterMat and 10th by AWN. In the third period, Byers appeared to have taken an 8-5 lead with a takedown. However, the referee reversed his call, and the two points were taken off the board. Leading 6-5 with under a minute remaining in the match, Byers was unable to hold off Rovelli, who scored a takedown to take a 7-6 lead in the match. Rovelli's 1:16 riding time advantage made the final score 8-6.

Byers has been impressive throughout his first season at Mason, with a 27-5 overall record and 10-1 dual mark to begin his career. He was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Dec. 4 and the George Mason Male Athlete of the Month for December.