March 18, 2008

ST. LOUIS - George Mason University will send two individual representatives to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships this weekend at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Senior Randy Oates and freshman Cayle Byers will take on the best wrestlers in the nation with the hopes of earning NCAA All-America honors.

Oates earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career with a second-place finish at the CAA Championships at 174 pounds. Oates is 25-10 this season with a 6-2 record in CAA matches. In his four-year career at Mason, Oates has earned a 76-55 overall record, tying him for 16th all-time in school history in career wins. During the 2007-08 season, he has recorded eight falls, two technical falls and three major decision wins.

Cayle Byers qualified for the NCAA Championships in his freshman year at Mason.

Byers will join Oates at the championships by way of a wild card invitation to the NCAA Championships in the 197-pound weight class. In addition to its 20 automatic qualifiers, the CAA has four wild card invitations to the national tournament that are decided by a vote of the conference's nine head coaches. Overall, Byers has recorded a 36-8 record in his first season with the Patriots, with a 7-1 mark in CAA matches. Byers, ranked 13th by InterMat and 15th by Amateur Wrestling News entering the tournament, has earned five wins by fall and seven by major decision this season.

Oates will open the tournament with a match against Iowa State's Aron Scott, who has a 12-11 overall record this season. In his first match, Byers will wrestle Chattanooga's Matt Koz, who enters the tournament with a 19-8 record. Koz is ranked 17th by both InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News. He has made three NCAA appearances during his career, winning three matches at last year's tournament.

The NCAA Championships will begin with the first session on Thursday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET and will conclude on Saturday, March 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET with the last of six sessions, featuring the championship bouts. There will be many different activities to partake in during the breaks between sessions including a youth wrestling clinic, NCAA Fan Festival and the opportunity to be a spectator for a USA wrestling team practice. Tickets for all sessions are available on www.ticketmaster.com.