March 7, 2009
2009 CAA Championships Final Bracket in PDF Format 
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Freshman Mendbagana Tovuujav earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at the 2009 CAA Championships after upsetting Alton Lucas of Hofstra in overtime in the 174-pound championship bout on Saturday afternoon at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Va. Teammate Cayle Byers also took home championship hardware on Saturday afternoon after earning the CAA title at 197 pounds with a 3-0 shutout of Drexel's Jon Oplinger.
This season marks the first time the Patriots have won an individual title at the CAA Championships since the 2004 season, when Adrian Austin won the 149-pound bracket. It is the first time Mason has had multiple champions since 2001, when the Patriots won a total of six weight classes.
Tovuujav, ranked 22nd in the final coaches poll of the season, scored the upset with a takedown in the first overtime period for a 3-1 victory. Lucas, an NCAA All-American and CAA Champion last season, was the top seed in the weight class and entered the match ranked ninth in the final coaches poll.
Byers took home the title at 197 pounds with a hard-fought victory over Oplinger. Byers entered the match ranked 10th in the final coaches poll of the season with Oplinger just a few slots behind, ranked No. 13 in the poll.
Both Byers and Tovuujav will represent George Mason at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, slated for March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. It will mark Byers' second straight appearance at the event.
Junior Brian Wright and sophomore Frankie McLaughlin IV were also place winners at the CAA Championships. Wright finished third at 125 pounds, while McLaughlin finished fourth at 157 pounds.
Mason wrapped up the two-day event in fifth place in the team scoring with a total of 40 points. Hofstra captured its eighth consecutive team championship, finishing ahead of host Old Dominion. The Pride finished with 106.5 team points to the Monarchs' 86.5. Rider finished in third place with 57.5 points.
