Nov. 6, 2010

Fairfax, Va. - After a year full of injuries and tough matches, the George Mason wrestling team looks for great success and for a strong rebound this year. Cayle Byers, Jimmy Kaden. Denny Herndon, and Frankie McLaughlin all spent time with injuries last season. Coach Mark Weader stated, "Two of our better guys missed a lot of time and really were not 100% for the second half of the year, so we really struggled dual meet wise. We came through with a couple guys having good conference tournaments, getting to the national tournament. I think we should really bounce back this year. We are overall fairly healthy right now."

There are high expectations this year for a very talented team. Mendbagana Tovuujav and Cayle Byers are both ranked high in different rankings for the preseason. Coach Weader had the following to say about the upcoming season. "I am really looking forward to a big year, we just need a couple guys who are juniors and seniors to step up a little bit and be successful. We have an extremely difficult schedule. The schedule is built to get us ready for the end of the year. We may take some bumps here and there in the dual meets but our goal is to do well in the CAA Championship and do extremely well in the NCAA Championship", Weader stated.

The following is a breakdown of each weight class on the team and who figures to be the starter at that class:

125 Pounds

Entering his sophomore year, Zachory Huxford has a lock at starting in the 125 pound weight class. Last season he split time between 125 and 133 and showed some signs of what he can do, while posting an 8-9 record as a freshman. Coach Weader thinks he will be able to have a great year if he starts to feel comfortable and he has high hopes for Huxford. "He had some great matches where we really saw that he had a lot of potential. He is a very tough guy to wrestle. He is extremely tall and lanky for that weight class so that will present a lot of problems", Weader said of Huxford.

133 Pounds

The 133 weight class is going to be a fight for who starts throughout the year. Red-shirt senior John Delgado, red-shirt sophomore Brian Benton and freshman Ryan Hunsberger will all compete for the spot and each will receive plenty of playing time. All three of these players will get a lot of quality mat time and who starts will be determined later in the season.

For John Delgado, this is the first time he is in the 133 after being in the 141 his entire career. After a great offseason, Coach Weader believes that "he is one of the hardest workers we have on the team. I'm really looking for him to have a good senior year. He just has to, hopefully, stay healthy. He struggled with some injuries over the last couple years, but he has improved a lot and really put in the time, so I think he will have a good year."

Brian Benton returns for his third year and Ryan Hunsbeger is starting his freshman year. Coach Weader thinks Benton can have a breakout year for them and that he is a "super talented guy that we are really looking to contribute. Brian also has had some injuries problems and hasn't had a consistent full year yet." Ryan is a true freshman from Fauquier and had an amazing high school career there. Weader believes he will be a strong force for them his entire four years here.

141 Pounds

Denny Herndon will be starting in the 141 weight class. He is a fourth-year red-shirt junior that is moving up from 133 this year. He has been very successful throughout his career and Coach Weader believes moving him up will help him stay healthy for the entire season, since he has struggled with injuries in the past. "We will really look for him to have a big year. He's a guy that has shown when he is wrestling well that he can compete with the best guys of anyone out there. He just needs to put it together for a full year and be ready and healthy going into the CAA tournament. That's our goal for him. Him having a good year is going to be really key for us", Weader says.

149 Pounds

At 149, Brandon Bucher will be the clear starter. He is entering his senior year and had a nice breakthrough at the end of last season. He placed third at the CAA Championships and got to the NCAA Tournament, which really helped build confidence. Throughout his career he has had very close and very good matches with great wrestlers. "He is finally starting to breakthrough and win some of those and I think he had a good offseason. He is a lot stronger, and wrestling with a lot more confidence, so I'm looking for him to have a big year. He saw what it was like to get into the NCAA Tournament; he wants to get back there and have a better performance. I think he will have a consistent year and really do well his senior year", said Weader.

157 Pounds

The 157 pound weight class is another three-way battle for starter. Sophomore Jaaziah Bethea, sophomore Ty Knepp, and senior Aaron Keeton will all battle for the top spot, while sharing quality minutes throughout the early part of the season. Coach Weader states that Bethea might currently hold a slight edge because of wrestle-off matches and the fact that he has won some very tight matches. He wrestled last year at 141, but has really grown and matured. That growth and maturity may have slowed him down towards the end of the season at 141 and Weader hopes the move up will benefit him. "He looks great so far. He's strong, he's learning all the time and he can be very good for us", Weader stated.

Ty Knepp is a sophomore that bounced around a couple different weight classes last year. He had some injuries and moved up and down in the 149, 157 and 165 pound weight class. Weader said Knepp is "a hard working talented guy who is going to get a lot of mat time and look to get a lot better this year."

Aaron Keeton is a senior and has more experience. He was the starter last year for this weight class. Weader says, "Aaron is improving and hopefully with a little bit of confidence can be very good. He looks great in the practice room and I'm hoping he gets off to a great start."

How the weight class is going to play out is unknown at this time, but Coach Weader is very happy to have this kind of depth.

165 Pounds

Jimmy Kaden will get the start at the 165 pound weight class. Jimmy was injured in the first tournament last season and had to take a medical redshirt. He will be returning as a junior this year and is healthy. Having an extra year has really helped his improvement. Weader thinks "he's at the point where he should be able to compete with anyone in the country. He needs to have some big wins to see if he can break through and win at that level, but he is a very good, very solid wrestler. He's another guy that him having a good season will be real key for us. He's going up a weight class, looks stronger, and looks ready for a big year."

174 Pounds

At 174, senior Greg Scott will be getting his chance to be a full-time starter for the team. Coach Weader believes that he can surprise people this year when he gains some confidence and gets more mat time. "Greg is another guy that has improved a lot since he got here. He just needs to start doing it in competitions. He's another guy that is very tall and very tough to wrestle", stated Weader.

184 Pounds

184 will be a very strong class with Mendbagana Tovuujav moving up from 174. He is a junior now and has a very impressive 54-19 overall career record to go along with a 12-0 record in the CAA, and a 26-5 record in dual meets. He is currently ranked 13th in the nation for the 184 weight class by InterMat and was ranked 15th in the 174 weight class by "Amateur Wrestling News". He has been to the National Tournament the last two years and his goal is to be National Champion and an All-America.

Coach Weader is counting on Tovuujav to really help his team this year and had the following to say about him. "He is one of the most talented guys that I have coached. He is a great competitor. He just needs a little bit more consistency. As he gets more consistent, he can beat anybody on any given day. As he is getting older he just needs to start to mature and to stay more focused all the time. Hopefully this year he will put it together a little better at the end of the year. He was a little banged up going into the National Tournament last year and that certainly hurt him. I think moving up to 184 will really help him have a very good year."

197 Pounds

The 197 weight class is another class that will be very strong this year with the return of red-shirt junior Cayle Byers. He sat out the season last year with a medical redshirt, but having him back this season is going to be a big boost to the team. He is currently ranked third in the country by "Amateur Wrestling News" in the 197 weight class and ranked seventh in the 197 by InterMat. Byers goals are clear; he wants to be a National Champion and an All-American this year. He barely missed it his sophomore year by seconds in the round to be an All-American. He lost to the second place and the third place guy each by a point, so he can obviously keep up with the best wrestlers in the nation. Coach Weader believes that if he is healthy and 100 percent he will be able to face and beat the best guys in the country.

Heavyweight

The heavyweight class is a two-way battle to see who starts. Junior Hunter Manspile and sophomore Kyle Burke will be competing for the spot. "Hunter Manspile has improved a lot. He's competitive, he's kept a lot of his matches close and now he just needs to get a little more confidence in what he's doing, and get after it and start winning a few more matches", Weader stated. For Kyle Burke, this will be his first chance to get into the lineup, but Coach Weader feels that he is "very explosive, very talented and he just needs to get back used to competing, get his conditioning and mental focus back on matches, and that he can be very good."

George Mason begins its 2010-11 season at the Clarion Open in Clarion, Pa. this Saturday at 9 a.m.