Lexington, Va. - George Mason wrestling took on VMI tonight in a dual meet losing a close 20-16 battle that came down to the final matchup. Both teams had five individual wins but VMI had a fall and two major decisions while Mason recorded just one major decision. Mason tied their season high in points scored, matching the 16 they put up against Princeton on December 11. The 20 points they gave up was a season low.
After starting the match 0-7, Mason rebounded to win the next four matchups bringing the score to 13-7. The next two matchups would result in two losses but Jimmy Webb won a tight 3-2 decision to bring the score to 16-14 going into the heavyweight match that would decide who won. Hunter Manspile would be pinned in 5:35 by Joshua Wine and ultimately Mason lost the match by a score of 20-16.
Denny Herndon, Jaaziah Bethea, Aaron Keeton, and Shohei Takagi also all recorded victories in the match. Herndon had a 3-2 decision over David Yost and has now won three matches in a row. Bethea recorded a 15-4 major decision against Nicholas Emison, which marked his second major decision in his last three matches. Keeton beat Edward Gottwald in a 6-3 decision and Takagi won a 4-2 decision against Ryan Goodsell.
Johnathan Pope and John Dommert both recorded major decisions for VMI.
Mason returns to action this Sunday, January 23 when the travel to Norfolk, Virginia to take on Old Dominion. That match is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
VMI 20 - George Mason 16
125: Johnathan Pope (VMI) maj. dec. Zach Huxford (George Mason), 13-2
133: Luke Todd (VMI) dec. John Delgado (George Mason), 4-2
141: Denny Herndon (George Mason) dec. David Yost (VMI), 3-2
149: Donald Takagi (George Mason) dec. Ryan Goodsell (VMI), 4-2
157: Jaaziah Bethea (George Mason) maj. dec. Nicholas Emison (VMI), 15-4
165: Aaron Keeton (George Mason) dec. Edward Gottwald (VMI), 6-3
174: Matthew Brock (VMI) dec. James Kaden (George Mason), 4-1
184: John Dommert (VMI) maj. dec. Greg Scott (George Mason), 10-0
197: Webb, James (George Mason) dec. Christopher Gill (VMI), 3-2
285: Joshua Wine (VMI) fall Hunter Manspile (George Mason), 5:35
