The 2014-15 season begins for the George Mason wrestling program this Sunday, November 2 when they travel to Charlottesville, Va. for duals with VMI (10 a.m.), Anderson (12 p.m.) and Virginia (2 p.m.). Head coach Joe Russell leads the Patriots in his fourth season as head coach alongside third year assistant Tom Carr. The upcoming season will be an opportunity for Mason wrestlers to utilize their skills and training practiced in the offseason.
“I'm excited to see the development of the guys from last year to this year, see how their hard work will pay off and see that improvement when they are competing under the bright lights,” Russell said.
Mason returns eight of the ten starters that competed at EWL Championships last year, including two that placed third in their weight class: junior Sahid Kargbo and redshirt junior Greg Flournoy. Several athletes return this season after redshirting 2013, including redshirt freshman Ibrahim Bunduka, and transfers Patrick Davis and Blake Roulo. An overall improved lineup will take the mat this season with consistency playing a big factor.
“Consistency in our preparation, consistency in our competition.” said Russell. “I'm excited to see a lot of our guys that were younger and are now upperclassmen and understand how the college wrestling season goes. I think we'll see some positive steps forward just from their maturity.”
The upcoming slate has multiple teams that ended last season in the top-25, including Virginia, Edinboro Lehigh and Northwestern. Duals with Navy, Cleveland State, North Carolina, Edinboro, Binghamton, Grand Canyon and the Wildcats fill out the home portion of the schedule for the Patriots. For the first time Mason will face all six EWL opponents in one season.
Several wrestlers on this year's squad bring competitive Division I wrestling experience and the seniors on team will bring experience and motivation to do well in their final collegiate seasons. The Patriots wrestled all three teams that they are facing this weekend last season, defeating VMI 22-12 and Anderson 43-10 while Virginia won its dual with Mason 34-3. An overview of each weight class for the Patriots this season is below.
125: Ibrahim Bunduka will have a chance to compete this season after redshirting his first year on campus. “He had a great spring and summer [and] took second in the Junior World Team Trials this spring. The sacrifices he made this spring and summer will pay dividends this winter,” commented Russell. Bill Prochniewski returns after seeing significant action last season along with Bryce Gentry.
133: Redshirt junior Vince Rodriguez comes in to the season healthy and ready to compete: “He's very talented and can compete with the best in the country,” said Russell. Also listed at 133lbs. is redshirt sophomore Robert Dooley, redshirt freshman Anthony Calvano and true freshman and Mason Kilcarr.
141: Junior Sahid Kargbo comes into the season after leading Mason with 22 victories, 14 conference wins and five major decisions. “He had a very good summer of consistent training, working to improve,” added Russell. “He's a guy that you just see getting better and better.” Zachary Isenhour provides experience at 141lbs. True freshman Tejon Anthony also join the Patriots.
149: Redshirt junior Blake Roulo, ranked preseason returns after redshirting last season. Redshirt senior Ryan Hunsberger steps in at 149 along with Konbeh Koroma, Luke Ludke and freshman Connor Eckhardt.
157: Redshirt junior Greg Flournoy placed third at 157lbs. at last year's EWL Championships. Freshman Brenden May also comes in at the weight class.
165: Redshirt sophomore Patrick Davis will have his first full season as a Patriot after transferring from NC State last season.
174: After placing at EWL's at 165lbs. last season, Ryan Forrest steps up to 174lbs. Freshmen Daniel Mika and Austin Harrison comes in at 174lbs. while Alex Thomas is coming off a redshirt year. Senior Corey Smith returns as well.
184: Ryan Hembury returns after a strong ending to last season. Derek Dwyer and Andrew Thomas are also available along with freshman Chris Miller.
197: True junior Matt Meadows returns to his spot at 197lbs. “He's a very good athlete who I am ready to see turn the corner,” said Russell. Meadows placed fourth at EWL Championships at the end of last season.
Heavyweight: National Tournament qualifier and redshirt senior Jake Kettler prepares for his final season with the Green and Gold. He ended last season with four falls, most on the team. Freshmen Gary Miltenberger and Matthew Voss join the lineup.
