WRESTLING vs. Navy

WHEN:  Wednesday, Feb. 8 | 7 p.m.                                         
WHERE:  Recreation and Athletic Complex | Fairfax, Va.
LIVE STATS:  Click here or follow @GMUWrestling on Twitter FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason wrestling team faces Navy at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Recreation and Athletic Complex. 

Mason (5-10, 2-4 EWL) has dropped its last three duals, falling 24-10 at Clarion on Jan. 20, 32-7 to Edinboro on Jan. 22 and 24-18 to Rider on Jan. 29 in the final EWL regular season match of the year. 

Last time out, the Patriots won the first four bouts against Rider to build a 15-0 match score lead.  The Broncs then won five straight matches, all with bonus points, to earn the win.

Mason junior Ibrahim Bunduka (16-3) picked up a 4-2 decision at 125 pounds, freshman Lio Quezada (12-15) notched a 10-8 decision at 133 pounds, sophomore Tejon Anthony (16-8) won by forfeit at 141 pounds and senior Sahid Kargbo (22-2) earned a decision at 149 pounds.

Sophomore Matthew Voss (14-10) finished the match on a positive note for the Patriots at heavyweight with a 15-9 decision.  His 14 wins this season are third-most on the team.

"The college wrestling season is long," Mason head coach Joe Russell said.  "I keep telling our guys that we are getting to the exciting part of the season.  Getting to the conference tournament and to the nationals, that's when the fun starts." 

Bunduka is 24th in the latest Coaches Panel rankings, while Kargbo is 18th in the Associated Wrestling Press rankings and 21st in the Coaches Panel rankings.

"We only have four competitions left, two at home and two on the road," said Russell.  "The opportunities to go out and earn their way to nationals and prepare for the conference championship are few and far between now."

Kargbo finished the regular season with a 5-1 record against EWL opponents.  He won the individual title at 149 pounds at the Navy Classic in November.

Against the Mids on Wednesday, Anthony is expected to face 13th-ranked Jared Prince at 141 pounds, while senior Ryan Forrest will take on 15th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein at 174 pounds.

"These are great opportunities when you have a chance to go against a ranked wrestler this late in the season," Russell said.  "You can do yourself a lot of good as far as getting to the national tournament.  For Tejon and Ryan to have an opportunity to wrestle a ranked opponent, I want them to go out and take advantage of that."

Last season, Mason fell to Navy 26-18 at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md.  The dual began at 149 pounds and the Patriots dropped five of the first six bouts of the match. 

Greg Flournoy, Bunduka and Anthony each won their matches by major decision and Voss won his heavyweight bout by fall against the Midshipmen in last season's matchup.

"It's an honor to compete against Navy and we hope to have a home-mat advantage," Russell said.  "Navy is a well-coached team and they will wrestle us hard and it will help us raise our game.  Competing against the Midshipmen will be great preparation for the Eastern Wrestling League championships."

Mason Probable Starters:

125: R-Jr. Ibrahim Bunduka (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) 16-3
133: Fr. Lio Quezada (Winchester, Va./John Handley) 12-15
141: R-So. Tejon Anthony (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) 16-8
- or -  Fr. Logan Harvich (Chesapeake, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) 4-8
149: R-Sr. Sahid Kargbo (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield) 22-2
157: R-Fr. Matthew Raines (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) 9-14
165: Jr. Daniel Mika (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) 4-12
174: Jr. Ryan Forrest (Reston, Va./South Lakes) 1-3
184: R-So. Austin Harrison (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) 2-10
197: R-Sr. Matt Meadows (Medino, Ohio/Cuyohoga Valley Christian Academy) 4-11
HWT: R-So. Matthew Voss (Edgewood, Wa./Puyallup) 14-10

Scouting Navy:

Navy (7-2, 1-1 EIWA) fell to Old Dominion 23-10 at Alumni Hall in its last home dual of the season last Friday.  The Monarchs won seven of the 10 bouts, including three decisions by one point, to hand the Midshipmen their second loss of the season.

Navy junior Brant Leadbeter earned a 14-6 major decision at 125 pounds while classmate Drew Daniels defeated Monarchs sophomore Sheldon Wright, who was ranked No. 19 in the nation, by a 5-3 decision at 165 pounds.

Junior Jadaen Bernstein, ranked 15th in the nation, also picked up a 4-3 decision at 174 pounds for Navy.

Five Midshipmen won individual titles as Navy finished second out of eight teams in the All-Academy Championship held in Annapolis on Jan. 29.  Navy finished with a team score of 98 points, only behind Army with 103.5 points.

The All-Academy Championship featured Air Force, Army, The Citadel, the Coast Guard Academy, the Merchant Marine Academy, Norwich and VMI.

Freshman Jared Prince, who is ranked 13th in the nation, claimed the title at 141 pounds, junior Michael Coleman took the title at 184 pounds, junior Steban Cervantes won at 197 pounds, Daniels finished first at 165 pounds and Bernstein claimed the crown at 174 pounds.

Bernstein is 15th in the nation in the latest InterMat rankings and has won a season-high seven matches in a row.  Prince is ranked 13th in the nation and has earned a victory in each of his last six bouts.

The Midshipmen won their lone road dual of the season, defeating Maryland 23-16 on Jan. 8 at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Md.  After dropping the first two bouts of the match at 125 and 133 pounds, Navy won six of the final eight bouts against the Terrapins.
 
Mat Facts:

Navy head coach Joel Sharratt was a four-year letterwinner at Iowa and team captain of the Hawkeyes for two years.  He led Iowa to the 1995 Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Championship. 

Sharratt was a three-time All-American and earned three trips to the NCAA Finals, winning the individual championship in 1994.  Following his college career, he was a two-time member of the U.S. National Team and earned a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Trials and the 1997 Pan American Championships.

The Bloomington, Minn. native was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.  While Sharratt was working on his Masters degree at Minnesota, he and current Mason head coach Joe Russell had the opportunity to coach together.

Navy Probable Starters:

125: Jr. Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md./Northern) 5-13
133: Jr. Cody Lambert (Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall) 3-12
141: #13 Jr. Jared Prince (Safety Harbor, Fla./Palm Harbor University H.S.) 19-6
149: Jr. Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) 17-11
157: Fr. Zach Elvin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) 16-10
- or - Jr. Casey Cowan (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) 12-9
165: Jr. Drew Daniels(Overland Park, Kan./Rockhurst) 13-7
174: #15 Jr. Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J./Voorhees) 23-6
184: Jr. Michael Coleman (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) 12-5
197: Jr. Steban Cervantes (Chula Vista, Calif./Poway) 19-7
HWT: So. Thomas Ott (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) 7-13