Mason Patriots vs. American
WHEN:  Thursday, Feb. 20 | 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Mason (8-8, 3-5 MAC), American (3-7, 3-5 EIWA)
WHERE:  Recreation Athletic Complex, Fairfax, Va.
LIVE VIDEO:  ESPN+

Fairfax, Va.— The final home match of the season will pit the Mason Patriots (8-8, 3-5) against the American Eagles (3-7, 3-5) Thursday, February 20 at 7 p.m. in the Recreation Athletic Complex.  
 
The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.
 
MAT FACTS

• Two projected ranked showdowns on the mat Thursday could be between the Patriots #26 Alex Madrigal (20-11, 9-5) and American's #24 Sal Profaci (24-6, 9-1) at 141 pounds, and Mason's #19 Colston DiBlasi (25-8, 11-2), and the Eagles #7 Kizhan Clarke (33-3, 9-1) at 149.
• American has two other ranked wrestlers, No. 18 Gage Curry (24-7, 8-2) at 125 pounds and No. 23 Tanner Harvey (19-6, 6-4) at 184.
• American won last year's match, 29-15.
• Kolby Ho (20-12, 10-5) looks to avenge a early-season loss to American's Ethan Karsten. In a match-up at the Navy Classic, Karsten earned a fall against Ho, 6-4 (0:17) at 157. 
• After being out for six weeks with an injury, Neil Schuster came back strong back-to-back wins on Sunday. He earned a 6-4 overtime win against ODU's Shane Jones, No. 4 ranked wrestler in the MAC at 165 pounds. In OT, Schuster earned the takedown and the, 6-4 decision over the ranked wrestler. Jones checks in at 32^nd coaches' poll. In the second match of the day, Schuster blanked Bloomsburg's Nate Newberry, 6-0.
• Mason's Jake Slinger (11-14, 7-9) won two straight matches and four of the last seven bouts at heavyweight.  
• The Eagles' Kizhan Clarke is ranked 7th at 149 in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings (released 2/13). At 33-3 overall, has more wins than any other DI wrestler in teh nation and is tied for sixth all-time at AU for wins in a single season.
• Redshirt-senior Colston DiBlasi (25-8) achieved what only six other wrestlers in Mason history accomplished with his 100th career win against Lock Haven's Brock Port (Jan. 18). The Patriots have seven 100-win wrestlers in program history, led by Paul Maltagiati with 122. The other five are Scott Kirsch (119); Johnny Curtis and Chuck Toler (113); Rob Becker (109), and Adrian Austin (103), Colston DiBlasi (103).
• The NCAA updated (Feb. 19) standings for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March. Colston DiBlasi stands in fourth place with 10 falls at 149 pounds. Central Michigan heavyweight Matt Stencel posted a pair of falls, both in less than a minute, last week to lead with 14. 
• Mason 141-pounder Alex Madrigal won 19-2 over Bloomsburg on Sunday to notch his Division I-leading 12^th tech fall of the season and move four ahead of Iowa's Spencer Lee, Oklahoma State's Nicholas Piccininni and Princeton's Pat Glory with eight.

Honorary Coach
Mason Wrestling is proud to host wrestling alum Dan Wotring as honorary coach. Wotring and his wife Patty have supported Mason Athletics through several endowments and provide an annual challenge gift for the Alumni-Athlete Giving Challenge, which typically raises well over $100,000.

Up Next
The Patriots will travel to Maryland for its final regular season match of the season Friday, February 21, beginning at 7 p.m.
  
MASON'S PROBABLE STARTERS
125 | Talha Farooq 
133 | Josh Jones 
141 | #26 Alex Madrigal
149 | #19 Colston DiBlasi or Justin Yorkdale
157 | Kolby Ho 
165 | Neil Schuster or Ryan Yorkdale
174 | Tony Lombardo 
184 | Ali Salem
197 | Ramses Montalvo 
285 | Jake Slinger  

AMERICAN'S PROBABLE STARTERS