VIEW FULL BRACKETS ON TRACKWRESTLING
Fairfax, Va.— George Mason wrestler
Nathan Higley earned a spot on the podium at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships after finishing in eighth place at 149 pounds.
One of three Patriots to advance to day two, Higley defeated NCAA Qualifier Jacob Verkleeren from UVA that clinch a spot on the podium. The freshman dropped two close matches to close out the tournament, a 7-5 decision to Pitt's Tyler Badgett before Cade Balestrini edged Higley in the seventh place match, 9-6.
Higley opened the tournament with a 9-7 win against Virginia's Denton Spencer. He fell to nationally ranked Sam Hilegas (WVA) before winning two matches, including a fall against two-time NCAA Qualifier Graham Rooks from Indiana.
Freshman
Markel Baker (125) and
Tyler Kocak (184) also competed far into the consolation bracket.
Baker finished in round four of the consolation bracket. The freshman dropped the match to Michigan's Jack Medley.
He won his first two matches in the championship round before dropping a match to All-American Killian Cardinale from West Virginia, 12-6. The freshman earned a decision against Indiana's Jacob Moran and a win over nationally ranked Dylan Shawver from Rutgers, 4-2.
Tyler Kocak's final match was in the consolation round six, edged out 5-3 by NC State's Dylan Fishback. He began the tournament with a loss to top seed Brian Soldano (Rutgers) before he ran off four straight wins, including a major decision against A. Wenzel, 16-5.
UP NEXT
The George Mason wrestling team will compete against ACC programs Virginia and Virginia Tech, Jan. 7-8. The Patriots will travel to Richmond to take on the Cavaliers and will host Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 8 inside the RAC.
COMPLETE MASON RESULTS
Men`s 125 - Markel Baker
- Champ. Round 1 - Markel Baker (George Mason) won by decision over Jacob Moran (Indiana) (Dec 3-0)
- Champ. Round 2 - Markel Baker (George Mason) won by decision over Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) (Dec 4-2)
- Quarterfinal - Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) won by decision over Markel Baker (George Mason) (Dec 12-6)
- Cons. Round 4 - Jack Medley (Michigan) won by major decision over Markel Baker (George Mason) (Maj 17-3)
Men`s 133 - Patrick Schellpfeffer
Men`s 133 - Josh Jones
- Champ. Round 1 - Josh Jones (George Mason) won by decision over Vincente Perez (Central Michigan) (Dec 7-0)
- Champ. Round 2 - Josh Jones (George Mason) won by decision over Elon Rodriguez (Triton Junior College) (Dec 6-3)
- Champ. Round 3 - Chris Cannon (Northwestern) won by major decision over Josh Jones (George Mason) (Maj 9-0)
- Cons. Round 4 - Josh Jones (George Mason) won by decision over Jacob Macatangay (Purdue) (Dec 8-4)
- Cons. Round 5 - Marcel Lopez (SIU Edwardsville) won by decision over Josh Jones (George Mason) (Dec 3-0)
Men`s 141 - Anthony Glasl
- Champ. Round 1 - Brian Courtney (Unattached ) won by fall over Anthony Glasl (George Mason) (Fall 3:46)
- Cons. Round 1 - Anthony Glasl (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Josh Mason (Bloomsburg) won by decision over Anthony Glasl (George Mason) (Dec 5-0)
Men`s 141 - Shawn Nonaka
- Champ. Round 1 - Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Cole Rhemrev (Indiana) won by decision over Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) (Dec 9-4)
- Cons. Round 2 - Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 3 - Ryan Michaels (Pittsburgh) won by fall over Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) (Fall 6:53)
Men`s 149 - Nate Higley
- Champ. Round 1 - Nate Higley (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Nate Higley (George Mason) won by decision over Denton Spencer (Virginia) (Dec 9-7)
- Champ. Round 3 - Sam Hillegas (West Virginia) won by fall over Nate Higley (George Mason) (Fall 0:46)
- Cons. Round 4 - Nate Higley (George Mason) won by decision over Marshall Keller (Princeton) (Dec 10-5)
- Cons. Round 5 - Nate Higley (George Mason) won by fall over Graham Rooks (Indiana) (Fall 4:58)
- Cons. Round 6 - Nate Higley (George Mason) won in sudden victory - 1 over Jarod Verkleeren (Virginia) (SV-1 7-5)
- Cons. Round 7 - Tyler Badgett (Pittsburgh) won by decision over Nate Higley (George Mason) (Dec 7-5)
- 7th Place Match - Cade Balestrini (Bloomsburg) won by decision over Nate Higley (George Mason) (Dec 9-6)
Men`s 157 - Loranzo Rajaonarivelo
- Champ. Round 1 - Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (George Mason) won by decision over Paul Watkins (Lehigh) (Dec 10-6)
- Champ. Round 2 - Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (George Mason) won by decision over Zack Rotkvich (Indiana) (Dec 10-3)
- Champ. Round 3 - Cael Berg (Harvard) won by decision over Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (George Mason) (Dec 6-2)
- Cons. Round 4 - Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Oklahoma) won by decision over Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (George Mason) (Dec 8-1)
Men`s 165 -- Drew Dickson
- Champ. Round 1 - Tony Negron (Arizona State) won by decision over Drew Dickson (George Mason) (Dec 5-4)
- Cons. Round 1 - Drew Dickson (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Tracy Hubbard (Central Michigan) won in sudden victory - 1 over Drew Dickson (George Mason) (SV-1 3-1)
Men`s 184 - Malachi DuVall
- Champ. Round 1 - Malachi DuVall (George Mason) won by decision over James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) (Dec 11-10)
- Champ. Round 2 - Malachi DuVall (George Mason) won by major decision over Devonjae Hudson (Northern Illinois) (Maj 14-5)
- Champ. Round 3 - Anthony Carman (West Virginia) won by decision over Malachi DuVall (George Mason) (Dec 6-2)
- Cons. Round 4 - Dennis Robin (West Virginia) won by fall over Malachi DuVall (George Mason) (Fall 1:01)
Men`s 184 - Tyler Kocak
- Champ. Round 1 - Brian Soldano (Rutgers) won by major decision over Tyler Kocak (George Mason) (Maj 9-1)
- Cons. Round 1 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) won by major decision over Andrew Wenzel (Air Force) (Maj 16-5)
- Cons. Round 3 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) won by decision over John Stout (Penn) (Dec 6-2)
- Cons. Round 4 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) won in sudden victory - 1 over Matt Zuber (Northern Illinois) (SV-1 3-1)
- Cons. Round 5 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) won by decision over Jon Halvorsen (Northwestern) (Dec 3-2)
- Cons. Round 6 - Dylan Fishback (NC State) won by decision over Tyler Kocak (George Mason) (Dec 5-3)
Men`s 197 - Jon List
- Champ. Round 1 - Sam Mitchell (Buffalo) won by decision over Jon List (George Mason) (Dec 8-6)
- Cons. Round 1 - Jon List (George Mason) won by decision over Joey Lyons (Cleveland State) (Dec 3-2)
- Cons. Round 2 - Nick Willham (Indiana) won by decision over Jon List (George Mason) (Dec 8-2)
