LEXINGTON, Va. ? George Mason surged to an early advantage by claiming each of the first five matches in securing a 31-12 decision over VMI in non-conference wrestling action on Thursday evening at the Thunderdome.
The Patriots (4-5-1) got extra-point wins in five of their seven wins overall in the match, helping defeat VMI (0-5) for the fourth-straight meeting.
“I feel like we made a little progress out there tonight, even though it may not show in the team score,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. “It was good to see John Pope and David Yost get some wins, it had been a while for both of them. Tonight, I thought that our guys wrestled inconsistently. We need to get wrestling at a high level and more consistently. But it's hard with six freshmen and four sophomores out there, we're just so green.”
The match began at 157 lbs., where Mason sophomore Frankie McLaughlin took on VMI freshman Matthew Brock. McLaughlin controlled the match throughout, totaling eight takedowns, while Brock accrued each of his points on escapes in an 18-6 major decision.
The visitors prevailed once again in a tooth-and-nail match at 165. A reversal midway through the first period by Keydet sophomore Jayme Gordon knotted his match against Mason sophomore Jimmy Kaden at two. After Kaden deferred to begin the second period, the two combatants traded reversals before Gordon gained his first lead of the night with an escape late in the period, grabbing a 5-4 advantage heading to the final two minutes.
In the third period, Kaden tied the bout at five with an escape early on, before quickly scoring a takedown to move ahead. Gordon could only manage a one-point escape in the remaining time, leading to a 7-6 decision in favor of Kaden.
The Patriots took control of the dual in the next two matches, quickly earning pins. Mason's Mendbagana Tovuujav had already scored a pair of takedowns before pinning Vinnie Gallo at the 30-second mark at 174. At 184, Patriot sophomore Zach Ulm netted his pin in 33 seconds, putting the visitors up 19-0.
Mason sophomore Cayle Byers, ranked eighth nationally, delivered a 5-2 decision at 197 in the ensuing match, but did not have an easy time in taking on Keydet sophomore Ronnie Ellsworth. In fact, Byers could only score a single takedown of Ellsworth throughout the match, instead scoring his points on a pair of stalling penalties and an escape.
Having lost each of the first five matches and trailing 22-0 at the midway point, the Keydets responded by taking three of the next four matches. VMI sophomore Josh Wine improved upon his sterling career at the Thunderdome, running his all-time record at home to 4-1 with four pins in taking down Mike Peterson at the 2:33 mark.
As the match shifted back to the lightweights, John Pope kept the momentum on the home side with an impressive 5-2 win against Brian Wright. The first period saw a pair of takedowns for Pope, followed by escapes for Wright. The Keydet then earned an escape early on in the second period to grab a three-point lead. The rest of the match saw neither wrestler able to secure points, with several stoppages for the action moving out of bounds, eventually leading to the Keydets' second-straight win.
Mason redshirt-freshman Denny Herndon officially put the match out of reach with his win at 133, a 12-3 major decision against true freshman Michael Bowman. Herndon came out firing in the first period, scoring a quick takedown, followed by a three-point nearfall before a Bowman escape just before the buzzer. Herndon grew his advantage with a reversal in the second period, while Bowman cut into the lead with a pair of reversals, one late in the second period and another to begin the third. The visitor tacked on five more points late in the third period thanks to a takedown, a two-point near fall and the riding time point, handing Bowman the first loss of his five-match dual career.
VMI freshman David Yost responded with a spirited win at 141, a 6-1 decision over John Delgado. Yost nearly scored a pair of takedowns early on in the opening stanza, and finally got his takedown midway through the period. He then tacked on a two-point near fall before allowing an escape by Delgado to bring the advantage to 4-1 through three minutes. Yost rode Delgado out the entire second period, and very nearly scored back points just before the buzzer. The Keydet escaped in the third and added on the riding time point to bring the final margin to 6-1.
Mason put a fitting end on their dominant performance at 149, where sophomore Brandon Bucher scored an 18-2, technical fall in 5:20.
VMI returns to action on Sunday, returning to Southern Conference action on the road, taking on Davidson.
“We've got a big match coming up on Sunday,” said Trudgeon. “We've got to be at our best. It will be a good test for us, Davidson is having a good year. Hopefully we'll be able to put our best wrestlers out there and have them compete at a high level.”
George Mason 31, VMI 12 (1/22/2009)
157- Frankie McLaughlin (GMU) MD Matthew Brock (VMI), 18-6
165- James Kaden (GMU) DEC Jayme Gordon (VMI), 7-6
174- Mendbagana Tovuujav (GMU) FALL Vincent Gallo (VMI), 0:30
184- Zach Ulm (GMU) FALL Thomas Kendzia (VMI), 0:33
197- Cayle Byers (GMU) DEC Ronald Ellsworth (VMI), 5-2
285- Josh Wine (VMI) FALL Mike Peterson (GMU), 2:33
125- John Pope (VMI) DEC Brian Wright (GMU), 5-2
133- Denny Herndon (GMU) MD Michael Bowman (VMI), 12-3
141- David Yost (VMI) DEC John Delgado (GMU), 6-1
149- Brandon Bucher (GMU) TF Joe Munno (VMI), 18-2 (5:20)
Attendance- 417
