FAIRFAX, Va. --- The Golden Eagle wrestling team opened up the dual season on Saturday, winning a conference match at the Mason Duals hosted by George Mason. Clarion dropped their opening dual to American 21-18 before claiming their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) win with a 23-12 decision over the hosting Patriots, but closed out with a loss by criteria against The Citadel at 17-17.
 
American 21, Clarion 18
125 - Jack Maida (American) over Joey Fischer (Clarion) (Dec 4-1)
133 - Maximilian Leete (American) over Scott Johnson (Clarion) (Fall 4:54)
141 - Cael McIntyre (American) over David McClelland (Clarion) (Dec 5-4)
149 - Kyle Schickel (Clarion) over Ryan Zimmerman (American) (Fall 3:56)
157 - Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) over Kaden Milheim (American) (TF 15-0 3:12)
165 - Eli Brinsky (Clarion) over Breon Phifer (American) (MD 16-2)
174 - John Worthing (Clarion) over Lucas White (American) (Dec 4-0)
184 - Connor Bourne (American) over Cam Pine (Clarion) (Dec 4-3)
197 – Liam Volk-Klos (American) over Ethan Wiant (Clarion) (Dec 4-1)
285 - William Jarrell (American) over John Meyers (Clarion) (Dec 5-1)
 
Recap: The match with American started with three straight wins for the Eagles, including a win by fall for Maximilian Leete to beat Scott Johnson. Kyle Schickel stemmed the bleeding by getting that fall back, flattening Ryan Zimmerman in the 149-pound bout to pull Clarion within a 12-6 match score. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon did his best to keep that momentum going, pulling the Golden Eagles to within a single team point with a 15-0 tech fall against Kaden Milheim that ended just 12 seconds into the second period.
 
The Golden Eagles finally clawed their way entirely out of that early hole in the 165-pound bout, with Eli Brinsky convincingly beating Breon Phifer by 16-2 major decision to put his team ahead 15-12. John Worthing tacked on a win over Lucas White, defeating him by 4-0 decision in the 174-pound bout. The Eagles rallied with three wins of their own, though, with William Jarrell holding on for a 5-1 decision over John Meyers in the heavyweight bout to break an 18-18 tie and win the match for American.
 
Clarion 23, George Mason 12
125 - Ben Monn (George Mason) over Joey Fischer (Clarion) (TB-1 2-1)
133 - Shawn Nonaka (George Mason) over Scott Johnson (Clarion) (TB-1 2-1)
141 - Tye Varndell (Clarion) over Dominic Hargrove (George Mason) (SV-1 2-1)
149 - Kyle Schickel (Clarion) over Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) (MD 11-0)
157 - DJ Mcgee (George Mason) over Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) (Dec 4-2)
165 - Evan Maag (George Mason) over Eli Brinsky (Clarion) (Dec 8-6)
174 - John Worthing (Clarion) over Sean Coughlin (George Mason) (MD 8-0)
184 - Cam Pine (Clarion) over Malachi DuVall (George Mason) (Dec 5-4)
197 - Ethan Wiant (Clarion) over Tyler Kocak (George Mason) (Inj. 0:26)
285 - John Meyers (Clarion) over Chad Nix (George Mason) (Dec 7-3)
Recap: The second dual of the day was a crucial MAC dual with the Patriots, with the Golden Eagles winning six of the 10 duals – including four straight to end the session – to pick up the 23-12 win over George Mason.
 
The team match started with three straight matches that went to overtime, with Ben Monn and Shawn Nonaka winning at 125 and 133 pounds respectively to put Mason ahead. Tye Varndell stopped that little streak with a sudden victory win at 141 pounds, when Dominic Hargrove was cited for using an illegal move in the extra period. Schickel picked up his second win of the day, this time clocking a major decision against Kaden Cassidy, to put the Golden Eagles ahead 7-6.
 
George Mason built a 12-6 lead with two more wins by decision, but Worthing cut into that with a major decision of his own, beating Sean Coughlin 8-0 in the 174-pound bout. Worthing got a late takedown in the first period and then opened the second with a reversal, riding Coughlin out for the rest of the period. Cam Pine took a 5-4 decision at 184 pounds to put the Golden Eagels ahead 13-12 and they then clinched the team match at 197 pounds, when Ethan Wiant took the match with Tyler Kocak by injury default just 26 seconds into the bout. John Meyers added three more points at the end with a decision over Chad Nix.
 
Clarion 17, The Citadel 17 – Clarion loses by criteria
125 - Joey Fischer (Clarion) over Malik Hardy (The Citadel) (Dec 8-4)
133 - Scott Johnson (Clarion) over George Rosas (The Citadel) (Dec 7-2)
141 - Jacob Silka (The Citadel) over Tye Varndell (Clarion) (MD 15-4)
149 - Kyle Schickel (Clarion) over Jeffrey Boyd (The Citadel) (Dec 8-7)
157 - Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) over Thomas Snipes (The Citadel) (TF 18-1 6:44)
165 - Benjy Haubert (The Citadel) over Eli Brinsky (Clarion) (Dec 9-5)
174 - Joshua Stillings (The Citadel) over John Worthing (Clarion) (Dec 6-2)
184 - Cam Pine (Clarion) over Adam Ortega (The Citadel) (SV-1 4-1)
197 - Patrick Brophy (The Citadel) over Ethan Wiant (Clarion) (SV-1 7-4)
285 - Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel) over John Meyers (Clarion) (MD 12-4)
 
Recap: The final dual of the day was quite literally as close as it gets, with the two teams splitting the bouts 5-5 and neither recording a win by fall. The devil was in the details as the Bulldogs won the match based on the third tiebreaker criteria, total number of match points scored from decisions, major decisions and technical falls. The Citadel finished with 65 points, just edging out Clarion's 61 points.
 
Joey Fischer and Scott Johnson started the final match with wins by decision, with Fischer beating Malik Hardy by 8-4 decision at 125 pounds and Johnson defeating George Rosas at 133 pounds for his first career dual win. Jacob Silka racked up a major decision at 141 pounds with a 15-4 win over Varndell, but Schickel finished off a perfect 3-0 day with an 8-7 decision over Jeffery Boyd.
 
At 157 pounds, Herrera-Rondon picked up his second technical fall of the day, working Thomas Snipes for an 18-1 win with 16 seconds left to compete in the third period. That gave the Golden Eagles a 14-4 match lead, and Pine made it 17-10 with a sudden victory takedown against Adam Ortega in the 184-pound bout. The Bulldogs rallied back in the final two matches of the day, though, with Patrick Brophy beating Ethan Wiant in sudden victory to cut the deficit to 17-13. Jonathan Chesser did just enough to tie the team score in the heavyweight bout, beating Meyers by major decision with a 12-4 score.