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Herrera-Rondon Hand Raised vs. American

PREVIEW: Golden Eagles Go Hunting for Bids at MACs

2026 Mid-American Conference Championships
March 6-7, 2026
Buffalo, N.Y. / Alumni Arena


Schedule of Events 

 
Friday, March 6 
12:00 PM | Opening Round
2:00 PM   | Championship Quarterfinals
                | Consolation Round 1
5:00 PM   | Championship Semifinals
                  Consolation Round 2
                  (Consolation Round 2 moves to all four mats once the Semifinals are concluded) 
 
Saturday, March 7
11:30 AM | Consolation Quarterfinals
1:00 PM   | Consolation Semifinals
2:50 PM   | Championship Finals Parade & Face-off Introductions 
2:57 PM   | National Anthem 
3:00 PM   | Championship Finals  
                | 3rd Place, 5th Place, 7th Place Matches and 9th Place matches where applicable (4 Mats)  
                 NCAA Qualifying Spot Matches to follow if necessary

How to Watch


The conference championships will be broadcast via combination of ESPN+ (subscription required) and YouTube (free). 
  • Friday - Mat 1, Mat 2 and Mat 4 will appear live on YouTube. Mat 3 will appear live on ESPN+.
  • Saturday (Consolation Quarterfinals and Semifinals) - Mat 1, Mat 2 and Mat 4 will appear live on YouTube. Mat 3 will appear live on ESPN+.
  • Saturday (Championship Matches) - Mat 3 will appear on ESPN+
  • Saturday (3rd and 5th Place Matches) - Mat 2 and Mat 4 will appear live on YouTube.

Clarion Lineup


125 - Travis Clawson (22-5)
133 - Joey Fischer (19-8)
141 - Scott Johnson (12-8)
149 - Oliver Fairchild (10-14)
157 - Wesley Barnes (14-11)
165 - Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (17-7)
174 - Gabe Lilly (11-13)
184 - Adrian Gacek (12-12)
197 - Ethan Wiant (4-16)
285 - John Meyers (6-6)


NCAA Allocations for the MAC


125 - 2
133 - 4
141 - 2
149 - 4
157 - 4
165 - 2
174 - 2
184 - 3
197 - 2
285 - 2
Total - 27
 

MAC Championships Pre-Seeds

 

125 lbs. 

  1. Tyler Klinsky, Rider 
  2. Blake West, Northern Illinois
  3. Travis Clawson, Clarion
  4. Archer Anderson, Central Michigan
  5. Ben Monn, George Mason
  6. Chris Vargo, Edinboro
  7. Drew Davis, SIUE
  8. Jace Schafer, Bloomsburg

133 lbs. 

  1. Markel Baker, Northern Illinois
  2. Marcel Lopez, SIUE
  3. Will Betancourt, Rider
  4. Gable Strickland, Lock Haven
  5. Joey Fischer, Clarion
  6. Nick Molchak, Kent State
  7. Anthony Lucchiani, George Mason
  8. Andrew Austin, Central Michigan

141 lbs. 

  1. Elijah Griffin, Rider
  2. Wyatt Henson, Lock Haven
  3. Charles Curtis, Northern Illinois
  4. Tate Hisey, George Mason
  5. Jacob Brenneman, Edinboro
  6. Ben Lunn, SIUE
  7. Tyler Roark, Buffalo
  8. Nick Blackburg, Central Michigan

149 lbs. 

  1. Caleb Tyus, SIUE
  2. Lucas Kapusta, Lock Haven
  3. Kaden Cassidy, George Mason
  4. Dylan Layton, Rider
  5. Ryan Michaels, Edinboro
  6. Jimmy Nugent, Central Michigan 
  7. Sam Ewig, Buffalo
  8. Oliver Fairchild, Clarion

157 lbs. 

  1. Mason Shrader, Central Michigan
  2. Derek Raike, Ohio
  3. DJ McGee, George Mason
  4. Kaleb Burgess, Buffalo
  5. Nick Stampoulos, Lock Haven
  6. James Farina, Rider
  7. Hayden Whidden, SIUE
  8. Garrett McChesney, Edinboro

165 lbs. 

  1. Brock Woodcock, SIUE
  2. Ryan Burgos, Edinboro
  3. Brett Smith, Northern Illinois
  4. Chandler Amaker, Central Michigan
  5. Chris Earnest, Kent State
  6. Klein Laffey, Buffalo
  7. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, Clarion
  8. Brendon Abdon, Rider

174 lbs. 

  1. Avery Bassett, Lock Haven
  2. Garrett Thompson, Ohio
  3. Logan Messer, George Mason
  4. Enrique Munguia, Rider
  5. Tommy Bennett, Northern Illinois
  6. Rafael Knapp, Buffalo
  7. Tate Geiser, Edinboro
  8. Dominic Lopez, SIUE

184 lbs. 

  1. Sal Perrine, Ohio
  2. Jared McGill, Edinboro
  3. Malachi DuVall, George Mason
  4. Deron Pulliam, SIUE
  5. Sammy Gauteau, Lock Haven
  6. Adrian Gacek, Clarion
  7. Wyatt Ferguson, Central Michigan
  8. Marcus Petite, Buffalo

197 lbs. 

  1. Brock Zurawski, Rider
  2. Zayne Lehman, Ohio
  3. Tucker Hogan, Lock Haven
  4. Blake Schaffer, Kent State
  5. Luke Cochran, Central Michigan
  6. Brody Evans, Edinboro
  7. Jack Kelly, George Mason
  8. Connor Jacobs, Buffalo

285 lbs. 

  1. Devon Dawson, Northern Illinois
  2. Bryan Caves, Central Michigan
  3. Bryson Buhk, SIUE
  4. Magnus Bibla, Buffalo
  5. Mason Rebuck, Bloomsburg
  6. Hogan Swenski, Rider
  7. John Meyers, Clarion
  8. Kade Sottolano, Lock Haven 


Quick Notes

  • The Golden Eagles will compete for the seventh time in program history at the Mid-American  Conference championships, hosted over two days at Buffalo's Alumni Arena
  • In each of their first four years in the conference, Clarion improved on their standing at the conference tournament, finishing as high as third in 2023
  • Clarion finished the 2025-26 season with a 7-6 dual record, representing a four-win improvement on a year ago, and their 4-4 MAC dual match record was a two-win improvement
  • The Golden Eagles have had at least one MAC finalist in each of their first six years in the conference, with a high of three finalists at the 2023 championships hosted by George Mason
  • Since starting the year with an 0-3 record in dual matches, Clarion won seven of their final 10 duals, with four of those wins coming away from Tippin Gymnasium
  • Travis Clawson enters this weekend's action as the one Golden Eagle wrestler to allocate an NCAA berth, doing so at 125 pounds, and is ranked 23rd in the most recent RPI release
    • Clawson was a finalist in the 125 pound bracket a year ago, making him the first Clarion true freshman to reach a MAC final since Joey Fischer made the 125 pound finals in 2022
    • Clawson leads all Golden Eagles at this year's MAC Championships in takedowns (35) and total match points (236)
  • Now entering his fourth career MAC championships - more than any other active Clarion wrestler - Joey Fischer enters the weekend with a career record of 8-5 at the conference tournament
    • Fischer and Clawson are the only two active Golden Eagles to compete in a MAC final
    • Fischer accounted for 56.5 team points over the course of the season, the most for any Golden Eagle competing this weekend
  • Of the wrestlers competing for the Golden Eagles this weekend, Alejandro Herrera-Rondon leads with 18 total near falls, including 15 four-point near falls
    • Thirteen of Herrera-Rondon's 17 wins this year have come with bonus points attached, including five tech falls and six major decisions
  • Since the beginning of January, the Golden Eagles have won every dual where John Meyers has competed; he is 5-2 in that span with three wins by fall, including a walkoff win by fall over Buffalo 
  • Clarion has competed in Buffalo - or, at the least, against the University at Buffalo on the road - 11 times over the years, with a 3-7 record in the City of Good Neighbors




Clarion at the MAC Championships by Kenn Staub, Special to ClarionGolden Eagles.com

Clarion joined the MAC in 2019 along with Bloomsburg, Edinboro, George Mason, Lock Haven, and Rider following dissolution of the Eastern Wrestling League at the end of the 2018-2019 season.

The Golden Eagles experienced success at their first MAC tournament. Greg Bulsak won the 197-pound championship in 2020 and Brock Zacherl was runner-up at 149-pounds. Neither would compete at the NCAA tournament, however; that event cancelled due to the nascent COVID pandemic. Both Bulsak and Zacherl were named All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Clarion had its greatest success at the 2023 tournament, finishing third as a team and boasting two MAC champions – Seth Koleno (141 pounds) and Will Feldkamp (184 pounds). Feldkamp went on to place seventh at that year's NCAA Championships, becoming Clarion's first All-American on the mat since Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (third) and James Fleming (eighth) in 2013. 

Outside its MAC champions, Clarion has had its share of Top 5 finishers and NCAA qualifiers.

At the 2021 tournament, the season after he became Clarion's first MAC champion, Bulsak (197 pounds) placed second, again advancing to the NCAAs. Max Wohlabaugh (184 pounds) was fourth, one victory shy of qualifying for the national championships.

In 2022, current Golden Eagle Joey Fischer was runner-up at 125 pounds. Feldkamp's second place at 197-pounds foreshadowed what was to come the next season. Ty Bagoly (285 pounds) took third.  All were one win shy of automatically advancing to the national tournament, though Feldkamp eventually received an at-large bid.

John Worthing (174 pounds) joined Koleno and Feldkamp at the 2023 NCAAs, earning an automatic berth after his runner-up finish at that year's conference event.

Cam Pine (184 pounds) placed second at the tournament in 2024, qualifying for NCAAs. Worthing was fourth, coming up one win short of an NCAA allocated spot.

A year ago, Travis Clawson was the Golden Eagles' stand-out, finishing second at 125 pounds after coming into the event as the seventh seed.

The Season So Far by Sean Fagan, Director of Athletic Communications

After what could be fairly described as a disappointing season in 2024-25, the Golden Eagles have bounced back with a strong effort in 2025-26, improving by four dual wins and posting a winning record of 7-6 overall in dual matches. That includes a 4-4 mark against Mid-American Conference opponents, with Clarion owning wins over Buffalo, Bloomsburg, Kent State and Ohio.

At one point in the season Clarion ripped off six straight dual wins, starting with a home dual win over the Bulls on Jan. 16. They clipped Gardner-Webb and Campbell on the road before returning home to make it four straight with a win over Bloomsburg, and then topped LIU and Kent State at the M.A.C. Center to make it a half-dozen in a row.

The team's improvement after the calendar turned over to 2026 correlated with a handful of Golden Eagles rounding into form, rattling off long individual win streaks of their own. At 125 pounds, Travis Clawson - Clarion's returning MAC finalist from a year ago - has not lost a match since falling on the second day of the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 3, winning eight straight matches in duals. That run helped propel him into 23rd on the NCAA RPI rankings and 33rd on Intermat's ranking on Feb. 24. 

Another wrestler on an impressive streak of his own is redshirt senior Joey Fischer, who will try to get over the hump and reach the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. The 133-pounder went undefeated in MAC dual meet competition this year and enters the tournament on a five-match win streak. Helping his NCAA cause is, ironically, the strength of the weight in the conference; the MAC will send four automatic qualifiers at 133 pounds to Cleveland, tying it with 149 and 157 pounds for the most allocations in the tournament.

At 165 pounds, Alejandro Herrera-Rondon has rounded into form, winning five of his six matches. Four of those wins have come with bonus points, including two falls and two major decisions. His lone blemish in the last month came against Edinboro's Ryan Burgos, a 5-4 decision for the Fighting Scot on Feb. 5.

Of late, though, the bellwether for Clarion has been John Meyers. The heavyweight is 5-2 in his last seven matches, including three falls and a major decision; the Golden Eagles have won every dual when he's competed since the beginning of January.
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