Kent, Ohio -- George Mason wrestler DJ McGee (157) punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament on the first day at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship held at Kent State University. Three Patriots wrestlers are in the Championship matches tomorrow, McGee, Evan Maag (165), and Malachi DuVall (184).
 
McGee will wrestler #16 Peyten Keller from Ohio in the championship bout. McGee dropped a close, 3-0, decision to Keller earlier this season.
 
Maag will look to avenge a regular season 12-10 decision to Ohio's Garrett Thompson in the championship bout at 165 pounds. The redshirt sophomore earned his way to the final with a 11-2 win over Hunter Shaut (Buffalo), and a 5-3 decision over Tyer Swiderski.
 
DuVall will battle top-seeded Cameron Pine from Clarion in the 184-pound championship. He earned a technical fall, 15-0, win over Anthony Derosa (Bloomsburg) in first round and a 6-4 decision over number 3 seed Zayne Lehman (Ohio).
 
Kaden Cassidy (149) will wrestle on Saturday with hopes of a third place finish. The unseeded wrestle defeated 3rd-seeded Caleb Tyus of SIUE, then pins againt 6-seed Kaleb Burgess of Buffalo before falling to 2nd-seeded Quinn Kinner in the semis.
 
The Patriots are in third place with 76.5 points heading into tomorrow's action. Central Michigan leads with 97.5 points, followed by Rider 86.5 points. Lock Haven is in fourth with 67.5 points.
 
Mason finished a best sixth-place finish in 2023 in its fourth year as members of the MAC. The Patriots finished 11^th the past two seasons in the 13-team conference.
 
Wrestlers are back on the mat tomorrow beginning with consolation rounds at 11:30 am while the championship matches begin at 3 p.m.

• 125 – JB Dragovich:
  • 4-1 decision over Max Elton (Buffalo) in round 1
  • 0-7 fall loss to top-seeded Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) in round 2
  • 8-1 decision win over Adan Benavidez (Kent State) in consolation
• 133 – Brandon Wittenberg:
  • 0-8 Major decision loss to Marcel Lopez (SIU Edwardsville) in round 1
  • Bye advances him to consolation round 3
  • 8-3 Decision win over Nick Molchak (Cleveland State) in consolation
• 141 – Dominic Hargrove:
  • 0-9 major decision loss to Ryan Sullivan (Clarion) in round 1
  • bye advances him to consolation round 3
  • 3-0 fall win over Dylan Layton (Cleveland State) in consolation
• 149 - Kaden Cassidy:
  • 8-2 decision over Caleb Tyus (SIU Edwardsville) in round 1
  • 3-0 fall win over Kalben Burgess (Buffalo) in round 2
  • 5-8 decision loss to Quinn Kinner (Rider) in the semis, moves to consolation final 4
• 157 – DJ Mcgee:
  • Bye in round 1
  • 4-3 decision win over Keegan Knapp (Kent State), advances to final 4
  • 4-3 decision win over Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan), advances to championship
• 165 – Evan Maag:
  • Bye in round 1
  • 11-2 fall win over Hunter Shaut (Buffalo), advances to final 4
  • 5-3 decision win over Tyler Swiderski, advances to final
• 174 – Paul Pierce:
  • SV-2 (sudden victory, second period) loss to Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) in first round
  • Major decision 12-4 win against Nolen Zeigler (Bloomsburg) in second consolation round
• 184 – Malachi DuVall:
  • Technical fall 15-0 win over Anthony Derosa (Bloomsburg) in first round
  • 6-4 decision win over Zayne Lehman (Ohio), advances to final 4
• 197 – Tyler Kocak:
  • Technical fall 3-18 loss to Benjamin Smith (Cleveland State) in first round
  • Bye advances him to consolation round 3
• 285 – Donovan Sprouse:
  • Technical fall 6-21 loss to David Szuba (Rider) in first round
  • Bye opponent advances to consolation 3^rd round