Nov. 22, 2008

Navy Classic Results in PDF Format

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Sophomore Cayle Byers, the 11th-ranked wrestler in the nation in the latest InterMat poll, won his second consecutive championship at the 197-pound weight class at the Navy Classic, held on the campus of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday. In addition to Byers' tournament title, five other Mason wrestlers finished as place winners at the tournament.

The reigning champion Byers entered the tournament as the top seed at 197 pounds and didn't disappoint in his second appearance at the event. The Chugiak, Alaska native was dominant in his opening match, coming away with a win by technical fall in five minutes against UNC Greensboro's Peter Sturgeon. After advancing by technical fall, Byers recorded back-to-back pins to advance to the championship bout. In the quarterfinal round, Byers pinned Bucknell's Sean Locurto in 1:24. Another Bucknell wrestler, Nathan Jones, fell victim to a Byers' pin in 2:33 in the semifinal match. In the championship match, Byers faced a familiar foe, D.J. Bruce of Virginia Tech, whom Byers beat earlier in the season by a final score of 9-4. This time around, Byers took an 8-3 decision to claim the Navy Classic title.

Joining Byers as place winners at Saturday's event were freshman Denny Herndon, who finished fourth at 133 pounds; sophomore Frankie McLaughlin, who finished fifth at 157 pounds; freshman Jake Bohn, who finished sixth at 157 pounds; freshman Kramer Whitelaw, who finished fifth at 165 pounds; and sophomore Aaron Keeton, who finished sixth at 165 pounds. With his fifth-place finish at this year's tournament, McLaughlin earned his second consecutive place-winning performance at the Navy Classic. McLaughlin placed third at last year's event.

George Mason ended the day in the top five in the team scoring, finishing in fifth place with 69 points. Navy took the tournament title with 155.5 points, followed by Virginia Tech (153.5), Bucknell (120.5) and UNC Greensboro (69.5). A total of 12 teams competed at the Navy Classic.

After taking next weekend off, the Patriots wrestle again on Sunday, Dec. 7 at the Penn State Open in University Park, Pa.