Wrestling Ends Final Road Trip With 25-11 Win Over George Mason

FAIRFAX, Va. - The Old Dominion wrestling team (9-9, 5-2 MAC) won seven out of 10 bouts and earned a 25-11 win over Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe George Mason (7-8, 2-5 MAC) in its final road contest of the regular season on Sunday afternoon. 

"We liked the effort that our team gave today," head coach Steve Martin said after the win. "The guys were having fun and wrestling in the moment, which is critical at the end of the year."

In the one ranked match of the afternoon, No. 18 Sa'Derian Perry took on No. 32 Alex Madrigal in the 141-pound bout. Perry took down Madrigal early in the battle, riding him for two minutes and 10 seconds in the first period. Neither combatant could score any points in the final two rounds, so Perry's takedown, along with the riding time accumulated, held up to give him the 3-0 win by decision over the ranked Patriot. 

With the match starting at 157 pounds, No. 10 Larry Early served as the Old Dominion catalyst, earning an 8-3 win by decision to put ODU on the board first. Early earned three takedowns, two in the second period and rode Kolby Ho for one minute and seven seconds to earn the victory. 

GMU quickly tied the match at three apiece after Neil Schuster managed to take down Shane Jones in a sudden-victory period at 165 pounds. The two combatants were tied, 4-4 after the three regulation rounds, but halfway through the overtime period, Schuster managed to earn the two points to grab the 6-4 decision.

At 174 pounds, Alex Cramer snapped a 10-bout losing streak in a big way, earning a 9-0 win by major decision over Anthony Lombardo. Cramer was in control the entire match, earning three takedowns and four minutes and 11 seconds of riding time. Cramer's four-point major decision win gave the Monarchs back the lead, one they would not relinquish again. 

Antonio Agee earned the hand-raise after a 6-3 win by decision over Paul Pierce. Agee earned three points in both the second and third frames to double-up the 184-pound Patriot.

Senior Timothy Young, coming off of a victory over No. 25 Jacob Koser of Navy on Friday night, earned bonus points for ODU with a 16-5 major decision victory over Ramses Montalvo in the 197-pound bout. Young took down Montalvo seven times, which led to just under three minutes of riding time in the rout. 

George Mason's Jake Slinger ended the three-bout winning streak the Monarchs developed, beating freshman Jacob Bullock in the heavyweight matchup by a narrow margin, 8-7. Bullock held a 6-4 lead going into the third frame, but Slinger earned an escape point and an extra point due to stalling being called on Bullock for the second time in the match. With 38 seconds remaining, Slinger took down Bullock to take an 8-6 lead. Bullock escaped at the end, but it wasn't enough, bringing the score to 14-6 in favor of the Monarchs.

At 125 pounds, No. 14 Killian Cardinale earned four takedowns and defeated Talha Farooq in a 10-4 decision. At 133 pounds, Josh Jones brought the Patriots to within five points with a 15-0 technical fall victory over Shannon Hanna II.

Perry's ranked win over Madrigal clinched the victory for ODU, giving the Monarchs a commanding 20-11 lead. The final match of the dual came at 149 pounds, and Kenan Carter ended the day with a bang for ODU. While facing Justin Yorkdale, Carter earned a 16-0 technical fall victory to give the dual its final score of 25-11. Carter had three four-point near-falls in the dominating, including a takedown and a reversal to earn his 10th bonus-point result of the season.

"We finish our dual season with senior day next Sunday at 1 p.m. against Bloomsburg," Martin said looking ahead. "We are looking forward to another opportunity to compete in front of our home crowd before we compete in at the National Qualifier in three weeks."

Up Next
The Monarchs wrap up their regular season this upcoming Sunday, February 23 against MAC foe Bloomsburg at 1 p.m. The dual is also Senior Day for the ODU wrestling program, as it will be celebrating the careers of the seven Monarch seniors on the team.

Box Score
Old Dominion 25 - George Mason 11

*157: #10 Larry Early (ODU) dec. over Kolby Ho (GMU) 8-3
165: Neil Schuster (GMU) dec. over Shane Jones (ODU) 6-4 (SV-1)
174: Alex Cramer (ODU) MD over Anthony Lombardo (GMU) 9-0
184: Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over Paul Pierce (GMU) 6-3
197: Timothy Young (ODU) MD over Ramses Montalvo (GMU) 16-5
285: Jake Slinger (GMU) dec. over Jacob Bullock (ODU) 8-7
125: #14 Killian Cardinale (ODU) dec. over Talha Farooq (GMU) 10-4
133: Josh Jones (GMU) TF over Shannon Hanna II (ODU) 15-0 (4:33)
141: #18 Sa'Derian Perry (ODU) dec. over #32 Alex Madrigal (GMU) 3-0
149: Kenan Carter (ODU) TF over Justin Yorkdale (GMU) 16-0 (5:50)
*Match Started at 157 Pounds