Wrestling | 2/10/2021 8:11:00 AM

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Bloomsburg University wrestling team will compete in its final dual of the abbreviated 2020-21 season on Thursday afternoon when it heads to the University at Buffalo for a Mid-American Conference (MAC) dual at Buffalo's Alumni Arena. Action gets underway at 3:00 p.m.

Bloomsburg holds a 7-5-1 advantage over the Bulls in the all-time series between the two schools. However, the teams have not competed on the mat in dual competition since the Huskies earned an 18-15 victory at the Nelson Field House on December 18, 2012.

Last Saturday, the Huskies returned to action for the first time in nearly a calendar year but dropped a 41-6 decision at Hofstra University in the season opener. Bloomsburg then wrestled ten matches in eight different weight classes against Drexel University and posted four victories against the Dragons.

Bloomsburg's only victory in the opener against Hofstra came at 141 pounds when redshirt sophomore Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) pinned Vinny Vespa 40 seconds into the second period. The two teams then wrestled six extra matches following the dual with each producing three victories. Freshman Antoine Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) picked up his first collegiate win with an 11-5 decision over Matt Templeton at 133 pounds. Mason followed with a 3-2 decision over Justin Hoyle and sophomore Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) edged Charlie Kane, 9-7, at 149 pounds to cap off the additional bouts.

Junior Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown), an NCAA qualifier last season, won both of his matches at 157 pounds against Drexel. Carida blanked Max Livingston, 9-0, for a major decision victory and then shutout Felix Belga, 4-0, for his second win of the day. Redshirt freshman Tanner Culver (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) posted a 17-5 major decision victory over Nathan Lapinski at 174 pounds for his first counted collegiate win while junior Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) pinned Derek Rose in just over a minute in the heavyweight bout to end the day for the Huskies.

Bloomsburg will have a slightly different look to the projected line-up on Thursday:
 

WEIGHT	NAME	YEAR	2020-21	CAREER
125	Bronson Garber (Millersburg, Pa./Upper Dauphin)	R-Fr	0-0	0-0
133	Cole Rhone (Benton, Pa./Benton Area)	R-Fr	0-0	0-0
141	#22 Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain)	R-So	2-0	21-10
149	Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor)	So	1-3	14-18
157	Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown)	Jr	2-2	27-35
165	Matt Benedetti (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan)	Fr	0-0	0-0
174	Tanner Culver (Hartland, Mich./Hartland)	R-Fr	1-2	1-2
184	Bruno Stolfi (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton)	R-Fr	0-2	0-2
197	TBA
285	Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area)	Jr	1-1	13-23

Stepping into the lineup for their first collegiate matches will be Bronson Garber (Millersburg, Pa./Upper Dauphin) at 125 pounds, Cole Rhone (Benton, Pa./Benton Area) at 133 pounds, and Matt Benedetti (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) at 165 pounds. Meanwhile, Mason, who won both of his matches during the opening weekend, is ranked 22nd in the country according to the latest FloWrestling rankings released on Monday afternoon.

Next up for the Huskies will be the MAC Championships at the Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, on Friday, February 26, and Saturday, February 27. Rider University will serve as the host for this year's tournament.