Wrestling | 3/4/2022 10:26:00 PM

ATHENS, Ohio – Redshirt junior Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) pulled off the upset of the first day of the tournament as he pinned the seventh-ranked Dresden Simon in the quarterfinals of the 141-pound bracket at the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships, Friday. Mason and the Huskies sit in 12^th with 30 team points going into the final day of the competition.
 
Mason trailed 6-2 late into the quarterfinals match to #7 Dresden Simon of Central Michigan but kept fighting with 30 seconds left. Mason locked up a cradle and got the pin at 6:30 to knock off Simon and book a spot in the quarterfinals. The redshirt junior secured his place in the finals, and by pre-allocations for the MAC at 141 pounds, his spot in the NCAA Championships with a 5-3 decision over Gabe Willochell of Edinboro. Mason will battle Quinn Kinner of Rider for the MAC title at 141 pounds on Saturday.
 
After a solid first day at the MAC Championships, senior Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) will look to secure a third-place finish at 157-pounds. Carida opened the day with an 18-2 tech fall as time expired over Kyle Schickel of Clarion in the tournament's opening round. Carida fell to Michael Petite of Buffalo by a narrow 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals but won his first match in the wrestle backs, 6-0, over PJ Gohn of Edinboro. Carida will face Cole McComas of Rider for the chance at the third-place match later that day.
 
Junior Cole Rhone (Benton, Pa./Benton Area) is also looking for a spot in a third-place match for the Huskies. Rhone opened the championships with a pin at the 4:00 mark over Aaron Schulist of SIUE to advance to the quarterfinals. After falling to Giovanni DiSabato of Ohio in overtime, 4-2, Rhone picked up a 6-4 decision over Mikey Kaminski of Norther Illinois to advance in the wrestle backs in the 133-pound bracket. Rhone faces Jake Manley of Cleveland State for a chance in tomorrow's third-place match.
 
Freshman Cade Balestrini (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy) fell to Alex Madrigal of George Mason in the opening round of the 149-pound bracket but picked up his first postseason win in his first match in the wrestle backs. Balestrini earned a 9-3 decision over Bryan Miraglia of Rider to advance but fell to John Arceri of Buffalo in the second round of wrestle backs to end his MAC championship tournament.
 
After day one, Lock Haven leads the team standings, following a 94-point outing. Central Michigan resides in the runner-up spot with 73.5 points, while Northern Illinois, Clarion, and Kent State round out the top five.
 
The consolation rounds begin at 11:30 am for Rhone and Carida, while Mason will vie for a MAC title at 3:00 pm. Coverage will be provided by ESPN+ and Track Wrestling.