Wrestling | 3/5/2022 8:54:00 PM

ATHENS, Ohio – All three Bloomsburg University wrestlers that made it through to Saturday of the Mid-American Conference Championships placed for the Huskies. Redshirt junior Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) headlined the trio as he took second overall at 141 pounds. As a team, Bloomsburg finished 12^th overall with 42 team points.
 
Mason wrestled just once on Saturday. Mason fell to Quinn Kinner of Rider University by a 4-1 decision in the championship match at 141- pounds despite dominating the riding time. The loss in the title match does not overshadow Mason's dominant performance through the MAC championships. Mason came into the tournament seeded eighth in his weight class and received a first-round bye. Wrestling on fresh legs, the redshirt junior turned a 6-2 deficit late in the third period into a win as he pinned #7 and top-seeded Dresden Simon at 6:30 in the quarterfinals. On Friday, Mason advanced to the championship match with a 5-3 decision over Gabe Willochell. The win in the semis also sealed Mason's trip to the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Mason's second-place finish is the highest of his career as he took seventh at 141 pounds in 2021.
 
Senior Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) finished a strong showing at the MAC championships with a major decision over Anthony Gibson of Northern Illinois to claim fifth overall at 157-pounds. Last season, Carida finished eighth overall at 157 pounds. Carida's season isn't over as he has a strong resume for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. The senior opened Saturday's competition with a 6-0 decision over Cole McComas of Rider to advance to the consolation semifinals. After a tough 3-0 loss to Jordan Slivka, Carida moved to the fifth-place match. Carida attacked right away and got a four-point near pin early in the match. The senior controlled the pace and was relentless as he closed out the day with a 14-3 major decision to finish fifth overall. Carida went 4-2 during the championships.
 
Junior Cole Rhone (Benton, Pa./Benton Area) placed fifth at 133-pounds, just a year removed from his fourth-place showing at the championships a year ago. Rhone opened the day with a 4-3 decision over Jake Manley of Cleveland State in the consolation quarterfinals before dropping a tough 5-3 decision to Gabe Stickland of Lock Haven in the consolation semifinals. Rhone rebounded for an impressive pin in the fifth-place match over Aaron Schulist of SIU Edwardsville. Rhone got a quick takedown and flipped Schulist over for the pin at just 58 seconds. The pin was his fastest of the season and his career.
 
Mason solidified his spot in the NCAA Championships while both Rhone and Carida await the announcement of the at-large bids by the NCAA. Final brackets will be released on March 9 for the NCAA Championships beginning March 17.