Since the wrestling team consists mainly of underclassmen and inexperienced wrestlers, many observers had relatively low expectations for the team entering last Saturday’s Bull Run District Tournament. However, in a surprising turn of events all the Mason wrestlers who entered the tournament placed in the top four in their respective weight classes, and as a result, qualified for the Region B tournament, to be held February 25 at Strasburg High School.

The following wrestlers qualified in these weight classes (with their finishes indicated: 112: David Ray 2nd; 119: Jake Schwind 4th; 125: Tashdid Khan 2nd; 130: Nick Pitas 2nd; 135: Andy Millar 4th; 145: Trevor Quillin 4th; 160: Ramsey Hannah 2nd; 171: Barret Kennet 3rd;189: Steve Parks 2nd.

As a result of a highly successful first two rounds, the Mustangs entered the semifinal round in second place, behind only the Manassas Park Cougars. However, reality set back in during the finals, and the Strasburg Rams and Madison Mountaineers surged past Mason. The only thing which eluded the Mustangs this weekend was an individual champion, as the five Mustangs in the finals failed to bring home a gold medal.

At 112 pounds, freshman David Ray upset the number two seed from Clark County in the semifinals, avenging a regular season loss, and found himself in the finals against an older Strasburg opponent. The match was close throughout all three periods, and at several points Ray appeared close to turning the tide. However, the final score was 6-1 in favor of his opponent.

In the 125-pound class, Tashdid Khan improved on his fourth place finish in the district last year, and finished as runner up. Having just returned from injuries to both knees, Khan dominated his Madison County opponent in the semifinals, before falling to another Strasburg Ram in the finals.

The 130-pound weight class featured seniors Nick Pitas from Mason against two time returning state champion Lam Le from Manassas Park. The match started out close, and the two battled to a 4-2 score after two periods. During the third period, with the score 6-3, Le secured the pin, and won his fourth straight district title.

Andy Millar, having recently moved from 140 pounds to 135, managed to finish in fourth place. After pinning his opponent in the first round, Millar came up against the buzz saw that is three-time returning state champ Todd Smoot. Despite a valiant effort, the day belonged to Smoot, and Millar was dropped to the consolation bracket. After advancing to the third to fourth place match, Millar dropped a close decision to his opponent from Strasburg.

Senior Cinderella story Trevor Quillin continued his storybook run, advancing to the regional tournament with a fourth place finish at 145 pounds. After losing to last year’s state runner up from Rappahannock County, Quillin advanced to the third-fourth place match, before losing a close decision to his opponent from Madison County.

At 160 pounds, Ramsey Hannah pulled off the largest upset of the day, defeating the bracket’s number one seed during the semifinals. In the finals, the fairy tale ended, as Hannah's Manassas Park opponent managed to defeat him by a relatively close decision by points.

Barret Kennet and Steve Parks anchored the upper weights for the Mustangs, winning third and second at 171 and 189 pounds, respectively. Kennet fell to last year’s state runner up in the semifinals, but managed to battle his way back to the third-fourth place match, avenging a regular-season defeat in the process. In the third-fourth match Kennet dominated his Madison County foe, pinning him in the second period. Parks, having moved to George Mason from Manassas Park, pulled on the black and red and did battle with the Vegas gold and black in the 189-pound final. After a rather lopsided regular season defeat, Parks battled a much larger senior to a 4-2 loss.

The Mustangs will take to the mats this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at Strasburg.

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