Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Senior Darrell Mason is coming home with his second All-American honor as he finished third at 285 pounds at the 2023 NCAA Division II Championships.
Mason, seeded sixth at 285, started the tournament with a big win by fall over Scheib of Shippensburg. In the quarterfinals, Mason dropped a 6-2 decision loss to #3-seeded Campbell of Glenville State. Bouncing back, Mason picked up a 3-2 decision win over Watt of Chadron State.
Starting the third round consolation this morning, Mason defeated #2-seeded Lee Herrington of Nebraska-Kearney in an 8-3 decision. Mason had takedowns in the first and second periods, including a 4-pt nearfall in the second period to advance to the semifinal consolation round.
In the semifinals, Mason faced #4-seeded Johnny Green of Ouachita Baptist. After no scoring in the first two periods, Mason found the escape and finished with riding time to secure the 2-0 decision win. This moved Mason to the final match for third place.
In the third-place match, Mason battled Cale Gray of Indianapolis. Both wrestlers finished the first period tied 4-4. Gray had the first takedown. Mason found a reversal which was then escaped. Shortly after, Mason had another takedown, which was also escaped. Mason had a late takedown in the second period that would be the turning point in the match and give Mason the momentum he needed to claim victory. In the third period, Mason chose the down position, giving him the chance to escape and then gain another takedown with 32 seconds left. With this 9-5 decision win, Mason finished the season 17-4 and claimed All-American honors for the second straight year.
With today’s results, Minnesota State finished 25th in the team standings with 14.5 team points.
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