FAIRFAX, Va. - Caleb Tyus and Saul Ervin provided the big wins at the end, and Max Kristoff opened the day with a first-period fall as SIUE defeated Clarion 23-18.

The Cougars, now 1-11 overall, also dropped a 30-7 decision to host George Mason. Saturday's double dual was a last-minute schedule switch for the Cougars which has planned to be at the Indianapolis Open. SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates said he was thankful that George Mason and Clarion were able to work with him to help makeup a previously missed Mid-American Conference match at Clarion.

Tyus, a freshman, needed a victory against Clarion's John Altieri after Ervin bested Clarion's Seth Koleno to give the Cougars a 19-18 lead.

"He just wrestled really well," said Spates. "He was sharp in all of his areas. He was attacking and came away with a win that we really needed."

Kristoff started the match for the Cougars at 157 pounds.

"He came out offensively, got the takedown, slapped on the cradle and got the pin," said Spates. "He works extremely hard and for us to start with a 6-0 lead that was a momentum builder."

With the adversity of the trip and the season-long struggle with injuries and Covid, Spates was pleased with his team's performance.

Tyus and Colton McKiernan were both double winners on the day.

"We still wrestled hard against George Mason, but there were just mental mistakes," Spates said.

SIUE next heads to Athens, Ohio, for a MAC dual next Saturday at Ohio.

SIUE 23 Clarion 18
157: Max Kristoff (SIUE) over Caleb Hetrick (CLAR) (Fall 2:54)
165: Cameron Pine (CLAR) over Cardeionte Wilson (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
174: Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE) over John Worthing (CLAR) (Dec 8-6)
184: Sergio Villalobos (SIUE) over Max Wohlabaugh (CLAR) (Dec 5-4)
197: Will Feldkamp (CLAR) over Ryan Yarnell (SIUE) (Fall 0:56)
285: Colton McKiernan (SIUE) over Tyler Bagoly (CLAR) (Dec 3-2)
125: Joey Fischer (CLAR) over Austin Macias (SIUE) (MD 14-5)
133: Alex Blake (CLAR) over Matt Malavsky (SIUE) (TF 17-1 5:35)
141: Saul Ervin (SIUE) over Seth Koleno (CLAR) (MD 12-2)
149: Caleb Tyus (SIUE) over John Altieri (CLAR) (MD 10-2)

George Mason 30 SIUE 7
157: Avery Bassett (GMU) over Max Kristoff (SIUE) (Dec 2-0)
165: Tyler Kocak (GMU) over Cardeionte Wilson (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
174: Logan Messer (GMU) over Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE) (Dec 10-6)
184: Kyle Davis (GMU) over Sergio Villalobos (SIUE) (Fall 3:38)
197: Jon List (GMU) over Ryan Yarnell (SIUE) (Dec 4-2)
285: Colton McKiernan (SIUE) over Austin Stith (GMU) (Dec 4-0)
125: Ben Monn (GMU) over Austin Macias (SIUE) (Dec 4-2)
133: Michael Rapuano (GMU) over (SIUE) (For.)
141: Kaden Cassidy (GMU) over Saul Ervin (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
149: Caleb Tyus (SIUE) over Shawn Nonaka (GMU) (MD 8-0)