PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Senior Mason Barrett secured All-America honors for the third consecutive year while advancing to the national semifinals to highlight Averett University men's wrestling's opening day at the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championships hosted at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday.

Barrett, the No. 4 seed at 125 pounds, won all three of his matches on Friday to advance to Saturday's national semifinals matchup against two-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Josiah Fry of host Johnson & Wales University.
 
To clinch a spot on Day 2 and earn All-America accolades, Barrett had to take on a familiar face in Roanoke College's Isaic Paulino in their third meeting in less than a month. At the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships, Barrett edged Paulino with an 8-1 sudden victory, and then squeaked by in the region semifinals with an 8-7 decision. Barrett didn't let it come down to the wire this time, beating Paulino 8-3 to become only the second three-time All-American in program history.
 
"Barrett is an absolute dog," Averett head coach Blake Roulo said. "He is a villain. He keeps our streak alive of six straight seasons with an All-American. But there's a lot more wrestling left tomorrow. He can't get too high on his three wins today. When he wrestles like he did today, no one in the country can touch him."
 
Barrett's day started with a 14-2 major decision over Lee Rubin of Rochester Institute of Technology in the first round. He then advanced to the quarterfinals with an 11-2 major decision over Malik Asfour of Delaware Valley University.

Although Barrett advanced to Saturday, senior Anthony Taylor saw his season end with a pair of losses in the 157-pound bracket. After receiving a first-round bye, Taylor matched up with the No. 4 seed Eric Kincaid of Loras College. Kincaid advanced with a 17-1 win by technical fall. Taylor received another bye in the consolation round before facing Demetri Teddlie from the University of the Ozarks. Once again, Taylor fell behind early. Although he closed the gap to 13-9, Teddlie extended his advantage in the second period one his way to a 27-10 win by tech fall early in the third period.

Taylor ended the season with a 21-9 record while also winning the ODAC title and finishing as the NCAA Region 4 runner-up.

"All I can say about Taylor is he is a warrior," Roulo said. "I love him so much and I feel his pain. When you go through heartbreak like he has gone through today, the pain will never fully go away but time makes it easier to deal with. I am so proud of his career and am thankful that I was able to have a small role in his life. He is a reminder every day of what hard work can achieve."

Barrett will get his shot at Fry in the semifinals beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. All top four seeds at 125 advanced to the semifinals, with North Central College's Christian Guzman as the No. 2 seed taking on Ferrum College's Zach Beckner as the No. 3 seed in the other matchup. The semifinal winners advance to Saturday's national final, while the losers fall to the consolation bracket with a chance to place as high as third or as low as sixth.

 


2025 NCAA Division III National Championships
at Providence, R.I.
Friday, March 14

125
Champ. Round 1 - Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Lee Rubin (RIT), MD 14-2
Champ. Round 2 - Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Malik Asfour (Delaware Valley), MD 11-2
Quarterfinal - Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Isaic Paulino (Roanoke), Dec 8-3

157
Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Taylor (Averett) received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Eric Kinkaid (Loras) def. Anthony Taylor (Averett), TF 17-1 (6:05)
Cons. Round 2 - Anthony Taylor (Averett) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Demetri Teddlie (Ozarks) def. Anthony Taylor (Averett), TF 27-10 (5:07)