GMU wrestler has traveled a long way

As fanciful as it seems, there’s no magical tale behind Cayle Byers’ 4,300-mile journey from a rugged-sounding town outside of Anchorage, Alaska to the college in the suburban-sounding town of Fairfax, Va.
It’s far more simplistic. Byers, an Air Force brat and the second youngest of five siblings, became an accomplished wrestler at Chugiak High School in the town of the same name. He won two state titles and never finished below fifth in the state tournament; during a successful senior season, he took first at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions.
While wrestling outside of the high school season, Byers caught the eye of George Mason coach Mark Weader. Byers already had family in the state — a grandmother and an aunt live in Buena Vista, near Lexington — and was impressed by Mason’s academics. He had several offers, but chose Mason.
The first trip was tough. Byers stayed with his family to adjust to the four-hour time difference.
His teammates provided an immediate group of friends, further easing the transition.
Now, as a sophomore, what may have once been hurdles are now mere bumps. Byers is one of the Patriots’ top wrestlers — he was a preseason pick to win the Colonial Athletic Association’s 197-pound class — and believes he can make waves at the NCAA tournament in St. Louis in mid-March.
“Definitely my highest goal is to at least place at nationals,” Byers said, “and eventually be an NCAA champion.”
He started off this season well, scoring a 9-4 win over Virginia Tech’s D.J. Bruce in the Patriots’ season opener.
After an 11-day break, Mason hosts The Citadel on Thursday. Byers will be tested when the CAA schedule begins in mid-January: Two league opponents, Drexel’s Jon Oplinger and Hofstra’s Joe Fagiano, both appeared in the first Intermat rankings of the season.
Oplinger is 12th and Fagiano is 17th; Byers is 11th.
Both wrestlers likely have an idea of what they can expect when they wrestle Byers.
The signature move of Byers’ freshman season was the ankle pick. While locked up, Byers would take a step backward — drawing his opponent forward — and then swoop in, grab his opponent’s ankle and work to an advantageous position.
But Byers used the move so much that Weader has taken steps to limit its use, a process that Byers said was a difficult one.
“He started relying on it a little too much and it became easy to scout,” Weader said.
“He’s still going to hit the ankle pick and it’ll be there more often probably, when people have to worry about other stuff.”
By the end of the year, Weader said, the move was no longer a surprise. So, in the offseason, he forced Byers to work on other moves, but lifted the ban as the season neared.
Off the mat, Byers is majoring in anthropology on the way to getting into the medical field. He became an archeology buff, thanks to Carla Pace, his girlfriend, who is also into archaeology. She’s also from Alaska and is in her freshman year at Montana, though Byers said she hopes to transfer to Mason.
And Weader’s been impressed with Byers’ work in both arenas.
“Day in and day out, [he’s] the hardest worker we have, which is a great example to the rest of the team,” Weader said. “Leading by example with that stuff, whether it’s in the wrestling room, working out when we’re lifting or working on his schoolwork, he’s as hard or the hardest worker we have.”