Seven months of grueling drills, agonizing runs, backbreaking lifting sessions and countless bumps, bruises, aches and cuts all paid off over spring break for the three UB wrestlers who took part in the NCAA Division I Championships, which were held in St. Louis, MO.
The team's trip was highlighted by 197-pound junior Kyle Cerminara's eighth place finish at the event, which made him the first male UB athlete to earn Division I All-American Honors.
"Kyle has worked very hard over a long period of time to achieve this," said Bulls' head coach Jim Beichner. "I can't begin to express how proud I am of him accomplishing what he has. He absolutely deserves what he was worked so hard for."
Not far behind Cerminara were fellow UB grapplers Mark McKnight and Ed Pawlak. Both Pawlak and McKnight made the All-American round of the championships, placing them in the top 12 in their respective weight classes.
Cerminara was given a tough first round matchup, as he opened the tournament against Hofstra's Chris Stretkowicz, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation. The two went to overtime tied at one before Stretkowicz was able to earn the victory by compiling a minute of riding time.
"After losing that match I really faced a grueling road back (to the All-American round)" said Cerminara.
In order to ensure All-American status, Cerminara had to win five consecutive matches. He was able to pin Millersville's Aaron Smith in what he described as an "easy match." Next up was Fresno State's Marcio Botelho, who he beat 9-6.
Cerminara then faced two familiar faces in Ohio's Joel Weimer and Indiana's Pat DeGain. Weimer and Cerminara are the Mid-American Conference's top two 197 pounders and have faced each other often. Cerminara pulled out a 3-2 win to advance to a match up with DeGain, who knocked him out of the tournament in 2001. This time around, the winner would be assured All-American status.
"Before the match (UB assistant coach Josh) Koschek took me aside and told me 'you deserve to be an All-American'," said Cerminara. "Him saying that to me really had a big effect on me."
Cerminara pulled out a 3-2 victory over DeGain to become UB's first D-I All-American. The victory assured Cerminara's recognition as such, all that was left was figuring out where he would be. He dropped a 6-0 match to Stretkowicz and a 6-2 decision to Cornell's Matt Greenberg, which left him in eighth.
125-pounder McKnight and 174-pounder Pawlak's performances were nearly as impressive as Cerminara's. McKnight, just a freshman, made some big waves early on, as he beat the No. 3 ranked Matt Valenti of Penn in triple overtime. He then finished the first day with a 7-5 victory over Cornell's Mike Mirmile.
After his huge first day, McKnight faltered, falling to No. 6 Kyle Ott of Illinois, and No.8 Joe Dubuque of Indiana.
"Mark won 34 matches as a freshman and he wrestled well all year," said Beichner. "He was very close to being an All-American and maybe even a finalist (Ott went on to place second in the meet)."
Pawlak, who has been to the NCAA's twice, drew the No.2 seed, like Cerminara. He lost that match by a score of 4-3 to Iowa's Tyler Nixt, the eventual third place finisher. In wrestlebacks he beat Oklahoma's E.K.Waldhaus, who he edged out in the last seconds for a 4-3 victory and Cornell's Tyler Baier, who he beat 8-5. In his last match, Pawlak lost to Lehigh's Brad Dillon, who finished fourth overall, in overtime.
"This proves you can come to Buffalo and be and All-American," said Beichner. "Our performance as a whole legitimizes what we are doing here."
While Beichner is ecstatic about the trio's performance, he says that they have to keep working as hard, if not harder then they have been.
"You can't let that go to your head," said Beichner. "If Kyle rests on what he has done, eighth will be the best he ever does."
Both McKnight and Cerminara, who wrestle and train year-round, will be taking part in this year's U.S. Open, which will be held in Las Vegas. The tournament features many of the nation's top wrestlers, including present and former Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans.
"We don't see competition like that all year, so this will be good for us," said Cerminara.
Beichner had a message to all the people out there who are surprised by UB's showing. Along with the wrestlers, Beichner feels that UB has much more success headed its way in the future.
"This is just the beginning," said Beichner.
