With a second-place team finish and four individual winners, the UB wrestling team made its presence felt last Saturday at the Mat Town USA Invitational, held in Lock Haven, Penn.
The Bulls notched a second-place tie with Oregon with 138.5 team points but falling short of Indiana University, who took home the victory with a score of 179 points.
The best match of the day came as UB senior Kyle Cerminara, ranked fifth in the nation, faced off against Indiana's No. 8 Brady Richardson in the finals of the 197-pound weight class.
The match did not live up expectations as Cerminara dominated Richardson for a 6-1 win.
Another top Bulls performance came from senior Harold Sherrell as he took home a victory in the heavyweight finals. Sherrell faced a tough match in the finals as Indiana's sophomore Dave Herman was controlling the match early. Sherrell found himself in a 2-1 hole at the end of the first period and Herman looked in position to take the win. H
Sherrell regained his composure and earned a fall at 3:57, stealing the win.
The third first-place finish for the Bulls came in the 133-pound bracket. Junior Mark Budd first beat Maryland's Brendan Byrne 3-1 and then downed Oregon's Justin Pearch 4-2 to advance to the finals. Budd saw himself down 4-0 in the finals to Indiana's Andrae Hernandez and appeared to be on the way to a loss. Two takedowns helped Budd tie the match at five, before muscling his way to a slim 8-7 win.
Sophomore Dana Gingerich contributed to the Bulls' fourth win on the day as he beat Rider University's Dan Silberman and Oregon's Martin Mitchell to advance to the finals of the 141-pound bracket. Oregon's Skyler Woods was a formidable opponent for Gingerich as he forced the match into overtime, before losing 3-1 and giving Gingerich tournament of the season.
The Bulls nearly had a fifth win in the tournament as senior Mickey Moran reached the finals in the 165-pound bracket. Moran, however, could not reel in the victory as Indiana's Joey Braccomonte slipped away with a 6-5 win.
Moran was not the only one from UB in the 165-pound class, as sophomore Mike Ragusa and junior Jake Blowers also competed in the weight class. While Ragusa did not advance, Blowers managed to take a 13-7 win over Clarion's Dominic Ross before losing to Braccomonte in the second round.
Other notable performances came from juniors Pat Lloyd, John Cummings and Ray Lamb. Lloyd and Cummings each managed to earn fifth-place finishes in the 149- and 157-pound brackets, respectively.
Next week looks to be another challenge for the Bulls as they head to Las Vegas to compete in the Las Vegas Invitational. The competition will be tougher for Bulls as they will be going up against 50 schools.
