In their last meet before the Mid-American Conference championship, the wrestling team hoped to return to the dominant team they were prior to conference play.
That team could not be found.
The Bulls (9-11, 1-4 MAC) finished their regular season Sunday against the Bearcats in their sixth-straight dual meet loss, 23-12.
The day was highlighted by redshirt-freshman Desi Green breaking the school record for takedowns in a season with 67. Green was ranked 18th on the Intermat/NWCA/NWMA NCAA Division I Individual Rankings.
At the meet, Green came back and won after being down in the match, defeating freshman Matt Kaylor of the Bearcats.
Head coach Jim Beichner couldn't say enough about the young talent after the match.
"I can't tell you we have ever had a freshman ranked 18th in the country," Beichner said. "This is just the beginning for him. We're real proud of his efforts. He's a good leader and a hard worker."
Green finishes the regular season on a seven dual match-winning streak and has improved his overall record to 19-1.
In the 133-pound weight class, sophomore grappler Kevin Smith took out Binghamton junior Mike Kleeman, 3-1. The win was bittersweet for Smith, after he missed four meets due to an upper body injury.
Beichner was pleased with Smith's effort after returning from an injury.
"Kevin Smith, our 133-pounder, did a real nice job," Beichner said. "He got a real solid win for us out there."
Junior grappler Dan Bishop scored an impressive victory over Binghamton sophomore Tyler Malmberg by a score of 11-8. This ended Bishop's four-team duals losing streak.
In the final regular season contest of his career, senior grappler Nate Rock scored a decisive 6-2 decision victory over Binghamton junior Anthony Esposito.
Sophomore wrestler Jimmy Hamel faced the Bearcats junior Josh Patterson in the 197-pound event, a move up from the 184-pound class he usually wrestles in. Hamel battled hard, but succumbed to a 16-0 defeat by way of technical fall at the 5-minute mark.
Along with Patterson, who is ranked sixth in the nation, the Bearcats also moved senior grappler Nate Patterson up to the 165-pound weight class to take out freshman wrestler Ron Majerus.
Binghamton sophomores Anwar Goeres and Ryan McGarity scored big wins for the Bearcats. Goeres got a pin at the 4:04 mark of the match, providing six points for his team. McGarity also made a move up to the 184-pound weight class, converting on a third period pin, which broke a 12-12 tie.
Beichner attributed the loss to an unfortunate string of bad matchups and explained after the match that the event was a real hit or miss for his team.
"We didn't get the matchups we were hoping for," Beichner said. "We had a plan to send out our backup 184-pounder to wrestle their best guy, but they were basically able to dump all their guys up with us and that really caused the loss."
With the MAC Championship on the horizon, Beichner hopes for his team to focus on wrestler individuality.
"It's time to get those guys to the NCAA Championships who have earned it all year," Beichner said. "We really want to get them [there] so they do their thing at the national level."
The MAC Championship will be held at Eastern Michigan on March 7 and 8. Tip off is at 1 p.m.
