The Cliff Keen Invitational, held in Las Vegas, Nev., is one of the most well-recognized wrestling tournaments in the nation. It is a showcase for the country's best college wrestlers to display their abilities during intense competition.
Unfortunately for UB, the meet only served to prove that the Bulls are not quite ready to compete with the nation's cr?(c)me de la cr?(c)me.
Although the UB wrestling team is arguably the most likely of the university's varsity teams to contend on a national level, the Bulls placed a mediocre 32nd in the 52-team competition.
The Michigan Wolverines took home the hardware with a 163-point first place showing. West Virginia and Lehigh came in second and third place, respectively, with 127 and 120.5 total points.
Michigan wrestlers won two of the meet's weight classes; Otto Olsen finished first in the 174-pound weight class, and Andrew Hrovat captured the 184-pound division. The Wolverines' Foley Dowd was the runner-up in the 133-pound weight class, losing by decision to Clarion's Rad Martinez.
"We were excited to win the tournament and get the season started off on the right foot," Wolverines head coach Joe McFarland said. "We also saw some areas that we need to improve."
Fresno State's Stephen Abas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler while Todd Fuller of North Dakota State had the most falls in the least amount of time. Abas won the 125-pound division, and Fuller had four falls in just 12:16 of action in the 174-pound weight class.
Bulls freshman Kyle Cerminara was a bright spot for UB. He came one win shy of placing in the top 8 of the 197-pound division. He was the only Buffalo wrestler competing on the second day of competition.
After losing his opener to Fresno State's Marcio Betelho, Cerminara rallied for three straight wins - once by major decision and twice by technical fall. His hot streak was cooled off as Arizona State's eighth-seeded Erik Gladish doused Cerminara's flame with a 7-3 decision on the second day of competition. It was Cerminara's fifth match of the tournament.
"It's very special when a true freshman places in the top 12 of a prestigious tournament," said Bulls head coach Jim Beichner. "Kyle is not far away from earning a national ranking at his weight class."
Charlie Voorhies pulled off a shocking first-round upset when he defeated Boston University's sixth-seeded Jose Leon in the 125 pound bracket with a 10-4 decision. He, however, went on to lose his next two matches and thus was eliminated from the competition.
Senior standout Dave Guarino could not build on what was once an undefeated record, losing his first - and only - two matches of the tourney. His season win-loss record falls to 8-2.
Sophomore Garrett Bontempo went 3-2 in the tournament. His wins came via a fall, a technical fall and one major decision. His loss to ninth-seeded Travis Pascoe of Nebraska sent him reeling out of the tournament.
Gary Cooper, a junior, came in to the 157-pound bracket with the sixth-seeded ranking, giving him and automatic bye to the second round. He was upset in his first match, but rebounded to win the next two including a 13-8 decision over the ninth-seeded Rob Maxwell of California Polytechnic. Oregon's Tony Overstake then succeeded in punching Cooper out of the tourney with a 12-5 decision.
Binghamton will come to Alumni Arena today when Bulls will host their first dual meet - where one team takes on another rather than competing in a tournament - of the season at 3 p.m. Buffalo will be looking to improve on their current dual meet record of 1-1.
