Grapplers gear up for tournament

It's do-or-die time for the Buffalo wrestling team. The Bulls are set to hit the mats this weekend for the Mid-American Conference Championships.

Three Bulls will enter the MAC Tournament nationally ranked and all three will be ranked second in their weight divisions. Senior 197-pounder Kyle Cerminara, who finished the year ranked No. 2 in the nation, will lead Buffalo into the tournament at Northern Illinois University.

"I'm excited," Cerminara said. "I've been training for this for a long time. The matches start to count more and I'm looking forward to it."

The biggest potential showdown of the tournament, and possibly in the country, will be if Cerminara faces off in a rematch against the No. 1 nationally ranked Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan. The two squared off on Feb. 5 in Alumni Arena in a meeting that certainly lived up to the hype and gave Cerminara his only loss of the season.

"I expect to win just like last time," said Cerminara. "I want to push the pace more and not even be able to walk after the match. I want to score more points and get as many as possible. I will not be tight and come out winning."

Cerminara has previously won two MAC Championships, one in 2002 and one in 2004. However, Cerminara doesn't feel his past accomplishments will have any effect on this year's tournament.

"The past doesn't give me an edge," Cerminara said. "Just like losing to Wynn doesn't matter. It depends on who performs that day. It's a brand new start this weekend."

Junior Mark Budd is ranked No. 13 nationally in the 133-pound weight class. Budd is 4-1 in conference dual meets on the year with his only conference loss coming to Central Michigan's Jason Borelli, who is ranked No. 12 in the country.

Senior heavyweight Harold Sherrell, ranked No. 16 in the nation, also looks to make a splash in the tournament. Sherrell also only has one conference blemish on his record this season, which, like Budd and Cerminara, came at the hands of a Chippewas wrestler. Bubba Gritter edged out Sherrell in the same home match by a score of 5-3.

"It's a matter of staying focused," Sherrell said. "I had that match won and I let it get away. I have to go full throttle. I'd love to have a rematch but I have to go through some tough guys to get to him. I need to focus on what I got to do to get the win."

Head coach Jim Beichner said that even if one of his top-three wrestlers finish in second, they would have a good shot of still moving on to the NCAA tournament.

"Second place will be wild cards and all three will go if they finish in second," Beichner said. "If you finish in third or fourth, you leave it up for grabs. These are guys that deserve to go to the tournament. If I were another coach, they'd be getting my vote."

The MAC has 19 bids amongst its 60-person tournament with 10 of the bids going to the champions of each weight class and the other nine going to wild cards.

"I can't think of another conference that will be as hard fought for the national qualifiers," Beichner said. "It's a very tough conference to be in. We're all close and well-rounded teams."

Beichner also made it clear that Budd, Cerminara, and Sherrell are not the only ones capable of winning their weight class.

"I wouldn't limit winning to just them," Beichner said. "Mickey Moran, who's 11-2 in dual meets, has come a long way. (184-pounder Garrett) Hicks is capable of winning. At 125, Eric Piedimonte is stepping in under difficult situations. John Cummings was one to two points away from beating the top guy in the MAC. (174-pounder Mike) Ragusa already beat the No. 1 seed but lost to others. Who knows? We could have a very good tourney."

The MAC Championships will be held on Friday and Saturday in the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill. Nineteen MAC representatives will then compete in the NCAA Championships Thursday, March 16 to Saturday, March 18 in Oklahoma City, Okla.