In search of its first conference win of the season, the Buffalo wrestling team came up empty as they left the Wolverine State this weekend. The Bulls suffered two more Mid-American Conference defeats, falling to both Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, they are still winless in conference play this year and have lost four straight dual meets.
Buffalo's (7-6, 0-4 MAC) first opponent for the weekend was Eastern Michigan (4-5, 1-3 MAC). The Bulls dropped the contest to the Eagles by a margin of, 28-10.
"Overall, we wrestled very poorly," said head coach Jim Beichner. "There were only two or three performances that were good."
The Bulls had an initial lead of 7-0 thanks to freshman Dan Bishop. Bishop took the 125-pound contest by a landslide with a 12-0 decision. This was the largest margin of victory for Bishop this season and helped him earn his first conference win.
Senior Mark Budd kept his strong season going by earning another win, 5-2, at 133 pounds. Budd is three wins away from 100, a number only four other Buffalo wrestlers have reached.
After this, the Eagles dominated for the rest of the contest. Eastern Michigan won seven of the remaining eight duals, winning five straight decisions that gave them 18 consecutive points.
The Eagles' Jermain Thompson, ranked 18th nationally at 149-pounds, defeated Buffalo's freshman Jason Hilliard 14-3. Another major win for the Eagles was in the 157-pound class, where Cory Mancuso defeated freshman Justin Hunt, 17-0.
"Eastern Michigan took control of the match," Beichner said. "They were more aggressive and we did not compete the way we usually do."
Another notable performance for Buffalo was by senior Ray Lamb. Lamb won the third contest for the Bulls by a score of 11-3 over John McClure, who was ranked fourth in the conference at 184 pounds. This was Lamb's 20th victory for the season.
On Sunday, the Bulls fought against the nationally sixth-ranked Chippewas of Central Michigan. The ranking was no fluke as Buffalo got manhandled, 35-3.
With the loss, the Bulls are still winless in conference this season and are currently on a six-game losing streak to MAC opponents, dating back to last season.
"The team came into this match with a better attitude," Beichner said. "The guys competed better today and just got beat handily by a very good team. They were fighting back and didn't just give up or fall over. They fought hard today."
After competing the night before, Buffalo had to wrestle against seven nationally-ranked players on Central Michigan. The Bulls only won one out of 10 events.
Budd was the lone winner for the Bulls against the Chippewas. Budd, who is ranked 17th nationally in his weight class, earned four takedowns to take a 10-4 decision against Conor Beebe. He now ranks fourth in Buffalo history with 103 takedowns. Budd has gone 12-0 in dual meets this season and has an overall record of 30-4.
"Mark has been consistent for the past two to three years," Beichner said. "He is our best leader and our best winner."
Junior Mike Ragusa put up a good fight against nationally 19th-ranked Trevor Stewart. After one period, it was 0-0, but Stewart was able to receive an escape and a takedown to win 4-1.
Buffalo lost a major decision in the 141 pound weight class. Freshman Andrew Stella was downed 14-0 by 17th nationally ranked Eric Kruger. Kruger controlled the entire dual from start to finish and recorded seven points in the third period.
At 285 pounds, freshman Jason Weber fought hard against nationally third-ranked Bubba Gritter. Weber was defeated by a score of 7-1.
Buffalo will be looking for the first conference win when they square off against 24th nationally ranked Kent State on Friday, Feb. 9 at Alumni Arena. The Bulls' last regular season home match will begin at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
