Senior 133-pounder Mark Budd's attempt to be the first Buffalo athlete to take home a Division I National Championship came up short last weekend.
Budd faced Indiana's Andrae Hernandez on Thursday, March 15 in the first round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit, Mich. and lost on a 2-0 decision. The match was scoreless through the first period until Hernandez made an escape in the second and went ahead by one. He added one point for riding time for the win and snapped Budd's eight match winning streak.
The loss put Budd into the wrestle-back bracket where he beat Bobby Pfenning of Oregon State, 7-2, on the same day. Lightning struck twice for Budd as he previously beat Pfenning last year in the NCAA Wrestling Championships 8-4.
Like his previous match, the first period went without any points being awarded. The second round was animated by a fury of action with Budd gaining an escape and a takedown consecutively to go up 3-0. Pfenning was then able to escape but was taken down again by Budd to finish the period.
In the third period, Budd went for a near fall attempt but Pfenning once again recorded an escape to narrow the margin. It wouldn't be enough though as Budd hit a third takedown to pad the victory.
The following day, Budd squared off against Harvard's Rob Preston. After trailing Preston 3-0, he was pinned by the Crimson grappler in the third period. Preston picked up points in the match on a takedown and on a penalty point on Budd for illegally interlocking hands.
Budd went 1-2 in his final three collegiate matches at the Championships. This was the same record he accumulated last season in first trip to the national tournament.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
