There was no hibernation for Bulls wrestling as the team competed in five meets during the month-long break, coming out with mixed results.
The break started off well as Buffalo went undefeated in their first two duels of the year. They defeated Appalachian State 19-16 and tied Bloomsburg 17-17.
In the first bout, Buffalo fell behind early to Appalachian State, 13-3. However the Bulls won five of the last six matches to capture the victory.
Against Bloomsburg, the Bulls fell behind 14-3 before they started another resilient comeback and took the lead. However, with one match left, Michael Spaid of Bloomsburg won to tie the meet.
The Bulls traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for their second meet at the Michigan Duels. They began the day by losing to the Michigan Wolverines, ranked seventh in the nation, 35-6, before defeating Lehigh 22-9, and falling to Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe Eastern Michigan 21-12.
Against the Wolverines, the Bulls faced a stiff challenge as they faced seven starters ranked in the nation's top 20. The Bulls only picked up one win as senior Jeff Parker was victorious over Matt Guhn in the heavyweight match.
The Bulls shook off the loss when they faced Lehigh. Taking an early 9-0 lead as freshman Dylan Dabolt, junior Joe Wilson and sophomore Andrew Stella won the first three matches. Lehigh then won three in a row to tie the duel before Buffalo swept the last four matches for the victory.
Eastern Michigan provided the Bulls with their first glimpse at MAC competition. Stella was the only Buffalo wrestler to win in the first six matches. The Bulls' mounted a furious comeback, winning three of the last four matches, with Parker, senior Mike Regusa and freshman Jimmy Hamel all winning. Yet it was not enough to take down the Eagles.
Buffalo went back to work after New Years Day. They went to Clarion and beat Delaware State 44-4 before falling to the host Golden Eagles 18-12.
The Bulls dominated Delaware State, with the Hornets forfeiting four matches in the duel. Hamel, Dabolt and Parker all won their matches, while junior Scott Rendos picked up Buffalo's first pinfall of the duel meet season.
Clarion provided much tougher competition as they edged out the Bulls. Clarion pulled ahead 12-0 and never looked back.
Life on the road against tough competition was sometimes rough, but it proved to get the Bulls stronger. At the Buffalo Duels, the Bulls swept all three matches, besting West Liberty 32-3, Mercyhurst 24-6 and Cleveland State 16-15.
The Bulls showed that it would be tough knock them out at home when they dominated over West Liberty. They lost the first match of the duel but won the next nine matches to cruise to victory.
Buffalo continued its hot streak when they faced Mercyhurst in the second match of the duel. They won the first five matches before Mercyhurst rattled off two straight victories. The Bulls won the last three matches as Hamel, Parker and junior Mickey Moran won their matches.
Against Cleveland State, Buffalo was able to hold on and sweep the meet. Ragusa, Moran and Hamel all captured victories to give the Bulls a 16-12 edge. Cleveland State won the heavyweight match in overtime, but still fell short by one point.
On Saturday, the Bulls traveled to Northern Illinois for their last meet during break. The Bulls fell in their first official conference meet of the year, losing to the Huskies 25-12. The Bulls rebounded by defeating Findlay later in the day
Northern Illinois got off to a strong start winning the first three matches. Senior Ryan Needle was able to capture a victory before the Huskies captured three more matches. Moran, Hamel and Parker swept the last three matches.
The Bulls rebounded against Findlay. Sophomore Dan Bishop got Buffalo off to a strong start. Wilson, Stella and Needle all captured victories after Bishop to give Buffalo a 13-0 lead. Findlay was unable to come back, winning only two of the remaining six matches.
The wrestling team returns to action Friday and Saturday when they host the New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships at Alumni Arena. The meet starts Friday at 10 a.m.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
