It was total mayhem on March 7 and 8 when the Bulls arrived at Kent State for the annual Mid-American Conference wrestling championships. The winners would get an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, and most of all, MAC bragging rights for the entire year.
???A second place finish by Bulls senior Pat Lloyd, though, wasn't enough to warrant Buffalo a representative at nationals. Buffalo finished the tournament with only 26.5 points, tying Ohio for fourth place.
???While the Bulls (9-7-1, 1-4 MAC) won only one match in the MAC this year, it was imperative for them to come out on the first day of the tournament and win some big matches to make a statement that they were there to handle business.
???Senior Mickey Moran sparked the Bulls in his first match at 184 pounds. Moran was able to defeat Northern Illinois' Brad Dieckhaus with a 7-3 decision. Moran lost 8-2 in his semifinal bout against Christian Sinnott from Central Michigan, who is currently ranked fourth in the country. Moran was able to keep his chances for a title alive by defeating Eric Schuth of Ohio, 5-3, in the consolation round.
???The Bulls continued to fight hard on day one, advancing four additional players to Saturday's championship matches. Redshirt freshman Jimmy Hamel's road to the championship matches was very similar to Moran's. Hamel won his opening match at the 197-pound class, defeating Ohio's Chris Lammarino in overtime by a score of 3-1. In his semifinal bout versus Kent State's Michael Blackwell, Hamel again went into overtime. However, this time he lost a 7-5 decision. In his consolation match against Jake Smith of Northern Illinois, Hamel crushed him by winning 14-5.
???At 149 pounds, Senior Ryan Needle also won his first match of the day, winning 7-3 over Eastern Michigan's David Needle Pienaar. Unfortunately, Needle lost in both the semifinal match against Brandon Carter of Central Michigan, 6-1, and to Clint Sponseller of Kent State, which ultimately ended his championship chances.
???Lloyd and senior John Cummings both jumped out of the gates slowly, losing their first matches. Lloyd, at 157 pounds, lost his opener 3-1 to Clay Tucker from Ohio, while Cummings, at 165 pounds, fell 8-2 versus Northern Illinois' Bryan Deutsch. They both were able to redeem themselves by winning their consolation matches. Lloyd won his bout 9-4 against Eastern Michigan's Cory Mancuso. Cummings defeated Justin Brandel, also from Eastern Michigan, 4-1.
???At 285 pounds, senior Jeff Parker was given a first round bye, allowing him to go directly into the semifinal bout. There, he faced the tenth-ranked heavyweight in the country, Jermail Porter of Kent State. This heavyweight match ended in a 5-3 overtime loss for Parker. He was still in the running for the championship, when he defeated Tim Samson of Ohio, 3-2, in the wrestleback match.
???With two consecutive losses from sophomore Dan Bishop, junior Joe Wilson, junior Andrew Stella, and senior Mike Ragusa, the Bulls finished day one sixth in the standings, with a score of only 17.5 points.
???When the second day of the tournament started, Buffalo was 40 points out of first place. Lloyd earned some much needed points, by winning both of his Saturday matches, earning him a true second place finish. Lloyd's first victory was against Sli Bostlman of Kent State, winning the bout 6-3. The second match was against Northern Illinois' Bryan O'Conner, which Lloyd won 2-0. This win moved the Bulls ahead of Eastern Michigan in the standings.
???Unfortunately, Buffalo dug themselves a hole to deep, preventing them from passing any other team in the standings. Even with day two wins by Hamel and Parker, due to their previous losses on day one, they were unable to receive a true second place status, which they would have needed to get them more points. The Bulls ended up in a tie at forth with Ohio.
???Both seniors Cummings and Moran ended their collegiate wrestling matches with losses. Cummings lost in a match versus Deutsch, the same wrestler who defeated him in the first round, and Moran lost in a 3-1 overtime match to Eric Chine of Kent State.
???The Bulls finished the season 9-7-1, and with only seven seniors leaving, the Bulls will have a lot of experience returning next year.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
