???Looking to recover from their losses to two powerful squads at the National Duels, the wrestling team returned to New York to claim victories against in-state foes, proving to be the best team in New York State.
???Buffalo (9-4, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) recovered from their earlier losses to capture the New York State Wrestling Championship. The Bulls' 168.5 points were good enough to top 16 other New York teams. Army, last year's champion, came in second with 162.5 points. Columbia came in a distant third with 128.5 points.
???The victory in the state championships made up for the Bulls' previous losses in out-of-conference play. Buffalo was 8-1 entering January, but ran into stiff competition before the start of the semester.
???The Bulls began the New Year with a victory against Cleveland State, but followed the win with a loss to powerhouse Northern Iowa. Buffalo then traveled to Reno to take part in the National Duels. There, they ran into nationally-ranked Minnesota and fell 27-13. They followed with a loss to Wyoming.
???But the wrestling team recovered to show their dominance in their home state.
???A trio of Buffalo wrestlers grabbed individual titles to lead to team to the championship. Senior Mickey Moran defended his title in the 184-pound weight class with another victory over Cornell's Nate Holley. He came into the meet as the top seed in the weight class.
???Also ranked No. 1 in his class was sophomore Kevin Smith. In the 133-pound group, Smith finished off Army's Whit Dunning, the second seed, with a 6-1 decision. Senior Nate Rock also captured a championship when he defeated Army's Ryan Mergen, 6-1, in the 174-pound group.
???A long list of Buffalo wrestlers advanced to their respective championships but failed to win. Junior Dan Bishop lost in the championship for the third straight year, falling to Mike McInally of RIT 3-2. Freshman Mark Lewandowski made his presence known in the Championships but lost to top seed Casey Thome from Army 8-2 in the 141-pound division.
???Sophomore Jimmy Hammel also advanced to the championship. Army's Richard Starks captured the 197-pound championship with a 5-3 win over Hammel. Another freshman, Desmond Green, got his first taste of a championship match in the 149-pound group. Unfortunately, he ran into Matt Kyler of Army, ranked 12th in the latest USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Team & InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings. The reigning champion defeated Green, 5-1.
???The New York State Championship gives the Bulls momentum heading back into MAC play. The Bulls return to the mats for MAC action when they head to Athens to face Ohio on Sunday. The meet begins at noon.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
