It's hard to be disappointed with historic performances, but the wrestling team did not meet expectations over the weekend.
On Sunday, the Bulls participated at the Penn State Open, a tournament that featured several top-25 teams with a number of elite wrestlers. While some wrestlers met the challenge, others were unable to measure up to the competition.
However, there were some highlights for the Bulls, the biggest of which was the accomplishment of senior Jimmy Hamel. Hamel entered the day with only three wins needed to reach 100 for his career.
It did not take Hamel long to reach this mark because he won his first three matches of the day. The victories made him the fifth wrestler in school history to record 100 victories.
Hamel got his first win of the night against King College's Brandon Tressler in a 6-0 shutout. He then beat Maryland's Brad Nielson, 8-3. The senior finally reached the century mark with a 10-4 victory against Josh Tuck of The Citadel.
"This was a pretty exciting thing for Jimmy," said head coach Jim Beichner. "Winning 100 matches at the Division 1-A level is a very difficult thing to do. He didn't have a great weekend, but we are very proud of him. Hopefully the best is still yet to come."
Another big highlight of the day was the performance of junior Kevin Smith. Smith wrestled his way to a second-place finish in a talented 133-pound weight class.
Smith won his first four matches before losing in the championship against Edinboro's Mitchell Port. Smith was able to take his first four victories against wrestlers from Navy, Bloomsburg, Maryland and North Carolina.
"Smith was a finalist on the day, our only one of the day," Beichner said. "He did a great job… getting to the finals."
The second-best finish of the day for the Bulls was by junior John-Martin Cannon. He was able to finish fourth in the 165-pound weight class. The Brockport native won his first few matches before falling to the eventual champion, Maryland's Josh Asper.
Sophomore Josh Peters also stood out in the event with his second-straight strong performance. Peters finished fifth in the 197-pound weight class after finishing third at the Body Bar Invite just a couple of weeks ago.
Peters finished on a strong note, winning his last three matches. His fifth place match resulted in a 3-2 win over Justin Ortega of Penn State.
A few other wrestlers also placed for the Bulls, but as a group, Beichner had mixed feelings on the overall performance of his team.
"It was a rough tournament," Beichner said. "We had six guys in the quarterfinals, but we didn't win as many as I expected."
Buffalo is currently 1-1 in dual meets and will look to get back to its schedule next Sunday. The Bulls will take on Drexel, Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg in a dual meet round robin. The all-day event will begin at 9 a.m.
E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
