The end of non-conference play is usually a time for preparation, but the wrestling team just hoped to avoid injury before kicking things off in the Mid-American Conference.
After a busy month, the Bulls (7-5) took a bit of a breather this past weekend at the New York State Intercollegiate Championships in Binghamton. Head coach Jim Beichner rested Buffalo's top wrestlers in order to be fully prepared for MAC action, which starts next week. The wrestlers that participated finished eighth out of the 19 schools that competed.
Junior Kevin Smith was the only wrestler that came away from the weekend with a title. The victory marked Smith's second tournament win in the 133-pound weight class after placing first in the Oklahoma Gold Classic back in November.
Smith's weekend started with a 6-2 decision win over Nassau County's John Miller on Saturday. After dispatching of Seth Ecker of Ithaca in the semifinals, Smith defeated Columbia's Kyle Gilchrist in a convincing 4-0 victory to take the title.
Beichner was pleased with Smith's showing in the competition.
"I thought Smith wrestled very well," Beichner said. "He wrestled really smart… [his performance] should give him a little extra confidence going into the MAC dual meets."
Senior Jimmy Hamel was also very successful in the 184-pound bracket. After losing his first match on Sunday, Hamel dominated NYU's Sabino Galassi in an 8-0 major decision. He capped off his weekend by defeating Binghamton's John Paris 8-2 to come in third place.
The Bulls weren't able to completely avoid the injury bug in the tournament. Sophomore Andrew Schutt had to win three of his 141-pound matches on his first day just to make it to the semifinals.
In his semifinals match against Cornell's Mike Nevinger, Schutt injured his shoulder on an awkward hold. Beichner, after some deliberation, decided to end the match to prevent further injury.
"We [took him out] of the match because it definitely wasn't the most important match [of the season]," Beichner said. "We thought it was better that we stopped [because of upcoming conference competition]."
Sophomore Ron Majerus also fell to injury. Majerus suffered a facial laceration in the 174-pound consolation brackets and was forced to take an eighth-place finish.
Buffalo's newcomers managed to do well despite seeing their teammates' injuries. Heavyweight freshman James Donner and 125-pound freshman Sean Walton rounded out the Bulls who placed in the competition. Both freshmen finished in seventh.
Beichner was optimistic following the tournament results. He believes that the team would have taken home a plaque if the main wrestlers had competed.
"The [weekend's] goal was to remain 100 percent and healthy," Beichner said. "If it wasn't for that goal, we would've gone out there and probably have won the championship."
This Saturday, the Bulls will make the journey to Ohio to begin MAC competition. Ohio walked away with a 22-17 victory in the teams' last meeting a season ago.
Beichner understands the task that lies ahead of the team, but he is sure that the Bulls will be ready to compete.
"We think this is going to be a hard-fought match," Beichner said. "I feel like our guys are ready and well-prepared."
The dual meet is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
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