Alumni Arena was overflowing with action on Friday and Saturday due to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Men’s Wrestling Championships taking place. 12 schools from across the conference sent their best athletes to compete in this two day tournament that was ultimately won by Rider University (12-6, 6-0 MAC). The Bulls (4-11, 3-5 MAC) ended the tournament in 11th place with 24.5 points.
Although the Bulls did not earn an overall podium finish, there were some bright spots throughout the weekend with four of the team’s ten athletes advancing to the second day of competition.
The two athletes that managed to earn the podium finishes were 157 lb. redshirt senior
Kaleb Burgess in true fourth and 149 lb. redshirt sophomore Sam Ewing in fifth.
Burgess had won a 9-3 decision in the quarter finals early on Friday, but then lost a major decision in the semifinals that would put him into the third place match on Saturday. After a loss in the third place match, Burgess would squeeze out a 5-4 decision win, to earn true fourth and secure his spot at the NCAA wrestling national championships. On Monday morning, Burgess was also named the University at Buffalo Student-Athlete of the week.
After a first round BYE, Ewing began the tournament with a dropped decision, but went on to earn a major decision win to advance in the consolation bracket. Later in the day, on Saturday, after winning with a pin in under a minute, Ewing would earn a 4-2 decision in the fifth place match, to then become eligible for the true fourth round. Ultimately, Ewing would lose the true fourth match and remain in fifth place.
Burgess will be competing next at the NCAA championships in Cleveland on March 9th. The tournament can be streamed on ESPN+.
Ciah Courtney is the senior sports editor and can be reached at ciah.courtney@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | Lasse1974
