The wrestling team kicked off the season on Sunday with a tournament at Alumni arena. Although the event did not count towards the team record, the Bulls wrestlers took the chance to observe how they compare to other schools.
At the end of the day two of the Bulls wrestlers won their weight classes. Junior Mickey Moran took first place in the184-pound weight class, while senior Mike Ragusa won the 174-pound class.
Ragusa won a total of four matches and defeated Clarion's Don Ross 9-3 on his way to capturing the title. He won his matches by a combined score of 62-19.
Like Ragusa, Mickey Moran also won his four matches. In his final match against Andrew Silber from American International, Moran won a close 4-3 decision on his way to the 184-pound title.
Besides the two title winners, other Bulls placed well over the weekend. Three Buffalo wrestlers finished in second place at the UB Open. Senior John Cummings wrestling at165 pounds, freshman Jimmy Hamel at 197 pounds, and Jeff Parker who grappled at 285 pounds, all recorded second place finishes.
Sophomore Jason Weber placed fifth in the 197-pound weight class and freshman Robert Ryhal placed fifth in the 285-pound weight class in his college debut.
Buffalo wrestlers finished strong in many weight classes, the 157-pound weight class had two Bulls place. Sophomore Tom Graff finished fourth and sophomore Justin Hunt finished fifth.
Head coach Jim Beichner felt that it took a little longer for the lower weight classes to get going compared to the heavier weights.
"The lighter weights struggled a little bit early in the tournament," Beichner said.
By the end of the day the lighter weight classes started to win in their wrestle backs and as a whole had a decent day.
Senior Dana Gingerich had two victories in the wrestle backs. After a disappointing loss in the semi finals, Gingrich fought back in his wrestle back matches to finish in third place in the 149-pound weight class.
Sophomore Dan Bishop had a tough start to his day, losing 3-1 in overtime in his first match. However, Bishop bounced back from his early disappointment and won his next four matches to finish fourth in the 125-pound weight class.
To round out the lower weight classes freshman Corey Greene took sixth place in the 133-pound class, winning his first two matches before falling in the semifinals.
Overall, Beichner was happy with what he saw from his wrestlers. He felt that they are in for a successful season, especially with the seniors' leadership.
"The season out look I would say looks promising for us we've got a lot of upperclassmen, we've got five or six seniors that should be in and out of the lineup for us this year, and that's at least half or more of your team that's just seniors," Beichner said. "And whenever you get to the point where you have a lot of seniors that have come through and wrestlers for four years, that gives you a lot of hope for your program."
The Bulls' next meet will occur on Nov. 10 when they travel to Oklahoma Gold classic, which will take place in Brockport, New York.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
