Senior Kyle Cerminara continued to cement his legacy in UB's wrestling history last Saturday as he smashed through the 100-win plateau en route to another tournament victory. "The Homeboy" reached the century mark as part of an impressive showing for the UB wrestling team at the Slippery Rock Open.
In a field of 407 competitors and over 40 wrestlers in each weight class, the Bulls managed to secure two first-place finishes. Cerminara swept through the 197-pound weight class to go 5-0 in the tournament while junior Mark Budd did the same in the 133-pound division.
Cerminara picked up win number 99 against John Bauman of George Mason by a score of 20-8, and then reached triple digits when he soundly beat Lycoming's Matt Miller 15-1 in the next match.
Cerminara ended the day with 103 career wins, passing Josh States for second all-time in UB history. The senior is now just 10 wins shy of tying Gary Cooper for the most wins in school history with 113.
Head coach Jim Beichner said going into last weekend's tournament that Cerminara would make a statement at this event.
"He wasn't there to win, he was there to dominate," Beichner said. "That's exactly what he did."
On Saturday, Budd promptly picked up where he left off last season. The junior concluded last year by winning 10 of his last 12 matches. He tallied five more victories, putting him at 15 wins in his last 17 bouts. Budd reached a milestone of his own as he won his 40th career match in the tournament finals.
Two heavyweights from UB also made it to the tournament finals. Senior Harold Sherrell, who finished the event 5-0, and red-shirt junior Jeff Parker both won semifinals matches in the heavyweight division. However, the two Bulls were not forced to face off for bragging rights as a result of a cut that Parker suffered above his eye.
Although Parker's injury kept him from tying up with "the Cobra," Beichner said that in a more demanding situation, the cut would not have stopped the junior from getting on the mat.
"He could've wrestled but I didn't see it necessary to risk injuring his eye," Beichner said. "He didn't have too much more to prove."
The Bulls' new assistant coach Jeff Catrabone traveled with the team for the first time and said the tournament was a good test to start off the season.
"The competition level was great," Catrabone said. "Bits and pieces of teams were at the tourney. It was highly competitive for a preseason tourney with some ranked wrestlers, too."
In addition to the finalists, two other UB wrestlers placed in the top four at the Slippery Rock Open. Sophomore Mike Ragusa took second in the 165-pound weight class, compiling a 4-1 record on the day. Teammate Mickey Moran, a sophomore, finished third in the same division.
With only some of the team competing, other wrestlers that saw action included sophomore Nate Rock and junior Ray Lamb in the 174-pound weight bracket. Rock went 4-1 while Lamb finished 3-1 for the tournament. Junior John Cummings represented UB in the 157-weight class with a strong 4-1 showing. Freshman Evan Vaney went 2-2 in the 125-pound division and junior Pat Lloyd finished 2-1 in the 149-pound bracket.
Catrabone praised the team's efforts, but expects the Bulls to improve as the season progresses.
"Overall, the guys wrestled real well, real intense," Catrabone said. "Even though we had a great weekend, we have a lot to improve upon to be successful."
UB will next compete at the Oklahoma Gold Classic at SUNY Brockport on Saturday.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
