"In star wrestler's absence, UB's king cobra snakes his way to the top"

To be given a moniker by UB's wrestling announcer and former coach, Ed Michaels, is quite an honor. In recent memory, Michaels has only given out nicknames to such nationally recognized wrestlers as Ed "The Hammer" Pawlak, Kyle "The Homeboy" Cerminara and Mark "The Hammer" McKnight.

This season, Michaels made a new addition to this elite list when he dubbed 197-pound junior Harold Sherrell "The Cobra."

Although Sherrell says he doesn't know what earned him the nickname, Michaels will tell you it's because of the snake-like way he appears to engulf his opponents when using his signature leg rides.

"For whatever reason, Coach Michaels has deemed me to be 'The Cobra,'" said Sherrell. "When I go out to my match I'm not trying to be Captain Hardcore and scowl them down. I want to go out there and give them a good hard hand shake but every time (Michaels) says that you got to wonder what the other guy is thinking, 'The Cobra, what kind of a**hole calls himself The Cobra?'"

Although Sherrell doesn't take his nickname too seriously, his role on the team is another story. For the past two seasons, Sherrell has been a team-oriented wrestler, jumping back and forth between weight classes in order to fill holes in the lineup.

"I was kind of like the all-purpose wrestler. If coach Beichner needed me to step in, I'd do it," said Sherrell. "I would wrestle at 184, 197 and heavyweight. Wherever I would need to step in I would. I've always been about the team."

After three years of being both a utility wrestler and practice partner for All-American Kyle Cerminara, Sherrell finally got his break. With Cerminara deciding to red-shirt this season, "The Cobra" was given the starting job at 197 pounds.

"My mentality was like, 'wow, my entire career has been working out with Kyle and playing catch up and trying to get to that level and I think I've finally reached it where I can compete at the Division I level,'" said Sherrell.

Coming into the 2004-2005 season, Sherrell had a lot of pressure to deal with. Not only was he filling the shoes of UB's best wrestler from a year ago in Cerminara, but Sherrell also knew that this might be his only year as a starter.

"In the back of my head, no matter what I do it's like 'Kyle did it better.' So I've really got to do whatever I can," said Sherrell. "Every success is that much sweeter because I know that Kyle is going to come back and probably take back the position at 197, and every loss is that much harder because it's like, 'man, this might be my last opportunity to compete as a starter.'"

Although Sherrell knows his chances of being a regular starter next season are slim, his attitude is nothing but positive.

"When Kyle comes back it's just going to be an asset to the team. Kyle is just an amazing wrestler. As long as the team is doing well and we make the top 20 as a team and we send people to the national tournament and we bring back All-Americans, that's all that matters to me," said Sherrell.

With only post-season action left to wrestle, "The Cobra" has emerged as a team leader for the Bulls. This season Sherrell has posted an impressive record of 20-15 while competing closely with nationally ranked wrestlers. Sherrell's consistency has been an example for an otherwise young and struggling Bulls line-up.

Going into the Mid-American Conference tournament Sherrell is ranked fourth and is confident that he will make his presence felt.

"I've beaten the kid from Northern (Illinois), I've beaten the kid from Eastern (Michigan) and I've beaten the kid from Kent (State). I know I can beat those three guys," said Sherrell. "I've had close matches with this kid Weimer from Ohio who is number one. I know I can beat him, I just have to tighten up my wrestling. I hopefully want to have everything going on all 10 cylinders and go out and give my best effort."

"The Cobra" and the rest of the Bulls will travel to Kent State for the MAC Championship, which begins March 5.