TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

This is a team that has consistently surprised observers all season, with Mark Budd beating the national runner-up in Shawn Bunch of Edinboro, Mickey Moran earning a national ranking after a 7-23 freshman season and Harold Sherrell wrestling to a 22-4 start while being 60 pounds under the heavyweight weight limit. What has it been like for the team so far this year?
I think it’s been a huge turnaround since last year. We have three or four guys ranked in the top 20 and a guy ranked in the top five, depending on the rankings. We have all our starters coming back this year except for one slot and Kyle Cerminara came back, so we just have a pretty solid team.

You have started to wrestle up from your natural weight of 165 pounds thanks to Mickey Moran's great start, which has him ranked in four national polls. Working out against Moran every day in practice, what can you say about his turnaround this year?
He’s done a complete 180. All the hard work from last year is paying off. He was here all summer working his butt off, lifting every day, working out twice a day, drilling everyday, learning everyday. He’s just a hard worker and a great athlete.

You have managed a 16-8 record and a 3-1 dual meet mark this season. How confident are you as you head into the MAC season that you can make an impact at 174 pounds?
I feel confident, I mean, I just have to go in there and say that I am the best 174-pounder in the MAC and take it one match at a time and wrestle the best that I can. Hopefully, I’ll come out on top.

This week you start off the MAC season with a dual meet against 21st-ranked Northern Illinois on Friday. Is the team looking forward to the conference dual meet season and ready to improve on last year's 1-4 record?
I think the team is really looking forward to having some conference matches. The team is ready to show that we can have a better record than 1-4 like last year.

Obviously, one of the team leaders this year is Kyle Cerminara, who has started the year 24-0 and has broken the UB career record for wins and dual meet takedowns. What has he brought back to the mat this year after redshirting last year that has helped the team?
When Kyle goes out there and dominates on the mat, that’s a huge motivation swing for us. When he just goes out there and dominates kids, especially when he beats a few ranked guys, it shows that UB’s changed. It helps the swing of momentum.

This year, you have six meets and the UB Open at Alumni Arena after having only three dual meets at UB last year. Do you look forward to getting to wrestle at home a lot this year?
Yes, for a few reasons. I like sleeping at my home the day before the match. I like the fact that it’s here, with our home fans. Also, you’re not traveling every weekend, so you’re not gone for two to three days. It helps so you can get those workouts in the practice room instead of trying to squeeze them in-between traveling, so it helps out the team a little more to have home matches this year.

After just one tournament last year, you suffered an LCL injury during practice that kept you out for the rest of the season. How tough was it to have to sit and watch the team go through the growing pains the team went through?
It pretty much was horrible. I hated sitting here everyday through practice. I just wanted to get back out there on the mat. I didn’t like it one bit. Sitting here and watching them go through a pretty rough season last year wasn’t too fun either. It was like a double-whammy.

You are one of three wrestlers on the team from Foxboro High School who also won Massachusetts state championships. How nice has it been to have Jeff Parker and Tyler Laracy on the squad with you at UB?
Parker has been my friend for as long as I can remember. He’s one of my boys, so it’s actually really nice to have him on the team. Parker has been here for two years and as you can tell, he’s gotten a 1,000 times better. He’s a hard worker and dedicated and wants to become an All-American and a MAC champ. Tyler is another good teammate to have on the squad, but he just transferred this year, so we have to see what he will bring to the table.

Obviously, coming from Foxboro, you may be biased, but as the NFL playoffs start up, who do you think is going to surprise teams and make it to the Super Bowl?
New England is a third seed, but actually, I will go with the Patriots beating Indianapolis. That’d be a surprise.

What has been your favorite moment as a student athlete at the University at Buffalo?
Probably being able to wrestle again, coming back from my knee injury and being able to step back on the mat. I didn’t wrestle for probably like 10 or 11 months and it just felt good to step back out on the mat wearing a UB singlet and make it to the finals (of the Slippery Rock Open). My first match back felt really good. I was really nervous worrying about how my knee was going to handle and what I was going to react to. You can’t imitate a real live match in the practice room. It’s totally different than being out there and actually having refs and with coaches in the corner.

- The “10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina.