Bulls in Second After Day One of New York State Championships

"A" Tournament Brackets

"B" Tournament Brackets

OSWEGO, NY - The University at Buffalo wrestling team competed in day one of the 40th Annual New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships, held Friday afternoon on the campus of Oswego State. After day one, the Bulls currently sit in second place with 42 points while Army occupies first place with 44 points. The Bulls have seven wrestlers who will compete in Saturday's semifinals including Dan Bishop, Kevin Smith, Mark Lewandowski, Desi Green, Nate Rock, Mickey Moran and Jimmy Hamel.

Entering as the second-seed at 125, Bishop has lived up to expectations with back-to-back falls over his opponents. In his first match, Bishop pinned Oswego's Scott McGregor at 1:39 followed by his pin of Evan Velaz of Hunter at 4:45. To start Saturday's semifinals, Bishop will face the third-seed Lance Penhale of Army.

Kevin Smith

One of the Bulls top-seeded wrestlers entering the competition was first-seed Smith at 133. In the first round, Smith captured a 19-6 major decision over Glen DiStefano of Brockport. Smith would follow up his first round decisive win with a pin over eighth-seed, Steve Contino of NYU at 2:18. Smith will face the fourth-seed Andrew Grabfelder of Columbia in the semifinals.

In order to enter the field of 16 wrestlers vying for the 141-lb championship, Lewandowski faced and defeated Joey Widrick of Cortland by the score of 3-2. Next would come a challenge as Lewandowski lined up to face third-seed, Derrick Smith of Oswego, whom he would defeat 4-3. Lewandowskiâs streak would continue with an 11-2 major decision over Calvin Hawkes of NYU. Lewandowski's challenging journey to the top will place him in the semifinals against second-seed Luke Baum of RIT.

Desi Green

Green entered the dayâs field of competition as the third-seed at 149. Green captured an 8-2 decision over Shay Shive of NCCC before facing sixth-seed, Kevin Sackett of Cortland. Green captured a convincing 23-8 technical fall at 5:45 over Sackett, moving Green on to the semifinals where he will face second-seed Matt Dunn of Columbia.

As the second-seed at 174, Rock dominated his first match of the day with a 16-1 technical fall at 3:22 over Ryan Malloy of Wagner. Looking to continue in his pursuit of the 174-lb title, Rock was victorious over seventh-seed, Pat Bell of Nassau CC in an 8-0 major decision. Rock will face third-seed Naum Shuminov of NYU in the semifinals.

Nate Rock

Entering as the first-seed while looking to defend his 184-lb championship, Moran pinned Oswego's Tom Lester at 2:15. Moran dominated his next match, capturing an 18-6 major decision over Tom Heckman of Ithaca. Moran's defense of his title will continue in his semifinal match against fourth-seed Martino Sottile of Cortland.

Hamel joins Moran and Smith as the Bulls top-seeded wrestlers in the field of competition, occupying the first-seed at 197. In the first round, Hamel earned a 20-7 major decision over Jamie Myers of NYU followed by a 12-6 decision over eighth-seed, Joel Ford of Oswego. Hamel will look to continue on his path towards a championship as he takes on Travis Dale of Cornell in the semifinals.

Jason Brown

In the "B" brackets, UB would find success with numerous wrestlers capturing titles or placing within their respective weight class. Wrestling unattached at 125, Dylan Dabolt would take third place. At 133, Taylor Golba placed fourth. Ryan Black took third place while unattached Matthew Bogardus captured the 174-lb championship with a 10-5 decision over Sean Connors of NYU. Jason Brown captured the 184-lb championship with an 8-2 decision over Daniel Mills of Army. At 197, Tyler Peter took second place. At 285, wrestling unattached, Jedd Mason captured the 285-lb title with a 5-2 decision over Ian Clark of Cortland.

On Saturday, January 17, the Bulls will continue in their pursuit to capture this year's title as well as individual championships with the action beginning at 12:00 pm.