OSWEGO, NY The University at Buffalo wrestling teams sits in third place after the first day at the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships. The Bulls have 83.5 team points and trail only Hofstra (103) and Cornell (112.5) in the field of 23 teams.

Charlie Voorhees

Charlie Voorhees (Warsaw, NY/Warsaw) notched a pair of victories at 125 pounds. He first beat Richard Cuozzo of Cobleskill by a 16-5 major decision and then defeated Nassau's Joe Ketcham by a 7-2 decision. He will face Travis Lee of Cornell in the semifinals on Saturday.

At 141 pounds, Ryan Bentley (Ripley, NY/Ripley) won his first match over Danny Williams of Niagara County Community College by technical fall at 4:28. He moved on to major decision Dan Montana of Ithaca, 13-0. Bentley takes on Oneonta's Dustin Winn in the semifinals. Bentley needs two more wins to defend his State Title.

Bill Jacoutot (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) won his opening match by a 14-4 major decision over Corning's John Franchi. Jacoutot, wrestling at 149 pounds, then beat Frank Petrucci of Oswego by a 10-4 decision. Nassau's Ryan Maurer will face Jacoutot in the semifinals.

Following his first-round bye, Dave Guarino (Derby, NY/Lakeshore) defeated Kurt Pryor of Army by a 4-3 decision. The 165-pound semifinal featuring Guarino has him matched-up against Noah Sietel of Oswego. Guarino was the State Champion at 165 pounds last year.

At 174 pounds, Gary Cooper (Adams, NY/South Jefferson) first pinned Binghamton's Mark Tse at 1:38. Cooper then decisioned Shawn Swift of Nassau, 4-3. Cooper's semifinal opponent will be Ralph Everett of Hofstra.

Garrett Bontempo (DuBois, PA/DuBois Area) pinned Roger Sarrabo of Hunter at 4:00. He followed that up with a 13-4 major decision over Cortland's Matt Dunne. The 184-pound Bontempo will face Tony Wallace of R.I.T. in the semifinals.

The remaining Bull who advanced to the semifinals was Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) at 197 pounds. He first scored a 15-4 major decision over Kingsport's Ed DiPierro and then registered a 10-2 major decision over Anthony Viola of Cortland.

The seven wrestlers discussed above can finish no lower than sixth place.

The other two Bulls' grapplers who remain alive in the consolation bracket are 157-pounder Dave Edwards (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall) and heavyweight Mike Cooper (Jacksonville, FL/University Christian). They are guaranteed to finish at least in eighth place, but can finish as high as third with three consecutive wins in Saturday's action.