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Buffalo Wrestling's Busy Weekend Kicks Off Early

Jim Beichner

Beichner, who can join Ed Michael as the only UB coaches to reach the century mark in wins, will look to do so when his Bulls (8-3 overall, 1-1 MAC) face the Eagles (5-7, 0-3) at 1:00 pm in Alumni Arena.

The Eagles bring one nationally-ranked wrestler into the arena in 125-pound Sean Clair, who was 20th in the latest NWCA/InterMat rankings. The Bulls, meanwhile, will have three nationally-ranked wrestlers looking to improve to 3-0 against MAC wrestlers, led by fifth-ranked Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) (197 pounds), who will be seeking out his 34th straight win. Junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) (133 pounds) and senior Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) (Heavyweight) also bring national rankings into their match.

The Bulls' conference weekend continues on Sunday, when they face conference frontrunner, USA Today/NWCA sixth-ranked Central Michigan (9-4, 1-0), at 1:00 pm at Alumni Arena in a meet that will be broadcast on WLVL-AM 1340. The broadcast will feature play-by-play by women's basketball color analyst Paul Vecchio along with color commentary from legendary coach Michael. Michael, who won a school-record 213 dual meets as coach of the Bulls from 1970-91, led Buffalo to its only national championship in any sport, as he guided his wrestlers to the 1977-78 NCAA Division III title.

The feature match of the meet will be at 197 pounds, when Cerminara puts his winning streak on the line as he faces the nation's top-ranked Wynn Michalak, who is 23-1, having only lost to fifth-ranked Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma. Cerminara, ranked fourth in the latest poll, is the nation's only undefeated wrestler at 197 pounds.

Central Michigan brings in eight other nationally-ranked grapplers, including 133-pound Jason Borelli, ranked 11th and heavyweight Bubba Gritter, ranked 16th to counter Buffalo's nationally-ranked wrestlers.

The Chippewas also return four MAC champions in 125-pound Luke Smith, Borelli, 149-pound Mark DiSalvo and Michalak.

Sophomore Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area), who is 23-7 and has garnered national rankings in four polls this year, is the lone Bull who will not face a nationally-ranked Chippewa. Justin Petrone and Trevor Stewart have a combined 18-18 record this year.

All UB radio broadcasts are available to listen to free of charge from the Bulls’ website via Teamline.