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Wrestlers Head to Northern Illinois for MAC Championships

Kyle Cerminara

Thanks to three nationally-ranked wrestlers, seniors Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) (second at 197 pounds) and Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) (16th at heavyweight) and junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) (13th at 133 pounds), and three other wrestlers ranked in the top three in the conference, the Bulls are looking to surpass their previous Division I-best, when four wrestlers qualified for the NCAAs in 2001. Dave Guarino, Shawn Kegel, John Eschenfelder and Josh States each earned bids for 11th-year head coach Jim Beichner during the season.

With 19 NCAA bids, the Mid-American Conference’s 60-wrestler tournament is one of the most competitive in the country, as the 10 champions each earn automatic bids along with nine wild cards.

Mark Budd

The three ranked Buffalo wrestlers enter the MACs looking at No. 2 seeds, with each one staring up at a Central Michigan wrestler that narrowly beat him during the two teams’ dual on Feb. 5. At 133 pounds, Budd posted a 4-1 record in MAC action, the only blemish coming against Central Michigan’s Jason Borelli. Borelli, ranked 11th in the nation, won a 2-1 decision in double overtime to overcome the 13th-ranked Budd. Budd, who has had a breakout season, is 34-4, including a win against consensus national No. 1-ranked Shawn Bunch of Edinboro in sudden-victory.

At 197 pounds, Cerminara's only loss of the season came at the hands of Central Michigan’s top-ranked Wynn Michalak. Michalak earned a third-period takedown and was able to keep the lead despite a late flurry of action that narrowed the final score to 3-2. Cerminara, ranked second in the nation, is looking for his third MAC Championship to cap off a season that has seen him set school records for career wins, career dual meet wins, career dual meet takedowns and consecutive matches won.

Harold Sherrell

At heavyweight, Sherrell also posted a 4-1 record in MAC action, with his only loss coming at the hands of Bubba Gritter, a narrow 5-3 decision decided by a third-period takedown. This season, the gritty undersized heavyweight has posted a 32-7 record that featured wins against five nationally-ranked opponents, including a 17-2 technical fall of Northern Illinois' Joe Sapp, ranked third in the conference and 20th in the country. Sherrell finished third at the championships last year at 197 pounds.

Sophomore Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area), who lost two conference matches this year by a total of two points, will look to reverse his earlier misfortunes and win his first title to continue his remarkable turnaround after a 7-23 rookie season. Moran is 24-8 this season and has come back from a mid-year slump to win six of his last seven matches, including one against 30-match winner Jason Cardillo of Slippery Rock.

Senior Garrett Hicks (Chautauqua, NY/Chautauqua Lake) is also looking to make some noise in the conference tournament after a close 7-5 loss to the conference’s top-ranked Alex Camargo of Kent State. The senior is 21-10 this year and, after going 0-2 at the championships last year, is looking for his first qualifier.

Junior John Cummings (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) is also ranked third in the conference after a 3-2 MAC dual meet mark at 157 pounds. After starting the year 9-10, the two-time JuCo All-American at Nassau Community College, has won 14 of his last 18 matches. He went 10-5 in dual meets.

Sophomore Mike Ragusa (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) (174 pounds) will also be looking for his first NCAA qualifier after a 21-14 regular season that featured a stunning 5-4 overtime win against Central Michigan's nationally-ranked Brandon Sinnott.

Senior Cliff Smith (Merrick, NY/Calhoun) (141 pounds) enters the championships with an 8-10 overall record and just one win shy of his 50th career victory. The fifth-year senior won the starting job in January and responded with a third-place finish at the New York State Collegiate Championships.

Sophomore Dana Gingerich (Spring Grove, PA/DeLone Catholic) (149 pounds) has stepped up to 149 pounds to fill a hole left by an injury to junior Pat Lloyd (Middletown, NY/Valley Central). Gingerich, an aggressive wrestler posted six pins in 22 matches as he finished with a 13-9 overall record. Brimming with potential, Gingerich won his first collegiate title at the Mat Town USA Invitational in November.

Freshman Eric Piedimonte (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) (125 pounds) may be the most compelling of storylines for the Bulls. Stepping into the Alumni Arena wrestling room for the first time just a month ago, he immediately stepped into the whole in the Bulls' lineup, losing a gutsy 5-4 decision to Chris Clarke of Slippery Rock in his only match just a week and a half after joining the team. Now, the freshman will face a weight class with four nationally-ranked wrestlers, including two other true freshmen in Kent State's Chad Sportelli and Eastern Michigan's Sean Clair.

The tournament starts on Friday with the first round at 1:00 pm and semifinals and wrestlebacks beginning at 5:00 pm. The finals will begin Saturday at 12:00 pm with wrestlebacks for a true-second place beginning at approximately 2:00 pm.