WRESTLING

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ST. LOUIS, MO - The University at Buffalo wrestling team started action in the 2000 NCAA National Championships Thursday afternoon. The Bulls have three wrestlers who qualified for the tournament, and two of those three are still in the winner's bracket for the Thursday night session.

In the 184 pound weight class, Josh States (Lockport, NY/Lockport) drew an opening round matchup with Karl Rittger of Brown, and came away with a 6-3 win. States scored the first points of the match with a takedown in the first period, but Rittger soon escaped. States chose the down position to start the second period, and with 0:06 left in the period, he scored a reversal for a 4-1 lead. Rittger escaped early in the third period to make it 4-2 and Rittger also had the riding time advantage in the match. With 30 seconds left, States secured the win with a late takedown for a 6-2 lead, and won 6-3 after Rittger was awarded riding time points.

Freshman Joe Downey (Norwich, NY/Norwich) got the luck of the draw, and was one of three wrestlers who received a first round bye at 197 pounds, along with number one-seed Mark Munoz of Oklahoma State and fifth-seeded Orville Palmer of Oklahoma. Downey will face third-seeded Nick Muzashvilli of Michigan State in the Thursday evening session. Both States and Downey can advance to the quarterfinals round with a win Thursday night.

At 133 pounds, Shawn Kegel (Wantagh, NY/MacArthur) drew a first round matchup against third-seeded Pat McNamara of Michigan State and suffered a 7-3 loss. The match was even after the first period at 0-0, as both wrestlers fought to gain control of the match. Kegel took advantage, recording a takedown with one minute left in the second period for a 2-0 advantage, but McNamara escaped to make it 2-1 ten seconds later. McNamara then recorded a takedown with five seconds left for a 3-2 lead going into the third. Kegel escaped but was taken down again, and trailed 6-2 with a 1:40 left in the period. A late escape by Kegel made it 6-3 before McNamara earned riding time points for the 7-3 win. Kegel will face Jason Nagle of Penn in the Thursday evening session.

133 Pounds
McNamara (Michigan State) def. Shawn Kegel (Buffalo), 7-3
184 Pounds
States (Buffalo) def. Rittger (Brown), 6-3
197 Pounds
Downey (Buffalo), bye