WRESTLING

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BUFFALO, NY - The third session at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, held at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, was completed Friday afternoon, and all UB wrestlers are now eliminated from competition. The Bulls finished with a 3-8 overall tournament record and 3.5 team points, and are currently in 48th place.

"It's a disappointing finish to what was a very successful season," said head coach Jim Beichner. "We had many ups and downs this season and this team came through big time. It was a great accomplishment to qualify four competitors to the NCAA Championships, however we are all very disappointed that we did not have any All-American finishers."

Senior Shawn Kegel (Wantagh, NY/MacArthur) droppped his consolation match to Marat Tomaev from Penn State by a 7-4 decision. Tomaev defeated Central Michigan's Jordan Webster in the first round of the wrestlebacks to advance and now will wrestle Dylan Long from Northern Iowa. Kegel finishes his season with a 29-6 record and completes his UB career with a 59-16 career record.

Junior Dave Guarino (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) dropped a 10-0 decision to the third seed at 165 pounds, Steve Blackford from Arizona State. Blackford defeated Jed Pennell from Oregon State to advance to the second round of the wrestlebacks. Guarino finishes the season with a 21-16 record while his career record is now 42-30. He UB's only NCAA qualifier that will be returning to the Bulls next season.

Senior heavyweight John Eschenfelder (N. Syracuse, NY/Cicero-N. Syracuse) was eliminated from the tournament after a 3-1 overtime decision to Jake Vercelli from Purdue in the third round of the wrestleback bracket. Eschenfelder defeated Josh Pearce from Edinboro 7-3 to advance to the third round of the wrestlebacks. Eschenfelder dropped a 4-3 decision to fifth-seeded Matt Brink from Michigan which moved him into the wrestleback rounds. Eschenfelder completes the season with a 21-5 record and now finishes his UB career with an 83-42 record.

"The coaching staff is proud of the three seniors that qualified for the tournament," said Beichner. "They've put in a lot of hard work and dedication over the years and we are proud of their accomplishments."

Eschenfelder, Kegel and States finish their UB careers with a combined 242-108 record.

"As soon as we get back, it's time to start building for next season. We are going to have to work hard to take care of unfinished business."

Wrestling resumes Saturday, March 16, at 8 a.m. with the third through eighth-place matches and then culminates at 1 p.m. with the championship matches.