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Cerminara drops quarterfinal match at NCAA Championships

Kyle Cerminara/Courtesy Pa. Wrestling News

Cerminara, who falls into the consolation bracket, immediately reaches the All-America round and will face his largest nemesis, Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan, in the quest to become Buffalo’s first Division I two-time All-American in any sport.

Michalak, who entered the tournament seeded first, has beaten Cerminara twice this season, once 3-2 at a dual meet and once 7-5 at the MAC Championships. This time, All-America status will be on the line.

Rinaldi, who lost to Cerminara, 5-3, in the finals of the Las Vegas Invitational, kept Buffalo’s all-time wins leader from penetrating on any shots and was able to hold him down for all but six seconds on the second period to stake out a 2-0 lead after Cerminara was called twice for stalling.

In the third period, Cerminara could not get in on a shot to finish, preventing him from tying the score and possibly reaching the semifinals.

Mark Budd/Courtesy of Pa. Wrestling News

Junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) saw his season come to an end after a 7-0 loss to Penn State’s Jake Strayer. Strayer managed three takedowns, one in each period, to control the match.

Budd finished the year 38-6, the fourth-best wins total in school history and the eighth best single-season winning percentage. Budd’s magical season included his 60th career win and an upset of No. 1-ranked Shawn Bunch of Edinboro during a Dec. 9 dual meet. He also took home six tournament titles, including earning his first MAC Championship ring.

Cerminara hits the mats on Friday evening with the round beginning at 7:00 pm.