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Jim Beichner

BUFFALO, NY - Dan Bishop (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall), a New York State High School Division II champion, has signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle at the University at Buffalo, head coach Jim Beichner announced Wednesday,

"Bishop is a great sign for us," Beichner said. "Just to go to a club practice twice a week, he travels an hour and 45 minutes each way just to get a two-hour workout in so he can improve his skills. When you get kids like that in your program, you know they're going to be successful down the line because of how dedicated they are to the sport."

Bishop, who won the New York State Championship at 112 pounds in March to also earn the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award at the tournament, pinned his opponent, Zac Condidorio, in the championship bout in 1:34. The recruit, who is expected to compete for the starting job at 125 pounds, is currently 10th in Intermat's 2004-05 rankings of the prep senior class. As a junior, he was named one of the top wrestlers in New York State by Intermat.

Bishop also placed fifth at the NHSCA Senior Nationals to earn high school All-American status to cement his high school career. Also an accomplished Greco Roman wrestler, he was the 2004 ASiCS Tiger Junior Nationals Greco Roman champion and the 2004 Northeast Regional runner-up. As a member of the 2004 New York State National Duals team, Bishop helped New York to a second-place finish in Greco Roman and a fifth-place finish as a freestyle team.

Bishop concluded his senior year with a perfect 34-0 record as he went a stunning 171-19 during his career at Whitehall, losing 10 of those matches as an eighth grader. During a 39-1 junior year, Bishop finished as a runner-up and also finished runner-up as a sophomore after going 36-2.

Beichner also announced that Louie Rubin (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca), a New York State Division I placewinner at 130 pounds, Jason Hilliard (Aurora, NY/Southern Cayuga), Jeremy Sheffer (Albany, NY/Colonie/Air Force), Josh Taylor (Amherst, NY/Williamsville East), Tim Higgins (Mineola, NY/Chaminade), Aneal Ram (Rochester, NY/Brighton) and Josh Bryant (Cattaraugus, NY/Cattaraugus) will join the team in 2005-06, along with the New York State champion at 171 pounds, Rickey Scott (Middletown, NY/Valley Central), who signed a National Letter of Intent in the fall.