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BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo wrestler Mark McKnight (McDonald, PA/South Fayette), who recently completed his freshman season at UB, lost his opening match in the Challenge Preliminaries of the US Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Trials this morning at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN.

Mark McKnight

McKnight dropped a 4-0 decision to sixth-seeded Tim Dernlan, the current assistant wrestling coach at Penn State and a 1998 All-American at Purdue. McKnight was one of just 13 wrestlers within the 55-kilogram weight class to qualify for the trials, having done so with his mid-April title at the East Regional Trials. Dernlan qualified for the trials with a seventh-place finish at the US Nationals.

McKnight now drops to the consolation bracket where he will face either Matt Azevedo or Mike Mena. They will wrestle each other in the Challenge Quarterfinals, beginning at 5 pm on Friday. Azevedo, a three-time NCAA qualifier while in college, qualified for the trials with a fourth-place finish at the US Nationals. He is an assistant coach at Cal Poly. Mena, meanwhile, finished sixth at the US Nationals to advance to the Olympic Trials. A three-time US Freestyle National Team member, he is an assistant coach at Indiana and was a four-time NCAA All-American at Iowa.

McKnight finished the 2003-04 collegiate season with a 34-8 record, including a Mid-American Conference Championship at 125 pounds. He later advanced to the All-America Round of the NCAA Championships before being eliminated and was the only true freshman to advance that far in his weight class.

During April's US Wrestling National Championships, McKnight went 3-2 within the 55-kilogram weight class and was only one win away from placing in the top eight.