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BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo freshman Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) was recently honored by Amateur Wrestling News as a fifth-team member of its All-Rookie Teams, which honor the achievements of freshmen competitors at all levels (NCAA Division I, II and III and NAIA).

Kyle Cerminara

Cerminara finished his rookie campaign at UB with a 26-13 record while also compiling an impressive list of achievements, including the 197-pound title at the Mid-American Conference Championships and at the Bloomsburg Invitational, an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a perfect 5-0 record in regular season MAC matches and UB's Robert E. Rich Most Outstanding Wrestler, Top Newcomer and Male Athlete of the Year honors.

Cerminara posted a 1-2 record at the NCAA Tournament where he faced collegiate wrestling icon Cael Sanderson of Iowa State and finished just two wins shy of becoming UB's first All-American at the Division I level. He was the fourth first-year wrestler that head coach Jim Beichner brought to the NCAA Championships and the 17th overall in Beichner's seven years of coaching at UB. Cerminara also became the first person to earn Athlete of the Year honors in his or her first year at UB since women's swimmer Inger Rooneem did so in 1997-98.

The Mid-American Conference was well-represented on the AWN Rookie Honor Roll, with six of the 60 honorees coming from conference schools. Cerminara was joined by Ohio's Jake Percival (First Team, 149 pounds) and Jeremiah Beltran (Fourth Team, heavyweight), Central Michigan's David Boylard (Second Team, 157 pounds) and Russ Vanderhayden (Fourth Team, 184 pounds) and Northern Illinois' Sam Hiatt (Third Team, 133 pounds).