Moran Wins 184-Pound Title at UB Open

BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo senior Mickey Moran won his weight class title as the UB Open kickstarted the 2008-09 wrestling season for the Bulls. There was no team scoring in the meet.

Mickey Moran

Moran, who went 5-0 on the day, was seeded first in the 184-pound weight class and breezed through his opening match with a 10-5 win over Rutgers' Mike Cucinotta. In the next round, Moran survived a 5-4 decision over Clarion's Clint Podish. Moran had to overcome a 7-0 deficit after the first period of his quarterfinal bout with unattached Navy Prep wrestler Andrew Buck, but scored 14 points in the final four minutes to claim a 14-12 victory. Moran then defeated Bryan Wolff of Mercyhurst in the semifinals, 5-3, and scored an 18-6 win over Duquesne's Ryan Sula to claim the title. It Moran's second straight title at 184 after finishing second at 174 in 2006.

Redshirt-freshman Kevin Smith was UB's other championship finalist, competing in the 133-pound class. Smith opened with a pin of Cody Hilsinger of Niagara County CC in 56 seconds and then shut out Paul Grogan of Rutgers, 4-0, in the next round. Smith fell in the championship bout to Ohio State's Reece Humphrey, 9-5.

Kevin Smith

Two Bulls earned third-place finishes as Andrew Stella and Jimmy Hamel won their consolation bouts after being knocked out of title contention in the semifinals. Stella downed Zach Kell of Lock Haven, 5-1, in his final bout at 141 while Hamel needed overtime to defeat Lamar Brown of Rutgers, the number one seed in the 197-pound weight class, 10-9. Stella shut out two opponents on his road to the finals. Hamel lost his bid of making the championship bout with a 3-1 overtime decision against Clarion's Jamie Luckett.

Freshman Brett Correll finished fourth in the 285-pound class. Correll won his first two bouts by more than 10 points in each contest then scored a fall against Wilmington's John Waggy in the quarterfinal round.

Ohio State wrestlers won six of the 10 weight classes with Edinboro winning two weight classes and UB and Lock Haven each taking one.

The Bulls begin their dual season on November 15 with matches against Davidson, Campbell and Duke at Davidson, NC.