WRESTLING

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BROCKPORT, NY - The University at Buffalo wrestling team opened the 2002-03 campaign with a seventh-place finish at the highly-competitive Oklahoma Gold Classic at Brockport State University on Saturday.

The Bulls had a trio of third-place finishers that helped UB accumulate 70 points for the event, finishing seventh in a field of ten strong teams. Oklahoma won the event with 183.5 points with Ohio State (154.5), Cleveland State (144), Army (96) and Rutgers (86) rounding out the top five. Bloomsburg nipped Buffalo by a half-point to claim sixth place.

The Bulls were led by the efforts of sophomore

Mike Sebaaly

Mike Sebaaly (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster), junior Garrett Bontempo (DuBois, PA/DuBois) and sophomore Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter).

Sebaaly, who was unseeded at 125 pounds, was the biggest surprise of the event for Buffalo. He began the day by defeating Army's Andy Henry, 7-4, before losing to top-seeded Bo Maynes of Oklahoma, 12-4. Sebaaly fought his way through the wrestlebacks - including an 8-7 win over No. 4 seed Sal Cruz of Brockport State, and eventually met up with Rutgers' Marc Rosenfeld in the consolation finals. There he claimed a 6-4 win for a well-earned third place finish.

Buffalo's other third-place finishers were two of UB's winningest wrestlers from last season. Bontempo,

Garrett Bontempo

seeded third, won his first two matches at 184 pounds, before losing to No. 2 seed Gerald Harris of Cleveland State. Once in the wrestlebacks, Bontempo dominated Rutgers' Nick Medini (19-4) before defeating Bloomsburg's Chad Hoare 14-7 in the consolation finals.

Cerminara, meanwhile, was seeded fifth in a loaded 197-pound class despite earning a berth to the NCAA Championships as a freshman last year. He won his first match before dropping a 4-3 decision to Ohio State's Anlon Talamantes. Once in the wrestlebacks, Cerminara defeated a pair of opponents before earning a forfeit win over No. 1 seed Stipe Miocic of Cleveland State.

Other top finishers for Buffalo included junior college transfer Mike Trotta (Oceanview, NY/Oceanview), who was fourth at 133 pounds, and sophomore Labe Black (Ventnor, NJ/Absegami) who was fifth at 157 pounds in his first competition since redshirting last season. Trotta transferred to Buffalo from Nassau Junior College this year.

Buffalo is next in action on Thursday when it opens the dual meet season by taking on Top 20-ranked Lock Haven at Alumni Arena. The match will start at 7:30 pm and admission is free.