Bulls Finish Eighth at Body Bar Invitational

Desi Green

ITHACA, NY - The University at Buffalo wrestling team competed Saturday at the Body Bar Invitational at Cornell Universityâs Newman Arena with the Bulls placing eighth in an 11-team field. The Bulls picked up a third- and fourth-place finish for their top individual results of the meet.

UB finished with 54 total points to place eighth of 11 squads and just a half-point behind Maryland (54.5). The Terrapins fell out of the national top 25 rankings last week. Number 13 Boise State won the tournament with 125 points, with number 25 Kent State (115) and number four Cornell (91.5) taking second and third, respectively.

UBâs top individual finish came in the 149-pound weight class as Desi Green ended with a 4-1 mark on the day to place third. Green earned the third-place finish on a medical forfeit when Kent State's Clayton Stark was unable to compete. Green, seeded fifth in the 149-pound class won his first two bouts with victories over Liberty's Zach McCray and Kent State's Jeremy Depoy before falling in the semifinal round to top-seeded Matt Kyler of Army. Green reached the third-place match following a win over Bloomsburg's George Hickman.

In the 157-pound weight class, John-Martin Cannon scored four victories and finished in fourth-place. Cannon, seeded sixth, scored three wins in the top half of the bracket, including a 22-5 decision over Cornell's Tim Ironman in his opening bout, before falling in the semifinal round to eventual champion Adam Hall of Boise State. Cannon lost in the consolation final to Cornell's John Basting.

Jimmy Hamel finished sixth in the 197-pound bracket with a 3-3 record. Hamel won his opening match against Liberty's Andrew Wilson but fell in the quarterfinals to Kent State's Eric Chine in a tiebreaker. Hamel made his way through the wrestlebacks with a pair of wins, but fell in the consolation semifinals to Cornell's Cam Simaz and placed sixth following an 8-5 decision to unattached wrestler Michael Blackwell.

The Bulls begin Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan in their home opener on Wednesday at 1:00 pm at Alumni Arena.

Team Scores
Boise State 125
Kent State 115
Cornell 91.5
Army 81.5
Bloomsburg 81.5
Drexel 61.5
Maryland 54.5
UB 54
Liberty 35.5
Sacred Heart 31
Ithaca 16.5