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BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo took part in its second invitational of the season as it traveled to the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this past weekend.

The Bulls, along with Cal Poly, fininshed in 21st place with 38 points. Illinois, currently ranked fifth in InterMat's NCAA Division I rankings, won the event with 156 points. Fifty-two teams competed in the the invitational. Last season, the Bulls placed 27th with 20 points.

Senior Shawn Kegel (Wantaugh, NY/MacArthur) was the Bulls' lone wrester to place. Kegel finished third in the tournament with a 6-1 record in the 133 pound bracket. After going 2-0, Kegel lost his quarterfinal match to Brian Watson (Oregon), the eventual second-place finisher. He bounced back with four straight wins to claim third place. Kegel defeated some of the tournament's top-ranked grapplers along the way. In the fifth wrestleback, Kegel defeated Rob Loper (University of Pittsburgh), the tournament's top seed at 133 pounds and this season's number two ranked wrestler in the nation in preseason polls. Kegel's win over David Douglas (Arizona State), 3-2 propelled him into the third place match. Douglas was the third seed in the 133-pound bracket.

Also having positive outings for the Bulls at the Las Vegas Invitational were senior Josh States (Lockport, NY/Lockport) (184) and sophomore Garrett Bontempo (DuBois, PA/Dubois) (174). Both wrestlers finished in the top 12 of their respective brackets.

States and Bontempo joined Kegel as the only Bulls' wrestlers to move on to the second day of competition.

States opened up the tournament with three straight wins, the first a major decision. In the quarterfinals, States' streak came to an end at the hands of Doug Lee (Oregon), the top seeded wrestler in the 184-pound bracket and the eventual third-place finisher. States finished the tournament 3-2.

Bontempo started the tournament in the outbracket with a win, however lost his first-round match to third seeded Corey Bell (North Carolina), 8-6. In the wrestlebacks, Bontempo recorded four straight wins before falling to fifth-place finisher, Steven Schenk (Wyoming). Bontempo finished the tournament with a 5-2 record.

Senior Charlie Voorhees (Warsaw, NY/Warsaw) and junior Ryan Bentley (Ripley, NY/Ripley) both finished the rournament with 2-2 records.

UB's record is 2-0 after recording dual-meet wins against Mid-American Conference rivals Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois University. The Bulls' next competition is Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Binghamton University Duals. UB's next dual meet is on Friday, Jan. 5 at Clarion University and its next home dual meet is on Saturday, Feb. 27 against Kent State.