WRESTLING

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

BUFFALO, NY - Senior Shawn Kegel (Wantaugh, NY/MacArthur) was named the Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week as announced by the conference office. Kegel finished third in the 133 pound bracket at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a 6-1 record. His third-place finish was the highest ever by a UB wrestler at the Las Vegas Invitational. Also, Kegel cracked the national rankings in the 133 pound weight class.

Kegel is ranked 15th in the nation in InterMat's most recent Division I rankings. After being previously unranked, Kegel's performance in the Las Vegas Invitational propelled him into the top 20. Kegel posted wins over the third and seventh-ranked wrestlers in the nation and placed higher than the 11th, 15th, 16th and 17th ranked wrestlers.

After going 2-0 to start the Las Vegas invitational, 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 (currently ranked eighth in the nation). Kegel's win over David Douglas (Arizona State), propelled him into the third-place match. Douglas was the third seed in the 133-pound bracket and is currently ranked 16th in the nation.

Earlier in the season, Kegel placed first at the Bearcat Open and the Bloomsburg Invitational and currently has a 16-2 season record, which puts him on pace to break UB's overall season win record.

In addition to Kegel's ranking, other UB grapplers and the teamreceived national recognition. Josh States (Lockport, NY/Lockport), previously ranked 17th in the nation, moved up two spots to 15th. States compiled a 3-2 record in the Las Vegas Invitational en route to a top-12 finish. States moved up the UB record charts and currently stands fifth all time with 81 career wins. John Eschenfelder (N. Syracuse, NY/Cicero-N.Syracuse), who did not wrestle at the Las Vegas Invitational due to a lower back injury, remained seventh in the nation at heavyweight. Eschenfelder's 5-0 record this season moves him into 13th overall on the career wins list with 67.

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 where they are the first seed and will receive a first-round bye before wrestling the winner of the Wagner vs. Sacred Heart match. UB's next dual meet is on Friday, Jan. 5 at Clarion University and its next home dual meet is on Saturday, Jan. 27 against Kent State.