WRESTLING

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NEWARK, DE - The University at Buffalo wrestling team had an impressive showing at the inaugural Beast of the East Collegiate Wrestling Tournament at the University of Delaware on Friday.

Buffalo finished third of 15 teams with 99 points and were led by the performance of junior

Garrett Bontempo

Garrett Bontempo (DuBois, PA/DuBois), who dominated the field at the 184-pound weight class to capture Buffalo's only individual title.

Buffalo had nine wrestlers place in the tournament and finished behind only team champion Rider (145 points) and Mid-American Conference rival Ohio (119.5). Rounding out the top ten were Citadel (95.5), Bloomsburg (83), Virginia (64), Drexel (46.5), Old Dominion (39), Delaware State (28.5) and George Mason (27).

Bontempo became Buffalo's first tournament champion this season with a dominating performance en route to the 184-pound crown. Bontempo's closest match was a 4-2 win over Old Dominion's John Adams in the semifinals and he downed Bloomsburg's Chad Hoare by a 6-2 score in the finals to finish 4-0 on the day and improve his season record to 13-3.

Senior Gary Cooper (Adams, NY/South Jefferson) continued to impress as well, losing a heartbreaker in the 174-pound finals to finish second. Cooper, seeded second, had advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over Virginia's Brian Muir. In the finals, he lost to No. 1-seeded Hunter Guenot of Bloomsburg by a narrow 4-3 decision. Cooper upped his mark to 10-4 on the season.

The Bulls swept third and fourth place at 149 pounds as senior Ryan Bentley (Ripley, NY) and sophomore Dave Edwards (Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY/Cornwall) met in the consolation finals with Edwards claiming a 9-7 win over his teammate. Edwards finished 6-1 on the day after losing to eventual champion Jake Percival of Ohio in the second round.

Buffalo got another third place finish and strong showing in the wrestlebacks by sophomore

Labe Black

Labe Black (Ventnor, NJ/Absegami). Black rebounded from a heartbreaking 5-4 tiebreaker loss to No. 1-seeded Derek Jenkins of Rider to post five wins in wrestlebacks to take third place. Black beat Virginia's Tim Foley, 7-1, in the consolation final.

Junior Mike Trotta (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside) also bounced back to claim fourth place for Buffalo at 133 pounds. Trotta lost his first match in overtime but won four straight matches before losing in the consolation final to Rider's Jason Smith. Claiming fifth for Buffalo on the day was freshman Mike Sebaaly (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) at 125 pounds, sophomore Tom Paladino (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) at 165 pounds and sophomore Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) at 197 pounds.

The Bulls will next compete at the Wilkes Open on December 28-29.