MAC Championships
Flannery Advances To Day Two Of MAC Championships
3/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
KENT, OH – The University at Buffalo wrestling team had a tough first day of competition at the 2014 MAC Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon in Kent, OH. The Bulls currently sit in ninth place after the first day after earning 10.5 points.
Senior Nick Flannery did not want to see his collegiate wrestling career come to an end on Saturday afternoon. With his back against the wall following a quarterfinal loss to Zach Horan from Central Michigan, Flannery put together back-to-back impressive victories to advance to day two of the Championship. Flannery was the lone Bull to advance on in the Championship.
In the opening round of the consolation round, Flannery was down late to Tyler Argue of Northern Illinois, a wrestler he beat just last weekend. Trailing by one in the final period, Flannery shot in and recorded a huge takedown to seal the victory over Argue, 8-7. Less than an hour later, Flannery was back on the mat facing Noah Forrider from Ohio for a chance to advance on. Flannery fell behind once again, 2-0, but it seemed to awake the Framingham, Mass. Native as he rattled off six straight points to earn the huge, 6-2 win.
"Nick Flannery wrestled really well today," said first year head coach John Stutzman. "He put himself in a good position tomorrow to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament."
The Bulls had three wrestlers pick up victories in the preliminary round which kicked off at noon this afternoon. Justin Farmer started it off for the Bulls with a dominant 7-2 victory over Sebastian Arroyo of Ohio. At 157-pounds, Wally Maziarz gave the Bulls their most exciting win of the day as he earned a takedown as the horn sounded to break a 2-2 tie and earn the 4-2 victory over Andrew Morse of Northern Illinois. The last Bull to win his preliminary match was freshman James Benjamin at 285-pounds. Benjamin had a battle against Adam Robinson of Central Michigan, but earned the 2-1 victory in overtime, to move on to the quarterfinal round.
In the quarterfinal round, UB had five wrestlers that had a chance to move onto the semifinals. Unfortunately for the Bulls, all five wrestlers were defeated by their opponents. Seventh seeded Max Soria lost to Jared Germaine of Eastern Michigan, a wrestler who later advanced to the finals at 125-pounds. Farmer was unable to put together two straight wins as he was defeated by technical fall by the first seeded wrestler, Joe Colon from Northern Iowa. Flannery picked up his lone loss of the day as well, falling to Horan by major decision, 15-5. Benjamin also lost his chance to move on to the semifinals, falling to first seeded Jeremy Johnson of Ohio.
In the consolation round, two Bulls were able to pick up wins for the blue and white as Max Soria pinned Nickalas Harrison of Northern Illinois at the 6:03 mark of the match. Soria couldn't make his third straight trip to the NCAA's however; as he was beat by Kevon Powell of Ohio in the next round. Flannery put together a pair of wins for the Bulls as the other eight grapplers were all defeated in their consolation matches, to end their tournament.
"As a team, we beat a bunch of guys in this tournament that had beat us during the year," stated Stutzman. "That right there shows you that we are progressing."
Flannery will be the only Bull to compete on day two of the championship, tomorrow at the M.A.C. Center on the campus of Kent State. Action will begin at noon as Flannery will take on Lavion Mayes of Missouri.
TEAM SCORES (After day one):
Northern Iowa – 97
Missouri – 89.5
Ohio – 81
Old Dominion – 79
Central Michigan – 65.5
Eastern Michigan – 50
Kent State – 48
Northern Illinois – 31.5
BUFFALO – 10.5
Prelims
133: Justin Farmer (BUF) won by decision over Sebastian Arroyo (Ohio), 7-2
149: Nick Barber (EMU) won by decision over Ryan Todora (BUF),
157: Wally Maziarz (BUF) won by decision over Andrew Morse (NIU), 4-2
165: James Klosz (EMU) won by major decision over Jake Campana (BUF), 12-0
174: Matt Mougin (NIU) won by decision over Rrok Ndokaj (BUF), 5-0
197: Jared Bartel (Northern Iowa) won by decision over Angelo Malvestuto (BUF), 7-3
285: James Benjamin (BUF) won by decision over Adam Robinson (CMU), 2-1
Quarterfinals
125: Jared Germaine (EMU) pinned Max Soria (BUF), 4:56
133: Joe Colon (Northern Iowa) won by technical fall over Justin Farmer (BUF), 6:56 (20-4)
141: Zach Horan (CMU) won by major decision over Nick Flannery (BUF), 15-5
157: Ian Miller (KSU) won by decision over Wally Maziarz (BUF), 2:09
184: Cody Johnston (MIZZ) won by major decision over Tony Lock (BUF), 9-1
285: Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) won by major decision over James Benjamin (BUF), 9-0
Consolation Round:
125: Max Soria (BUF) pinned Nickalas Harrison (NIU), 6:03
133: Mackenzie McGuire (KSU) won by decision over Justin Farmer (BUF), 3-0
141: Nick Flannery (BUF) won by decision over Tyler Argue (NIU), 8-7
141: Nick Flannery (BUF) won by decision over Noah Forrider (Ohio), 6-2
149: Scott Mattingly (CMU) won by major decision over Ryan Todora (BUF), 10-0
157: Spartak Chino (Ohio) won by decision over Wally Maziarz (BUF), 4-2
165: Zach Toal (MIZZ) pinned Jake Campana (BUF), 1:47
174: Mike England (MIZZ) won by major decision over Rrok Ndokaj (BUF), 10-2
184: Ryan Garringer (Ohio) won by decision over Tony Lock (BUF), 9-2
197: Jackson Lewis (CMU) won by decision over Angelo Malvestuto (BUF), 7-6
285: Khodar Hoballah (EMU) won by major decision over James Benjamin (BUF), 9-0
