Wrestling Heads To New York State Collegiate Championships On Sunday
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York wrestling team (4-1, 0-0 MAC) hits the road on Sunday for the New York State Championships in Cornell.
BULLSTRONG
The University at Buffalo wrestling team has continued to grow and get better over head coach John Stutzman's tenure at Buffalo. The Bulls are off to their best start in nine years this year as Stutzman has the Bulls out to a 4-1 start. UB defeated Maryland and Davidson in the opening weekend and then this past weekend the Bulls went 2-1 at the Northeast Duals. The Bulls downed Springfield College and Lock Haven before losing a tight match against #19 West Virginia. The youthful Bulls lineup continues to improve match in and match out and with the chemistry that Stutzman has created, the Bulls seem to be headed in the right direction.
BULLS SET FOR NYS CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SUNDAY
The Bulls are set to hit the road for the third time so far this season as they will aim to be the kings of New York State when they travel to Cornell on Sunday afternoon for the NYS Championships. UB will enter the Championships with a 4-1 record, their best start to a season in nine years. Last season at the NYS CHampionships, senior captain Max Soria collected the crown at 125-pounds while three other Bulls took home second place, Joe Ariola, Jason Estevez and Wally Maziarz. Nine Bulls in total finished inside the top-8 for the tournament.
BULLS IMPROVE TO 4-1 FOR FIRST TIME IN NINE YEARS
UB is coming off of another successful weekend at the Northeast Duals as they went 2-1 with their lone loss of the day to #19 West Virginia in a close dual that could have been won by either side. The Bulls picked up a decisive 51-0 win over Springfield in the first dual before downing Lock Haven in a tight dual to close the day, 19-18. The Lock Haven match came down to the last match at 285-pounds and Jake Gunning stepped up and dominated the match, winning 5-0 to give UB the victory.
COLT COTTEN NAMED UB ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore Colt Cotten continues to improve for the Bulls and it seems like he is finally healthy. The Benton, PA native has had a great start to the season as he is unbeaten, 5-0. Last weekend, Cotten was the most impressive UB grappler as he collected a perfect 3-0 record with two major decision victories and a technical fall win. Cotten was awarded UB Athlete of the Week for the second time in his career for his efforts.
JAKE GUNNING MOVES UP IN POLLS
Redshirt freshman Jake Gunning keeps impressing as he moved up to #26 in the latest Wrestling Report rankings at 285-pounds. Gunning has been dominating his opposition as he owns a 4-1 record so far this season whit his lone loss coming to nationally-ranked Dawson Peck from Maryland in a close match, 3-1. Gunning ranks third on the squad with 11 takedowns so far this season.
YOUTHFUL LINEUP GAINING EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE
The way the UB wrestling team has started the season would make you think that they were a very experienced, upperclass-laden squad but that is not the case at all. The UB roster consists of 26 underclassmen including seven in their starting lineup. The seven underclassmen that have seen dual meet action have began to grow for head coach John Stutzman, leading the way is Colt Cotten and Jake Gunning. Kyle Akins and Bryan Lantry have also found their way as of late, earning tough wins over experienced grapplers. The confidence has begun to show as well for the youthful Bulls as they have not stepped back from any challenge,m including against nationally-ranked opponents.
ARIOLA EMBRACING MOVE TO 184 POUNDS
After a slow start to his redshirt freshman campaign, coach Stutzman moved Joe Ariola from 197-pounds down to 184-pounds and something seemed to click. Ariola won his final two MAC duals of the season by major decision and decision as he closed out the year with a 14-11 record. The redshirt sophomore has started off this season in impressive fashion, going 4-1 through five duals. The UB coaching staff will lean on Ariola to make strides the rest of the season.
NCAA QUALIFIERS APLENTY
The growth of the Buffalo wrestling program has been noticable not only locally but also nationally. Over the past seven seasons, the Bulls have produced 21 NCAA qualifying wrestlers after only producing six during the previous five seasons. Buffalo set a program record during the 2011 campaign as they had six wrestlers qualify for NCAA's. As a program, the Bulls have notched 45 NCAA qualifiers since the 1996 season.
FECHKO AND GRANT ADDED TO COACHING STAFF
Looking to add some more familiarity to his program, head coach John Stutzman added a pair of new assistant coaches for the 2015-16 season. The first move Stutzman made this offseason was the hiring of Craig "Boomer" Fechko to take over as his lead assistant. Fechko comes to Buffalo from Dakota Wesleyan where he was the head coach for one season. He previously served as a volunteer assistant at Bloomsburg for John Stutzman during the 2012-13 season. Fechko will work with the Bulls lightweights. Stutzman then promoted Justin Grant from Volunteer assistant to assistant coach after one season at Buffalo. Grant wrestled for Stutzman at Bloomsburg and was a NCAA qualifier at 285-pounds for the Huskies. Grant will work with the Bulls heavyweights this season.
PROJECTED UB LINEUP
125: Kyle Akins
133: Bryan Lantry
141: Brandon Lapi
149: Colt Cotten
157: James Devine
165: Rrok Ndokaj
Derek Holcomb
174: Austin Weigel
184: Joe Ariola
197: James Benjamin
285: Jake Gunning
