Wrestling: Buffalo Bulls 13, Ohio Bobcats 24; Late Burst not Enough to Overcome Early Defecit

Ending a grueling road trip, the Buffalo Bulls (5-10, 0-5 MAC) took on the Ohio Bobcats (7-4, 3-3 MAC) still looking for that ever-elusive first conference dual win. Instead of the first MAC win of the season, it was much of the same, strong performances from 125, 133, and 141 pounds, and then not being able to get any traction in the upper weight classes; and like many of the MAC duals this year, the Bulls faced an experienced lineup filled with former National Qualifiers, and ranked wrestlers, while the Bulls fielded a lineup with all but two wrestlers being underclassmen.

The meet started off  at 149 pounds with #8 Tywan Claxton dropping a major decision on Justin Cooksey, then Spartak Chino dropped another major decision on Danny Graham at 157 pounds to give the Bobcats an early 8-0 lead. The Bobcats would keep on winning through the 285 pounds weight class, with the Bulls coming closest to victory being Mike Silvis dropping a close 3-2 decision to Jesse Webb and Wally Maziarz dropping an exciting 2-0 decision to #8 Cody Walters, who, I should mention, is a 2-time MAC champion and a former All-American.

Max Soria took to the mat with the Bulls down 24-0 and he ended the shutout in a dominant fashion with a 10-3 decision over Zachary Hassan. Then, one of the most impressive wrestlers on the team, Sean Peacock used Soria's momentum and turned in a 16-2 major decision over Josh Parrett. Finally, not to be outdone by his teammates, Colt Cotten took to the mat and pinned Joel Shump in just 1:59.

I know I must be sounding like a broken record at this point, but you have to be excited when you see what Sean Peacock and Colt Cotten are doing on the mat. In fact, Peacock's last four victories were by pin, major decision, pin, and major decision; getting bonus points from any grapplers on a consistent basis like this can be huge for a team in dual meets. And how about Colt Cotten? In only 3 matches he has two pinfall victories and took one of the top ranked wrestlers in the nation right down to the wire, only to lose because of  a riding time point, all while coming back from a major knee injury.

The Bulls will be at home next Friday when #3 Missouri comes to town for a MAC showdown in Alumni Arena.

I apologize for the delay in the recap, and for it being shorter than usual but I was traveling back to Buffalo for the day and was unable to watch the match.

Full Results:

Buffalo Bulls: 13, Ohio Bobcats: 24

125: Max Soria (UB) dec. Zach Hassan (OU), 10-3

133: Sean Peacock (UB) maj. dec. Joshua Parrett (OU), 16-2

141: Colt Cotten (UB) pinned Joel Shump (OU), 1:59

149: #8 Tywan Claxton (OU) maj. dec. Justin Cooksey (UB), 14-1

157: Spartak Chino (OU) maj. dec. Danny Graham (UB), 14-5

165: Harrison Hightower (OU) dec. Rrok Ndokaj (UB), 7-0

174: #8 Cody Walters (OU) dec. Wally Maziarz (UB), 2-0

184: Ander Romanchik (OU) dec. Brett Perry (UB), 8-2

197: Phil Wellington (OU) maj. dec. Joe Ariola (UB) 16-6

HWT: Jesse Webb (OU) dec. Mike Silvis (UB), 3-2

Updated Season Records: