Wrestling: Bulls Can't Hold Early Lead; Drop Heartbreaker to Binghamton 24-12.

It seems almost par-for-the-course at this point; Max Soria, Sean Peacock, Jason Estevez, and Colt Cotten come out on fire and wrestle great matches, and then after halftime UB can't carry over the early momentum. The same happened last night as the Bulls fell to 5-12 overall, against an underrated Bearcats squad.

Max Soria started the meet doing what he does best: winning. Soria cruised to an 11-6 decision over David White and put the Bulls up 3-0. The victory was also Soria's 20th of the season and the 80th of his career. If he wins his final two matches of his career, he'll be tied with former Bull John-Martin Cannon for 16th in career wins.

Then, true freshman Sean Peacock stepped onto the mat looking to keep his unbeaten streak alive, and he did so in electrifying fashion. Peacock pinned Thierno Diallo in the 2nd period to earn his 19th victory of the season, and his team best 12th dual meet victory. In his current 6 match winning streak, Peacock has three wins by pinfall and two by major decision - yeah, this kid is really good.

Colt Cotten, who had a pin stolen from him in the Bulls' last match against Missouri, dropped a very close 4-3 decision to Dylan Caruana, bringing his season record to 2-3, which is impressive given the horrific knee injury he suffered prior to the season starting.

Then, at 149 pounds, Jason Estevez took to the mat for the first time since the Southern Scuffle after recovering from an injury he sustained. Estevez was bumped to 149 due to the presence of Colt Cotten at 141 an Estevez took the challenge in stride and dominated former top-100 recruit Nick Tighe 11-4. The win was Estevez's 11th of the season, and that's after missing nearly a month and a half of competition due to injury.

Estevez's win, however, would be the final time that the Bulls would put points on the board as they surrendered 21 straight points in 6 straight losses on the mat. Joe Ariola nearly had the upset of #33 Jack McKeever at 184 pounds but ultimately lost 3-1.

On paper the loss isn't that bad, and upon closer inspection, the match was much closer. If the Colt Cotten and Joe Ariola matches had went the other way, a difference of a couple points in each match, the Bulls would have tied the Bearcats 18-18. I know Coach Stutzman isn't a man that's a fan of moral victories, but, Binghamton has been a solid program for a number of years, and this is the second year in a row that the Bulls have nearly taken down the Bearcats.

With that, the Bulls will be back in Alumni Arena this Sunday, the 15th, for senior day against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 1 PM.

Go Bulls!

Full Results:

125: Max Soria (UB) dec. David White (BING), 11-6

133: Sean Peacock (UB) pinned Thierno Diallo, 4:47

141: Dylan Caruana (BING)  dec. Colt Cotten (UB). 4-3

149: Jason Estevez (UB) dec. Nick Tighe (BING), 11-4

157: Vincent DePrez (BING) dec. Ryan Kromer (UB), 6-1

165: Zack Zupan (BING) dec. Rrok Ndokaj (UB) 8-2

174: Steve Schneider (BING) dec. Wally Maziarz (UB), 5-0

184: #33 Jack McKeever (BING) dec. Joe Ariola (UB), 3-1

197: Caleb Wallace (BING) maj. dec. James Benjamin (UB), 11-1

HWT: #22 Tyler Deuel (BING) tech. fall Ian James (UB), 18-0

Updated Season Records: