Buffalo Bulls Wrestling

7.17.2011

Camp Notes

We wrapped-up another successful camp Wednesday. We would like to thank everyone that worked hard to make the camp successful. There were several UB Wrestling Alumni that helped make the camp run smooth this year in addition to the rest of the UB Team, coaching staff and other camp staff members. It was great having Eric Knuutila (1971-1973), Bill Jacoutot (1972-1974), Dean Salvagio (1986-1988), Joe Muscarella (1990-1992), Brian Dowdall (1994-1996), Gary Cooper (1998-2003), Mickey Moran (2004-2009), Justin Farrara (2008-2010), Andrew Stella (2005-2010), and Brian Sheehan (2009-2011) back on campus. In the drilling competition, Wally Maziarz' Team Ugly Ear came in first place with Jake Beichner's Team in second and Andrew Stella's team right behind him in third. John-Martin Cannon's team won the actual team dual meet competition. They rebounded after an early dual meet loss (to Zach Ward's team) to storm back in the bracketed tournament with a dominate win in the finals over Wally Maziarz' team. Andrew Stella's team was consistent throughout the competitions and placed a solid third. James Loomis' Team won the tug-of-war competition after finishing in middle of the pack in the dual meet competition.

7.08.2011

Spotlight on Zach Ward

Yesterday's post spurred a question about sophomore Zach Ward. Coach Beasley's answer is below.

Question:

How is Zach Ward looking? He wrestled at my HS alma mater. Is he still projected at 174? I'm hoping he's been hitting the weights hard.

Answer:

Zach Ward has been working exceptionally hard. He is a great young man, good student, etc. He is the kind of student-athlete that coaches love to have. He has improved a great deal in the last year. He actually wrestled most of the year last year at 184 pounds and a few times at 197 pounds as a redshirt. He finished the season with an 11-11 record after starting the year at 1-4. He won the NCCC Open, took 3^rd at the NYS Collegiate B Bracket, and 4^th at the JCC Open. He will be in the mix to start at 184 pounds.

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UB WRESTLING CAMP BEGINS SUNDAY, JULY 10. ARE YOU SIGNED UP?? IT'S NOT TOO LATE!

7.07.2011

Keep Your Questions Coming

As was the case in the prior posts, the question asked by a fan will be answered by Coach Beasley. Keep your questions coming folks, we'll get them answered as soon as possible!

Question:
Do you think that Kevin Smith could move up a weight this year? If so what does 133 like if he is at 141 pounds?

Answer:
Kevin is planning on moving up to 141 pounds this coming season (note: Andrew Schutt is a possible redshirt and Rickey Bronson is looking to certify at 141 pounds as well). He is big right now and is ready to move-up for his final year. Justin Farmer is coming off a good redshirt year where he won 21 matches. He placed at the UB Open, W&J Open, Cleveland State Open, JCC Open, and won the New York State Collegiate B Bracket. Justin will be a redshirt sophomore. Also, Taylor Golba (redshirt junior) has the potential to move to 133 pounds or stay at 125 pounds. He was the starter at the beginning of the season last year before having an injury that he is still recovering from. He started the season on fire and walked through the UB Open but saw limited action after that last year. We also have an incoming freshman that is projected at 133 pounds that placed 6^th, 5^th, 3^rd, and 2^nd in the state of New York.

7.06.2011

Your Questions Answered

During our small hiatus, we received two additional questions about the UB Wrestling program. Below are those questions along Coach Beasley's responses.

Question 1:
Josh Peters was having a solid year before fading some against MAC competition last year. Seems that he would be a good wrestler and likely starter at 197 next year. I recently visited the roster page and didn't see his profile. Will he be back next year? Related to this, 184 is open with Jimmy Hamel graduating. Justin Heisserman wrestled at 189 and occasionally 215 in high school. Do you project Heiserman at 184 or 197?

Response:

Jimmy Hamel graduated this year and we will have very good 184 and 197 pound wrestlers in the line-up. Unfortunately, Josh Peters is no long a part of the UB Wrestling Team.

At 184 pounds, we will have one of the following three wrestlers: Ron Majerus, Zach Ward, or Jake Waste. Ron is a redshirt junior who started at 165 pounds as a true freshman. He had a solid year where he placed in the MAC Championships. The following year, he redshirted and placed in several tournaments at 174 pounds. Last season, he again started for us at 174 pounds. Ron placed at both the UB Open and the New York State Collegiate Tournament. He also had a memorable match where he scored multiple takedowns on #1 Nationally Ranked Honeycutt of Edinboro when he wrestled up at 184 pounds. Zach Ward is a redshirt freshman who won an open tournament last year and placed in several others. He won about a dozen matches last year and continues to improve. Jake Waste was one of the top recruits in the country this year. He won five National Championships during his high school career and is looking to add two more at Fargo this month. Jake also was a Minnesota State Champion, placed in a ton of national tournaments, won a college tournament as a junior in high school, and finished high school with a 201-26 career record. Waste or Majerus could also be at 174 pounds this season.

At 197 pounds, we will have one of the following three wrestlers: Tyler Peter, Mibo Aiono, and Justin Heiserman. Tyler will be in his fourth year with the program and has worked very hard and gained a lot of experience over the years. He has wrestled a lot of good competition and is ready to go for next year. Mibo joined the team last year and wrestled up at heavyweight. He plans to drop down to 197 this year and will be big for the weight. He is also very athletic. Justin Heiserman is projected to wrestle 197 pounds. He was ranked in the top 20 in the country at 189 pounds this year and has several very good wins. He was a NHSCA High School Senior All-American, Disney Duals Gold Medalist, two-time Michigan State Champion, three-time Michigan State Finalist, and four-time Michigan State Qualifier. He finished his high school career with a 192-27 record with 116 pins.

Question 2:

Congratulations on a strong season last year and a great recruiting class! UB will be loaded at the lower weight classes next year. The Soria brothers and Arik Robinson have been mentioned as competing for the 125 spot. Last year's starters Taylor Golba (early) and Sean Walton (late) are rarely mentioned but are both tough wrestlers at 125. Kevin Smith at 133 is not likely to be displaced. Andrew Schutt had a strong year at 141. Blake Ruolo comes in at 141/149. Other strong wrestlers will also be pushing for time. 149 is the only lower to mid weight class without an incumbent starter. How do you see competition for the starting lineup playing out?

Response:

I would say that we will be very good at 149 pounds next year. Chris Conti, Wally Maziarz, James Loomis, and Blake Roulo will all probably be 149 pounders. Chris Conti has won several important matches for us in the last three years. He is a very hard worker and great young man. He is getting bigger as he is moving up from 141 pounds and looks great. I think the people that do not get the chance to see him train daily will be impressed with how good he really is. He is a hammer on the mat and is getting very good on his feet. Wally Maziarz is rapidly improving and recently qualified for the World Team Trials in Greco-Roman. Wally also won an open tournament this year. Loomis gained valuable experience last year and wrestled several matches. He is very aggressive and wrestles a high-pace style which makes him exciting to watch. Nothing is set in stone, but there is a good possibility in Roulo redshirt next year. Roulo was one of the best recruits in the country this year and won four straight NHSCA High School National Titles (only the second wrestler to ever do so). Roulo also was a multiple-time All-American, Virginia State Champion, and finished his high school career with a 179-14 career record.

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Please feel free to leave additional comments and questions on this post.

The UB Wrestling Camp gets underway this Sunday on UB's North Campus. If you haven't signed up yet, there is still time! Go Bulls!

7.05.2011

Wrestling Renovation Photo Update 07.04.11

Aaand we're back! Below are some shots I took last night before the fireworks at UB of the wrestling room. We've been gone for 2 weeks and the room is very close to completion, as most of the remaining work is cosmetic. Enjoy the photos!

Coach Deubel's office

Jeff Parker Student Lounge - furniture to arrive July 11

Coach Beichner's Office

Coach Beasley's Office

Wrestling Room - New mats!

Wrestling room

Cardio Facility - equipment has not yet been delivered

Wrestling room

Tomorrow, Coach Beasley will answer the remaining questions we received in the Q&A posts. As always, if you have any more comments, questions, etc., please leave a comment!