More National Recognition for UB Wrestling

Three of UB's top wrestlers were recently ranked by theopenmat.com in their preseason rankings.  Kevin Smith, Desi Green, and John-Martin Cannon were all ranked in the top 20 in the country by theopenmat.com's September 27th preseason ranking.  Kevin Smith (Redshirt Junior from Mexico, NY) is ranked #16 at 133 pounds.  Desi Green (Redshirt Junior from Henrietta, NY) is ranked #15 up at 157 pounds (NOTE: Desi will be wrestling at 149 again this year).  John-Martin Cannon (Junior from Brockport, NY) was ranked #20 in the preseason poll at 165 pounds.  We are glad to see these three young men ranked and are looking forward to having more ranked soon!

Linda Yalem Safety Run Notes

This past Sunday was the 21^st Annual Linda Yalem Safety Run.  There are over 1,500 runners that enter the race every year.  The race honors the memory of UB student Linda Yalem that was raped and killed.  As the race honors her memory it also promotes personal safety and has become one of UB’s most enduring traditions.  All race proceeds support safety awareness and rape prevention programming at UB.

Every year for the past 15 years that Coach Beichner has been the head coach at UB, our team has either volunteered or participated in the race to lend our support to his great cause.  This year was no different as our entire team came out to provide support for the runners.

There were many important people on hand at this great event, but a couple stood out as UB Wrestling Family (there may be more that I did not see and if so, I am sorry that I did not mention you).  UB Wrestling Alumni John Kopalek and his son, UB Graduate, Paul Kopalek both ran in the race.  John is a very well know referee and has always been very supportive of our program.  He has refereed many UB matches, several UB Opens, NYS Collegiate Tournmants, etc.  He always does a great job and calls it right down the middle (even though I always try to get him to give us some calls!!).  It’s always great to see the Kopalek family at UB!  Both John and Paul were in the top 15 in their respective groups at the race.  Also, the legendary Coach Ed Michael ran in the race.  He is the all-time winningest coach in UB history.  Coach Michael is a living legend as he won 213 dual meet matches as the head coach at UB, won the NCAA Division III National Team Title, and crown countless All-Americans over his illustrious coaching career.  Coach Michael’s career is what young coaches like myself dream of achieving.  Coach Michael was greeted at the finish-line with cheers from the entire team.  I’m sure there are other people that are connected to the UB Wrestling Family that I missed at the race, but those are the guys I saw.  Thank you current UB Wrestlers, Coach Michael, John Kopalek, and Paul Kopalek for your support of this great event!

Coach Beasley


For more information on the Run, click here.

Coach Beasley's Wrestling Notes: First Day of Official Practice

Yesterday was a great first practice.  Coach Beichner ran a great, hard workout.  Overall it was a great team effort.  However, there were a few guys that really stood out.  I could go through the entire roster and tell you about great things that every single guy did today, but there were a pair of wrestlers that really caught my eye in the drill and a few that I was impressed with going live.  Chris Conti and Justin Farmer started-off the year by setting an outstanding pace for the drill.  Taylor Golba, Mark Lewandowski, and Brett Correll were all very impressive in the live part of the workout.

Chris Conti (Redshirt-Sophomore from Fredonia, NY) and Justin Farmer (Redshirt Freshman from New Lenox, IL) have been two of the hardest workers in their time at UB.  They are two of the guys that individually do a lot of extra work to be great on their own because they want to be All-Americans.  Chris has been a spot-starter in the past and has stepped in whenever needed at whatever weight class he has been asked to wrestle.  His freshman year, he was sidelined with a serious neck injury.  As a redshirt freshman last year, he started off last year at 133 pounds, but moved up to 141 and 149 for the betterment of the team.  He has been a great student and role-model for the rest of the team.  Chris is the kind of wrestler that coaches dream of coaching – focused and committed to the team in every way.

Justin Farmer, perhaps more than anyone last year, put in more extra workouts with the coaches individually than anyone.  He wants to be an All-American in the worst way and trains like it on a daily basis.  He is a very hard worker and tough kid.  We are planning on redshirting him this year as he is moving up to 133 pounds from 125 pounds.  He is doing a great job but has to get more confident in his ability.  Once he does that, the sky is the limit.  Both Chris and Justin have very bright futures at UB and beyond.

Taylor Golba is a 125 pound redshirt-sophomore from right here in Buffalo.  He was going after it hard and has really stepped it up this year.  He has committed to dropping back down to 125 pounds after redshirting at 133 last year and going 8-4 on the year.  Two years ago, he was a part-time starter at 125 pounds and won 11 matches.  He had a great drill with Mike Soria and brought an intensity to the room in live wrestling with Soria and Farmer that I’ve never seen from him before.  Keep an eye on Taylor and don’t count him out.

I talk to the guys about coming into practice every day with a purpose and I discuss their daily goals with them a lot.  Mark Lewandowski really came in with a purpose today.  He wanted to dominate everyone he wrestled; he wanted to break his opponents.  He did just that yesterday.  He physically and mentally broke two different partners in the practice with his short offense and attacks.  Mark is also a redshirt sophomore and is from just down the road in Lancaster, NY.  He wrestled at 141 pounds two years and started for us with a 14-11 record.  Last year, he redshirted at a more natural weight of 157.   Even though he battled some injuries, he soldiered to a solid 11-4 record.  Lewandowski is poised for a breakout 2010-2011 season at 157 pounds.

Brett Correll of Shelby Township in Michigan is also a redshirt-sophomore that had a great workout yesterday.  He was a full-time starter as a true freshman that won 15 matches in 2008-2009.  Last year, he was the starter again at the beginning of the year but was hurt after the second tournament.  He finished last season with a 6-4 record and received a medical redshirt for the season.  He is 100% healthy and ready for a great year.  Look for Brett to surprise a lot of people this year.  I have always said that Brett could be great if did just a little better job of managing his time so he could get the most out of every workout.  He’s done a good job in the past, but he really is making the most of everything this year.  He has made a total commitment to being great, which is what it takes to be a Division I All-American.  He is stronger, leaner, faster, more focused, and better than he has ever been.  Today, he set a great tone for the rest of the season with his outstanding work ethic.  Brett is going to be our “heavyweight closer.”  He will be ready to win with the match on the line; watch for him to come-up for us big in close matches.

We will continue to give you more updates from the wrestling room as the season progresses.  Check back for more information, video, etc. throughout the week.

Coach Beasley

Preseason Wrap Up

The 2010 preseason has officially ended for the Bulls.  Coach Beasley comments below on how the last several weeks wrapped up...

Today is the best day of the school year so far as it marks the first day of official practice.  Preseason ended on Friday and the team is anxiously awaiting practice.  I woke up excited about the opening day of season and I know the guys on the team did too, as many of them commented about it at the morning lift today.

The team had the best preseason they have ever had in my time at UB.  Across the board, they made huge gains in the weight room and in their runs.  Every single returning wrestler improved their times from last year in all of the timed runs.  The freshman set a great pace and steadily improved their times during the preseason.

Looking through the race results in the timed mile, stadium run, bike path run, long bike path run, and the plate run, there are several congratulations to be given.  Congratulations to Mike Soria for winning the most races (including the mile race 2X and the difficult plate run) of anyone on the team.  Twins Max and Mike battled on all the runs and did a great job.  Great job to Rickey Bronson for winning the first race of the preseason (the short bike path) and Chris Conti for winning the short bike path the second time we ran it.  James Donner was the most improved in the short bike path run from the first time we ran it to the second.  Brian Sheehan won the endurance battle in the long bike path.  Kevin Smith dominated the stadium run and has yet to be defeated in his time at UB.  As a team, from the first week of preseason when we ran the timed mile to the last week of preseason when we ran a timed mile, we knocked 20 seconds off on average.  Three wrestlers in the mile race were at five minutes and ten seconds or less (Mike Soria – 5:07, Max Soria – 5:09, & John-Martin Cannon – 5:10).  Most improved times on the mile run went to Kris Duge, Mibo Aiono, Desi Green, and Andrew Schutt. Brett Correll was the most improved returner in the runs from last year.  Overall the team did a great job.  Like I said, every single returning wrestler had their best time since coming to UB in both the mile run and the short bike path run, which shows great effort and improvement.  We are excited about the season ahead.

Coach Beichner has a great workout planned for today and I will give you all a few notes on that tomorrow.  More updates will come throughout the season.  Watch for big things out of the Bulls!

Coach Beasley

Interview with Desi Green

DESI GREEN - 149 LBS

National Qualifier

2009-10: Led the team with 30 wins and also led the team in technical falls (3) and takedowns (62) en route to becoming a national qualifier for the second straight year… finished first at the UB Open in the 149 weight class… defeated #20 Justin Accordino of Hofstra to lead the Bulls to a 16-16 tie… fought to an 8-6 win over #6 Jason Chamberlain of Boise State at the National Duals and was named the MAC wrestler of the week for his efforts (1/12)… Earned three straight major decisions in the “A” bracket of the New York State Championships to finish second overall, highlighted by a win over #1 nationally ranked wrestler Blaine Woszczak of Ithaca… Defeated Seth Morton of Ohio to win the MAC Championship, then defeated the #19 nationally ranked Morton in a rematch at the NCAA Championship wrestle-backs... has 70 career wins and is poised to become the program's first wrestler to win 100 matches as a junior.

2008-09: Compiled an overall record of 40-9 at 149/157, finished the season with nine-straight victories including a 4-3 decision over then tenth-ranked Steve Brown of Central Michigan... second-team All-MAC in the 149-pound weight class, finishing second at the MAC Championships... 149-pound NCAA qualifier, making his first appearance at the national championships... besides nine-bout win streak also recorded a seven-bout, a six-bout and three five-bout win streaks... led the Bulls in overall wins (38), dual-meet wins (19), falls (3) and takedowns (71)... set the all-time record for most takedowns in a season (71)... 18th nationally-ranked at 149 in the Intermat/NWCA/NWMA NCAA Division I Individual Rankings (2/18)... named MAC Wrestler of the Week (2/2) after defeating Central Michigan’s Brown... placed second in the 149-pound weight class at the NYS Intercollegiate Championships... placed third at the Body Bar Invitational in the 149-pound weight class... placed sixth in the 157-pound weight class at the UB Open... competed in the Body Bar Invitational and Reno Tournament of Champions.    

2007-08: Redshirted... saw action at the UB Open, finishing 1-2 in the 157-pound weight class.

High School: Won three letters and captained two seasons at Rush-Henrietta for coach Mickey Marlowe... first-team All-League as a senior... won the 2007 New York State Championship and the 2007 Empire State Championship. 

Personal: Born October 11, 1989... son of Chavela Green... has a brother, Jerome and a sister, Janee... favorite athlete is Lebron James... favorite TV show is The Simpsons... lists McDonald’s as his favorite food and says his strangest superstition or habit is eating three times a day.

Four Bulls Recognized in Preseason Rankings

The UB Wrestling Team has four wrestlers ranked in preseason polls. WIN Magazine and D1 College Wrestling released their predictions today.

Wrestler WIN Magazine Ranking D1CW Ranking

Kevin Smith - 133 lbs. 16 19

Desi Green 8 (149 lbs.) 17 (157 lbs.)

John-Martin Cannon - 165 lbs. 13 20

Jimmy Hamel 20 (197 lbs.) 18 (184 lbs.)

Coach Beasley comments on the rankings below...

"We are pleased to see that four young men on our team have been recognized in two different national rankings for their hard work. Both WIN Magazine and d1collegewrestling.net have ranked Kevin Smith, Desi Green, John-Martin Cannon, and Jimmy Hamel in the top 20 in the country. Kevin returns as a national qualifier and will be wrestling at 133 pounds again this year. He is ranked #16 by Win Magazine and #19 by d1collegewrestling.net both at 133 pounds. Desi is returning at 149 pounds and is a two-time national qualifier. There has been discussion of him moving up to 157 pounds, but he has certified at 149 pounds and plans to compete at 149 pounds the entire season. Desi is ranked #8 at 149 pounds by WIN Magazine and #17 at 157 pounds by d1collegewrestling.net. John-Martin Cannon is ranked in both polls at 165 pounds and is a returning national qualifier. John-Martin is ranked #13 by WIN Magazine and #20 by d1collegewrestling.net. Jimmy is a two-time national qualifier at 197 pounds but is dropping down to 184 for his senior year. Jimmy is ranked #18 at 184 pounds by d1collegewrestling.net and #20 by WIN Magazine at 197 pounds. We are glad that these four wrestlers are ranked in the top 20 and we certainly expect them to finish much higher than their preseason rankings. Follow all four, as well as the rest of the Bulls' squad, as they strive for the All-American stand this season."

See links to the full rankings here:

WIN Magazine

D1CW

Coach Deubel Weighs in on Bulls' Preseason

Preseason Update from Coach Beasley

We are down to just a week left of preseason and we could not be more excited about getting the season started. We have a very good team returning and made some really nice additions with our recruiting class (as you have seen in the “featured freshman” series). There are several things that stand out to me this preseason, and I want to discuss a few of them: the cohesiveness of the team, the outstanding leadership, and accountability. This team is by far the closet team that I have ever had the privilege to be a part of; we are more than a team, we’re family. The guys on the team truly feel like a family and treat each other that way. The team chemistry is outstanding. There are not cliques or subgroups on the team. They do just about everything together and enjoy being around each other. The team bond has been very good the last couple of years, but this year is off the charts.

One thing we have talked about a lot this year is making the UB Wrestling Program a team full of leaders, which they have bought into. True freshman to fifth-year seniors have stepped-up and been great leaders this preseason. I do not have nearly enough time to talk about all the ways that various athletes on the team are leader, but I would like to highlight one in particular that has transformed himself into one of the best UB Wrestling captains in recent memory – Jimmy Hamel. Jimmy has been a captain for a couple of years now but this year in particular he has really stepped up his game. He is more motivated and driven than I have ever seen him. He had a rough finish to his season last year (he went 0-2 at nationals as he was winning both matches and they slipped away from him) but since that time, had rededicated himself to becoming an All-American. Jimmy has wrestled at 197 pounds the last four years, but this year he is cutting down to 184 pounds because it is best for not only him but for the team as well. Even though he has leaned himself down about ten pounds, he worked very hard in the weight room with our strength coach Nate Harvey. He spent a lot of time one-on-one with Nate to get stronger and it shows. It is always hard to drop down a weight class and it is even harder to drop down a weight class and get stronger. Jimmy has done exactly that and then some. Also, he has done a great job of holding others accountable (which I will discuss more below) and getting the others to buy in to everything we have done. Socially, he is doing everything in his power to be an All-American. He is getting proper sleep, eating better, and sacrificing more than ever. It never hurts to have three returning team captains (Hamel, Kevin Smith, and Desi Green) returning to provide leadership.

The guys on the team are holding each other accountable. John-Martin Cannon grabbed one of his teammates that was slacking-off at open room on Wednesday and pummeled him until he got back on track. At the end of the workout, the wrestler that was slacking off thanked Cannon for holding him accountable. Every day at the end of our preseason conditioning workouts, the guys grab a partner and do extra push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and sprints. They make each other do more and get better. Every run is a race that the guys compete hard to win. Every lift they are challenging each other (and they are challenging me as well).

We are excited about the upcoming year. I expect many records to be broken. Jimmy Hamel, Desi Green, Kevin Smith, and John Martin Cannon are our four returning National Qualifiers and all four are ready to All-American. Hamel will break 100 career wins in the first couple weeks of the season (he is sitting at 88 right now). Green is on pace to break 100 wins by the end of the season. Kevin Smith is as good as anyone in the country and can win a National Title. John Martin Cannon is going to surprise a lot of people and has made huge strides from last season and he is ready to win at the highest level. Several others are poised for breakout years, such as Andrew Schutt, Brian Sheehan, and Brett Correll. Schutt and Sheehan had two of the best off seasons of training at UB on the team. Correll is turning into a beast in the room. Look for a year that we are breaking records and putting multiple athletes on the All-American stand at the NCAA National Tournament.

Coach Beasley

UB Athletics' Hall of Fame

A note from Coach Beasley:

"The University at Buffalo Wrestling Team is honored to have three outstanding former members of the Bulls Wrestling program inducted into the 38^th Annual UB Athletics’ Hall of Fame. Jeff Howard, Peter Rao, and Kevin Brinkworth will all be inducted tomorrow evening. Jeff, Peter, and Kevin are all very deserving of this great honor."

Click here for a link to the press release regarding the Hall of Fame event.

Update on UB Alum Dan Bishop

BUFFALO, NY - Less than six months after an illegal move left him paralyzed on the mat at the Mid-American Conference wrestling championships and four months after heroically walking across the stage at graduation to defy all odds, Dan Bishop will return to the Buffalo Bulls wrestling program, this time as a member of head coach Jim Beichner's staff.

The team proudly announced that Bishop, a 2010 graduate and four-year member of the team, will join it as an Administrative Assistant. Bishop's duties will include office work and arranging hotel accommodations and the team's daily scheduling, but the help he offers the Bulls outside of his office work will be much more valuable.

"He basically will be helping to keep us organized and help us in the office and help this team run smoothly throughout the year," Beichner said.

"Dan loves Buffalo and he wanted to be in Buffalo and around the team and he wanted to help any way he could," added Beichner. "We're very lucky to have Danny stick around and help the team. For him to want to stay around the program is just a tremendous bonus for us." ...(continued)

For the full article please click here.

Frank Day: Today's Featured Freshman

FRANK DAY - 157 LBS.

High School: Letchworth High School

Hometown: Bliss, NY

Achievements:

• 41-9 Senior year record
• Champion Byron Bergen Invitational
• Champion Section 5 Class BB Tourney
• 127 Career wins
• 3rd place State Qualifier
• Team Captain

Frank will study engineering at UB.

Frank Day completes our featured freshman series. Stay tuned for interviews and pre-season updates as the wrestlers prepare to make this season the best in UB history!

Kyle Smith: Today's Featured Wrestler

KYLE SMITH - 184 LBS.

High School: Brighton High School '09

Hometown: Spencerport, NY

Achievements:

• Sectional runner up senior year
• 18-4 Senior year record
• 75-25 Career record

Kyle is in his sophomore year at UB studying pharmacology. He has four years of wrestling eligibility remaining.

Monday's Featured Wrestler: Frank Day

Kris Duge: Today's Featured Freshman

KRIS DUGE - 157 LBS.

High School: Clarence High School

Hometown: Clarence, NY

Achievements

• Section VI Champion
• 42-6 Senior year record
• 104-31 Career record
• ECIC Champion
• 2x Team Captain
• Top 8 New York State Tournament
• 5th place New York State Freestyle
• Section VI Sportsmanship Winner

Kris will study accounting at UB.

Tomorrow's Featured Wrestler: Kyle Smith

Mitzunobu Aiono: Today's Featured Freshman

MITZUNOBU AIONO - 285 LBS.

High School: Brighton High School

Hometown: Brighton, NY

Achievements:

• 2009 Section V runner-up
• 3x Super Sectional qualifier
• 2009 Monroe County Champion
• 2x All County (Monroe County)
• 25-1 Senior Year record
• 78-21 Career record
• 2x Team Captain
• 2009 Team MVP

Mitzunobu will study chemical engineering at UB.

Tomorrow's Featured Wrestler: Kris Duge

James Donner: Today's Featured Freshman

JAMES DONNER - 285 LBS.

High School: Niagara Wheatfield High School

Hometown: North Tonawanda, NY

Achievements:

• 5th New York State Tournament (Large School)
• 2x State Qualifier
• 2x Section 6 Champion
• Brute Adidas Sophomore National Champion
• 35-3 Senior year record
• 101-18 Career record
• 2x Team Captain

James will study exercise science at UB.

Featured Wrestler posts will resume on Tuesday, September 7 after the Labor Day weekend.

Tuesday's Featured Wrestler: Mitzunobu Aiono

Zach Ward: Today's Featured Freshman

ZACH WARD - 174 LBS.

High School: Clarence High School

Hometown: Williamsville, NY

Achievements:

• New York State Qualifier
• 2x Section 6 Finalist
• 39-6 Senior year record
• 107-27 Career record
• 2x Team Captain

Zach was accepted to the UB Honors Program where he will study engineering.

Tomorrow's Featured Wrestler: James Donner

**FYI: The UB Football team kicks off the season tonight in their home opener against Rhode Island! Come out and cheer on the Bulls to a victory! Click HERE for a link to the pre-game notes.**

Matt Dehney: Today's Featured Freshman

MATT DEHNEY - 157 LBS.

High School: Dracut High School
Hometown: Dracut, MA

Achievements:

• State Champion
• 2nd & 5th place State Tournament
• 1st & 3rd place finishes at New England Championships
• 4x State qualifier
• Super 32 8th place
• Top 12 NHSCA Senior Nationals
• 48-1 Senior year record
• 150-27 Career record
• 2x Team Captain
• Massachusetts National Team Member (4x)
• Nationally ranked by Wrestling USA Magazine

Matt will study psychology at UB.

Tomorrow's Featured Wrestler: Zach Ward