Sunday Wrestling results
Lock Haven 27 George Mason 14
Buffalo 19, Central Michigan 14
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Lock Haven Wins Eighth Straight After Downing MAC Foe George Mason
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Behind six bout victories, including three in bonus points, the Lock Haven men's wrestling team soared past George Mason, 27-14, in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) match in Thomas Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.
Lock Haven, which wrapped up its week a perfect 3-0 with victories over Bucknell, Northern Illinois, and George Mason, won its eighth straight match to improve to 10-3 on the season and 3-0 in the MAC.
George Mason was ranked No. 1 in the initial MAC preseason poll, but Lock Haven has since soared to the top of the standings after its impressive start to the season.
With Sunday's result, George Mason falls to 5-6 on the season and 2-3 in the MAC.
George Mason opened the match with consecutive victories at 125 and 133 by decision and tech fall (17-2, 4:33). Lock Haven's
Curtis Nelson was edged 11-10 at 125 after a late take down at the buzzer was ruled unsuccessful.
However, just like he did on Friday, No. 20
Wyatt Henson brought Thomas Fieldhouse to its feet with a bounce-back tech fall over Tate Hisey to put LH on the board.
No. 23
Lucas Kapusta (149) made it two bonus victories in a row after he pinned Jackson Palzet in 3:15, giving Lock Haven its first lead at 11-8.
George Mason responded with a victory at 157, despite a valiant effort from
Nick Stampoulos, who took No. 17 DJ McKee to overtime, but a McKee takedown in sudden death sealed an 8-5 decision.
In similar fashion, Lock Haven countered with a sudden victory of its own, thanks to a 6-3 decision by
Ousmane Duncanson over Drew Dickenson at 165. Entering the free period tied 3-3, Duncanson secured a take down to put LH back ahead, 14-11.
The back-and-forth match continued as George Mason picked up a 4-1 decision at 174, however,
Sam Gautreau (184) again gave the Bald Eagles the lead at 19-14 with a tech fall (21-6, 2:41) over Thomas Stofka.
Tucker Hogan (197) put Lock Haven up 22-14 and sealed the Bald Eagle victory after he defeated Jack Kelly via a 10-4 decision.
At heavyweight,
Kade Sottolano put the nail in the coffin with a 21-5 (4:10) tech fall over Herbert Billips, solidifying a 27-14 victory for The Haven.
Prior to the start of the match, the Lock Haven athletic department honored senior
Gable Strickland and head coach
Scott Moore, after the duo went over 100 career coaching and wrestling victories at Lock Haven on Jan. 16.
The Bald Eagles are in the heart of their MAC schedule and will travel to Bloomsburg on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. for a conference dual.
Buffalo Holds Off Chippewas for First Win at Central Michigan
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team went into Mount Pleasant on Sunday afternoon and upset Central Michigan, 19-14, for their first ever road win against the Chippewas. It was just the Bulls second win ever over CMU.
Central Michigan had been unbeatable at home, winning 11-straight home MAC duals dating back to 2023.
Having not wrestled in 15 days, the Bulls came out with a lot of energy, and it started with their youngsters. True freshmen
Zachary Belverio and Tyler Roard earned decisions in two of the first three matches.
Belverio got the Bulls off to a great start with a 14-9 decision over Colton Camacho at 125. It was the first dual win of Belverio's career.
Fellow freshman
Tyler Roark took advantage of an early takedown to earn a 5-2 decision over Nick Blackburn at 141.
Sam Ewing kept the winning ways going at 149 with a 4-2 decision over Jimmy Nugent.
Kaleb Burgess, wrestling in just his second dual since returning from an injury, was all business against Mason Shrader, earning an 11-3 major decision over the nation's 22
nd-ranked wrestler.
In a close match at 174,
Rafael Knapp got a takedown just 18 seconds into overtime to earn a sudden victory over Cody Brenner, 4-1.
After dropping major decisions at 184 and 197, Buffalo's lead was trimmed to 16-14 with one match to go.
It all came down to the heavyweight match between
Magnus Bibla and Bryan Caves who was ranked 30
th in the nation.
With the bout tied, 1-1, in the third period, Bibla took a shot and got a takedown in the late stages of the third period to earn the 4-2 upset of Caves and secure the victory for the Bulls.
The Bulls are back in action on Friday night at Alumni Arena when they host Northern Illinois at 7:00 pm.
