DEKALB, IL – The Buffalo wrestling team picked up its first Mid-American Conference win of the season in the final day of the conference slate on Saturday afternoon, defeating Northern Illinois 23-14. The win was the team’s first in over a month and moves its overall record to 6-14, 1-4 in the MAC, while Northern moves to 8-9 overall and 0-5 in conference duals.

Max Soria snapped out of his own dual-meet slump in a big way, beating Derek Elmore 12-2 in the 125-pound bout. It was Soria’s first win in conference action and his first overall dual win since Jan. 14 against The Citadel. The freshman used four takedowns to get the team on a winning foot right off the bat.

Justin Farmer and Kevin Smith followed with decisions at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Farmer had lost seven of his previous nine matches but was in control the whole way against Rob Jillard, winning 7-1. Smith followed with a tight 3-1 win over Kevin Fanta. It was win number 51 in dual meets for the senior, tying him with Kyler Cerminara for most by any UB wrestler in program history. With a win tomorrow against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, he will sit alone atop the list. He also passed former teammate Jimmy Hammel for second place in the overall wins list, now holding 120 in his time with the team.

Following a loss at 149 to draw the Huskies within five, 10-5, Wally Maziarz won a crucial pin over Tyler Loethen to provide the turning point and extend the Buffalo lead. That again sparked a Buffalo run that would put the match out of reach for the host Huskies. Mark Lewandowski returned from an injury to win a 13-4 major decision at 165 pounds for his 30th win of the year. Jake Waste came just short of taking a major decision of his own, beating Caleb Busson 8-2 at 174 pounds for his 15th dual meet win of the season, joining Lewandowski on the list of most dual wins in a single season in program history (tied with four others in 12th place).

The team will travel just a few hours down the road to close out its regular season tomorrow, taking on SIU-Edwardsville. The Cougars are 5-14 overall and are coming off a 34-8 loss to Northern Illinois last Sunday. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The dual will kick off at 2 pm EST.

Results
125: Max Soria (UB) maj. dec. Derek Elmore (NIU), 12-2
133: Justin Farmer (UB) dec. Rob Jillard (NIU), 7-1
141: Kevin Smith (UB) dec. Kevin Fanta (NIU), 3-1
149: Shawn Fayette (NIU) tech. fall Dan Gormley (UB), 18-3 (7:00)
157: Wally Maziarz (UB) pins Tyler Loethen (NIU), 3:49
165: Mark Lewandowski (UB) maj. dec. Matt Mougin (NIU), 13-4
174: Jake Waste (UB) dec. Caleb Busson (NIU), 8-2
184: Brad Dieckhaus (NIU) dec. Justin Lozano (UB), 8-1
197: Mike Lukowski (NIU) dec. Justin Heiserman (UB), 3-2
285: Jared Torrence (NIU) dec. Jedd Mason (UB), 9-4