Courtesy of buffalobulls.com

BUFFALO, NY – Last weekend was a frustrating one for the Buffalo wrestling team, with two of the three matches wrestled at the Virginia Duals being lost in the final bout of the match – heavyweight – to fall to 0-7 on the season. On Friday night, though, both monkeys were taken off UB’s back and thrown to the mat, as the Bulls (1-7, 1-1 MAC) beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (6-10, 0-2 MAC) 19-14 at Alumni Arena.

Heiserman, Photo by BV

It was not just the team’s first win of an injury-riddled season, but the dual fittingly came down to heavyweight Justin Heiserman. The sophomore won 3-1 over Khodor Hobollah to seal the win. After going up 1-0 with a quick escape in the second period, Heiserman then came out on top of a scramble to finish the second period up 3-0 and held off his opponent for the final two minutes.

“We have had a lot on his (Heiserman’s) shoulders this year, and it’s nice to see him come up on the good end of it,” head coach Jim Beichner said. “As the heavyweight, a lot of times it comes down to you, and he handled it well tonight.”

The dual started on a similar note the team has seen for the past month, with the two teams trading decisions in the lower weights. Max Soria controlled the pace in a 10-5 win over Alexander Calandrino to open the dual, and after a UB loss at 133, Erik Galloway and Blake Roulo won close matches at 141 and 149, respectively. Eastern cut into the 9-3 lead with a win at 157, but the senior leaders for UB would help extend the lead back out.

For more, see here.

Bucknell 24, Columbia 14

Courtesy of gocolumbialions.com

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Columbia wrestling team rallied from a 15-point deficit to within one point of Bucknell Friday night, but the Bison were able to hold on with victories in the final two matches to knock off the Lions, 24-14, inside Davis Gym.

Bucknell rushed out to an early 15-0 advantage on Columbia, taking three decisions and a pin in the opening four matches. No. 18/18 Jake O’Hara got the Lions on the board in the 157-pound match, earning a 10-2 major decision over Vincent Favia. After building a 7-1 lead in the first period with two takedowns and a near fall, O’Hara would stay in control through the remainder of the match to secure the win giving Columbia four points.

Josh Houldsworth followed suit in the 165-pound bout, picking up his fourth major decision of the season over Ray Schlitt. Houldsworth notched four points in each of the first two periods and added another for riding time to raise the final tally to 9-0 and bring the team score to 15-8 in favor of Bucknell.

For the third straight match, the Lions came out on top, as No. 17/- Stephen West garnered a 4-2 decision over Stephen McPeek. The match entered the third period scoreless, but West used an escape, takedown and the riding time point to tally his 16th win of the season and get the Lions within four, 15-11.

In the loudest match of the night inside Davis Gym, Drew Rebling took advantage of the full time allotment, scoring a reversal in the final seconds of the third period to tie the match at 6-6. Having maintained the top position throughout much of the second and third periods, Rebling earned the riding time point and the win, 7-6, for Columbia. The victory, Rebling’s seventh of the year, got the Lions within one, 15-14.

For more, see here.