SOURCE: www.ubbulls.com

March 06, 2016

BRACKETS

YPSILANTI, MI - A day after Bryan Lantry earned a spot in the NCAA Championships, Colt Cotten and Joe Ariola also punched their tickets to New York City on day two of the Mid-American Conference Championships hosted by Eastern Michigan on Sunday.

Cotten lost to Missouri's Lawton Mayes in his first match on Sunday, but won the fifth place match by disqualification to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Ariola also advanced to the NCAA Championships. The redshirt-sophomore won a 5-3 tie-breaker decision over Andrew Romanchik of Ohio in his first match of the day. After falling to Willie Miklus of Missouri in his next bout, Ariola earned one more shot and made the most of it. He won a 2-1 overtime decision over Drew Foster of Northern Iowa to punch his ticket to the Big Apple.

Jake Gunning gave top-seeded Blaize Cabell of Northern Iowa all he could handle in the heavyweight title match, dropping a 6-5 decision. It capped a great run for the Bulls redshirt-freshman who now awaits to hear if he gets an at-large bid.

James Benjamin and Kyle Akins each advanced to the fifth place final, but ultimately lost.

Overall it was a great day for the UB wrestling program. The Bulls finished seventh overall with 56 points.

"I'm so proud to coach these guys," head coach John Stutzman said. "It has not been an easy road. To come away with three NCAA qualifiers and a chance for two more is a testament to these guys."

The NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City March 17-19.

1. Missouri 127.5
2. Central Michigan 93.5
3. Ohio 76.0
4. Kent State 75.5
5. Northern Iowa 73.5
6. Northern Illinois 65.0
7. Buffalo 56.0
8. Eastern Michigan 54.5
9. Old Dominion 36.5