BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — Last weekend in Kent, Ohio is one Nick Stampoulos, a walk-on, redshirt freshman on the University at Buffalo wrestling team will never forget.
Stampoulos, an unseeded wrestler in the 157-pound weight class punched his ticket to the NCAA tournament by placing fourth at the MAC Championships. Proving to himself that over two years of hard work paid off.
“A lot of workouts during the week. A lot of three workouts a day. And getting better," Stampoulos told 7 Sports. "The emotions were fun when I won the consolation semi’s match. But it wasn’t the end goal.”
“To watch Nick beat the number five, fourth-ranked guy, get beat in the semis then come back and beat the sixth ranked guy. That’s just a testament to everything he’s done and been through," added UB head coach John Stutzman.
Stampoulos started wrestling later than most who are at this stage of their careers, he was in 7th grade the first time he hit the mats.
His teammate and fellow NCAA qualifier Sam Mitchell has been wrestling ever since he could remember. So as you can imagine, making his first NCAA tournament is a big deal, but he says he owes a lot of his success to the people who have been in his corner through it all.
“Me and Nick didn't get here by ourselves. The whole team has been pushing us behind our backs," said Mitchell. "Everyone helped us get here even though they aren’t going to be wrestling with us, they’ll be there with us in a sense. So I think the whole team is what helped us get to this point.”
“.001 can get on the podium at the national tournament. It’s one of the hardest things to do and we’ve got two guys who can do that. That’s a testament to our coaching staff," Stutzman added. "We want guys to go to the national tournament, we want guys to win at the highest level and we want guys to go to the World Championships. So we’ve done all those things. We just have to get guys on the national podium."
Regardless of what happens in Kansas City this week, Nick and Sam have only strengthened the reputation of the Bulls wrestling program, and proving to their younger selves that they belong on this stage might just sweeten this experience.
The NCAA wrestling championships in Kansas City start on Thursday.
