Pins Lead Pioneers to Victory
The Alfred State wrestling team earned four pins en route to a 37-21 victory over Penn State DuBois in their home opener. The Pioneers victory was the first for the program since the college's move to Division III of the NCAA.
Jason Charlette (Midlakes) earned a forfeit win at 125 lbs. to start the evening. The Nitany Lions tied the match at 6-6 with a victory at 133 lbs before the blue & gold won the next four matches to take control of the meet. Brian Mongiello (Washingtonville) pinned Austin Sheibley in 6:14 at 141, Cody Marriott (Fillmore) pinned Logan Shirey in 5:32 at 149, Codie Nichols (Unatego) earned a 9-1 win at 157, and Konnor Kremer (Horseheads) won 4-1 at 165.
PS-DuBois got back in the match with two pins of their own at 174 and 184 but Conner Fox (Midlakes) sealed the victory with a pin at 1:16 of the 194 lb. match.
Tim Suydan earned a 3-2 decision over Alex Ortiz (Middletown) at 235 lbs. in a tight match before Dan Ognibene (Alexander) ended the night with a pin of Andrew Bigley in the heavyweight match at 1:44.
The Nitany Lions entered the evening ranked #14 in the latest NCWA rankings.
The Pioneers have a few days off before starting a busy week of dual matches. They travel to Penn College on Tuesday, host Lycoming on Thursday, and travel to RIT on Saturday.
