Posted: Feb 09, 2014

Pioneers Finish 2nd at USCAA Wrestling Invitational Championship

Matthew Sowers (Whitesboro) won the 197 lb. championship to lead Alfred State to a 2nd place finish at the 2014 USCAA Invitational Championships. In total 12 wrestlers placed in the top five at the tournament held at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State.

After a bye in the 1st round, Sowers made short work of Tige Woodson (Penn State DuBois). He pinned Woodson in 28 seconds to advance to the finals. In the finals he pinned Josh Rodriguez (Apprentice) in 42 seconds to become the Pioneers 1st USCAA Champion.

Konnor Kremer (Horsheads) finished 2nd in the 165 lb. weight class. Kremer defeated Marcus Slivinsky (Penn State Greater Allegheny) 16-0 in his opening match and downed Clay Kocsis (Penn State Mout Alto) 6-0 in the semis before falling 7-4 to Dirk Ponchak (WVU Tech) in the championship match.

The Pioneers had four wrestlers finish 3rd in their weight class: Austin Keough (Warsaw) at 125, Bryan Mongiello (Washingtonville) at 133, Tyler Aldinger (Alexander), and Codie Nichols (Unatego) at 157.

Keough pinned Dennis Robles Gomes (WVU Tech), fell in the semifinals, defeated Jasi Coureur (WVU Tech) 11-2, and pinned Aaron Doll (Penn College) in the 3rd place match.
Mongiello pinned Alfred Martinez (WVU Tech) in the first round, fell in the semifinals, won 7-0 over Austin Sheibley (Penn State DuBois), and pinned Danny May (Penn State Mt. Alto).
Aldinger beat Chris Gonzalez (WVU Tech) 20-2, was defeated in the semis, earned a tech fall over Wendell Rubright (Penn State Beaver), and won 16-1 over Gonzalez in the 3rd place match.
Nichols fell in his opening match but rebounded with three straight victories. He defeated Nick Grim (Penn State Mt. Alto) 3-2, won 3-0 over Diantra Landry (Penn State Mt. Alto), and won 7-5 over Joe Champluvier (Penn College).

Kevin Thayer (Unatego), Josh Lord (Owego Free), and Dan Ognibene (Alexander) earned 4th while Conner Fox (Midlakes) and Quasar Hampton (South Bronx) finished 5th.

The Apprentice School (Newport News, VA) claimed their 3rd straight USCAA Championships with 188.5 points followed by Alfred State (146.5), West Virginia Tech (122), and Penn State Mount Alto (97.5).

The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday when they host a quad meet at the Orvis Activities Center. The blue & gold will take on Albany, Cortland, and Cobleskill.

Final Team Scoring: