Pioneers Finish 3rd at USCAA Championships

The Alfred State wrestling team finished 3rd at the USCAA Championships. Three Pioneers finished 2nd and seven finished 3rd. 

George VanValen (Ithaca), Brad Haggerty (Wellsville), and Juan Nunez (Middletown) all finished 2nd in their weight classes.

• VanValen (165) defeated Alain Niyibizi (PS-New Kensington) 14-0 in his opening match and then defeated Landon Leithauser (Apprentice) 6-2 to advance to the finals. In the finals he fell 6-0 to Clay Kocsis (PS-Mont Alo).
• Haggerty (184) defeated Kenny Lowry (Apprentice) 11-3 in his first match and then downed Dennis Lumadue (PS-DuBois) 5-3 to reach the finals. He fell 9-5 to Logan Shirey (PS-DuBois) in the finals.
• Nunez (197) defeated Brandon Stover (Penn College) 10-2 and then won 11-4 over Tige Woodson (PS DuBois) to reach the finals. In the finals he was defeated 8-3 by Terry Nance (WV Tech).

3rd place finishes were earned by:

• Kevin Thayer (Unatego) pinned Donnie Kerr (PS-Beaver) in his first match. He fell in his next match but rebounded for four straight wins including a 14-13 victory over Jake Himes (PS-DuBois) to earn 3rd. 
• Codie Nichols (Unatego) rebounded from a tough 8-7 loss in his first match and earned two pins, a 5-3 win over Kyle Lowry (Apprentice and a 4-1 win over Elijah Harris (PS-Mont Alo) to earn 3rd at 157.
• Ryan Thierman (Portville) was 3-1 at 125 including pins of Aaron Doll (Penn College) and Denis Robles-Gomez (WV Tech). He defeated Brett Himes (PS DuBois) in the 3rd place match 17-6.
• Austin Keough (Warsaw) was 3-1 at 133 earning a 4-3 decision over Paul Gonzales (WV Tech), a pin of Isaiah Lewis (Williamson Trade) and 6-5 win over Gonzales in the 3rd place match.
• Konnor Kremer (Horseheads) was 3-1 at 165 including a 2-0 win over Tannor Leid (Penn College), a 5-2 win over Davon Clark (PS-Mont Alo), and another victory over Leid, 4-2, in the 3rd place match.
• Matthew Sowers (Whitesboro) was 3-1 at 197 with three pins. He pinned Nate Rodgers (PS-DuBois), Brandon Stover (Penn College), and Corey Hardman (PS-Mont Alo).
• Anthony Osman (Vestal) was 3-1 at 235. He earned a 2-1 victory over Shakeem Lassiter (Apprentice), a 8-3 decision over Max Elliott (PS-Mont Alo), and a 4-1 win the 3rd place match of Tim Suydan (PS-DuBois)

The Pioneers scored 131 points and only trailed 2nd place by one point. West Virginia Tech won the championship with 157 followed by Penn State DuBois (132). Eleven teams participated in the event.

Alfred State returns to action on March 1st at the NCWA Qualifiers held at the University of New Hampshire.