VanValen Named #PioneerPinpoint and ECWC Rookie Week

George VanValen (Ithaca) has been named the Alfred State #PioneerPinpoint and the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Rookie of the Week.

VanValen, 165, finished second at the USCAA Championships on the campus of Penn State on Sunday. He 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, where he fell to Clay Kocsis (PS-Mont Alto). VanValen is now 8-2 on the season.

Sophomore 184-pounder Carlos Toribio of Ithaca was named the ECWC wrestler of the week. 

VanValen and the Pioneers finished 3rd out of 11 teams in the USCAA Championships.