Wrestlers Finish 27th at NCWA Nationals

The Alfred State wrestling team finished 27th at the NCWA National Championships this weekend in Allen, TX. The Pioneers scored 26.5 points in the three-day event featuring 83 teams.

Ryan Thierman (Portville) led the Pioneers with a 3-2 record in the 125 lb. weight class. After falling in his first match, he rebounded with pins of Dylan Fivecoate (Marion Military) and Andrew Vulliet (Central Washington). He then defeated Robert Collier (Florida) but saw his tournament end one match away from the top eight.

Austin Keough (Warsaw), Kevin Thayer (Unatego), Codie Nichols (Unatego), George Vanvalen (Ithaca), and Anthony Osman (Vestal) all went 2-2.

• Keough (133) defeated Jose Velarde (MIT) 11-2 and Marco Colpo (Arizona).
• Thayer (149) pinned Azamut Akhmedov (Maryland-Baltimore County) and defeated Gene Balcita (Liberty) 15-3.
• Nichols (157) defeated Michael Mueller (Toledo) 7-5 and Beau Doerr (Florida) 4-2.
• Vanvalen (165) earned a 5-1 win over Gabriel Urreda (UCLA) and a 3-0 sudden victory over Austin Jackson (North Kentucky).
• Osman (235) won 10-5 over Shakeem Lassiter (Apprentice) and recorded a tech fall over Geoff Rupp (Georgia).

Liberty University took home the 2015 team title with 170 points.