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Five Pioneers Place at Niagara Open

Five Pioneers finished in the top six as the Alfred State wrestling team competed at the Niagara Open on Saturday.

George Van Valen (Ithaca) won his second tournament of the season with three dominating victories. He won 16-0 over Jordan Hines (Henry Ford), pinned Evan Makupson (Spartanburg Methodist) in 3:25, and won 8-0 over Logan Rill (UB Unattached) in the finals.

Jeffrey Gress (Lyndonville) and Casey Connor (Barnstable, MA) both finished 5th on the day. Gress pinned Sara Andresen (UMASS Unattached) in 1:16 to start the day but fell in the quarterfinals. He was bounced back with a 5-2 win over Wesley Woodworth (Brockport) and a 18-3 tech fall of John Cantwell (Brockport) to advance to the consolation semifinals. After falling in the consolation semifinals, Gress pinned Joe Neylon (UMASS Unattached) in 40 seconds to earn 5th place at 133 lbs. Caonnor won 14-13 over Jude Mattocks (Mercyhurst NE) in the quarterfinals but fell in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals before bouncing back for a second victory over Mattocks 3-1 in the 5th place bout.

Kyle Fitzgerald (Turin/South Lewis) won four matches to earn 6th in the heavyweight weight class. He finished 4-3 on the day with a pin of Sebastien Cogne (Jamestown CC), a 6-0 vicory over Alex Mears, a pin of Devlen Kuschel (Henry Ford) in 3:54, and a 4-1 win over Ryan Mattison. Mattison finished the day with four victories (4-2) on the day as well in the heavyweight bracket.

Patrick Lehman (Cincinnatus, NY/Marathon) was also 6th at 125 lb.

The Pioneers are back in action on January 6th when they travel to the Waynesburg Invitational. Action is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m.