Ian Van Valen and Ryan Mattison - Garcia's Top Cut Athletes of the Week

Van Valen and Mattison Named Garcia's Athletes of the Week

Alfred State All-American honors George Van Valen (Ithaca) and Ryan Mattison (Brockport) have been named the Garcia's Barbershop Top Cut Athletes of the Week.

Van Valen was 5-0 during the NCWA National Chamionship outscored his opponents 74-2 in the three-day event to claim the National title of the 184 lb. weight class. He defeated the #3 seed Jerron Thomas from Mott CC in the finals He jumped out to a 8-1 lead after the 1st period and after an early escape in the 2nd period he took full control of the match and raced to a 16-1 tech fall victory. For his efforts, he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. En route the championship, Van Valen defeated Steven Crowder (Clemson) 16-0, Tyler Roling (Iowa State Wrestling Club) 11-0, Brad Kata (Central Florida) 16-1, and Jarrod Smiley (Central Florida) 15-0.

Van Valen finsihes his four year career at Alfred State with a 117-24 overall record. He was a three time NCWA All-American (4th in 2016, 2nd in 2017, and 1st in 2018). Over his last two years, he was 81-8

Mattison was 5-2 during the tournament with three pins to earn 5th place in the heavyweight bracket. He opened the tournament with a pin of Guillermo Ojeda (UCLA) and a 8-0 win over Daniel Eslick (Iowa State Wrestling Club). After a loss in the quarterfinals he earned back to back pins of Christopher Woods (Houston-Downtown) and Austin Wells (Middle Tennessee). After dropping the consolation semifinals, he was able to rebound to win a tight 3-2 decision over Dominick Johnson (Liberty) in the 5th place match.

Honor Roll: Matt Cobb (Lacrosse), Matt Isham (Baseball), Morgan Franklin (Softball)