Wrestlers Finish 2nd at Northeast Conference Championships
The Alfred State wrestling team finished 2nd at the NCWA Northeast Conference Championships on Saturday at the University of New Hampshire. The Pioneers scored 142 points to finish 2nd out of the 15 teams in the competition.
George Van Valen (Ithaca) and Tristan Almeter (Iroquois) both won their respective weight classes to lead the way.
- Van Valen (184) won 18-0 over Nck Kioussis (UMASS) in his first match, then pinned Paul Gesel (New Hampshire) in the semifinals. In the finals he won 3-0 over River Robertson (Maine) to claim the title.
- Almeter (165) pinned Scott Wheat (Cortland WC) in 1:04 and then won a 8-1 decision over Connor Winchenbach (Husson) in the semis. To claim the title, Almeter pinned Ryan Shubert (MIT) in 3:52.
Konnor Kremer (Horseheads) and Jeffrey Andrews (Randolph) both finished 2nd.
- Kremer pinned Peter Williamson (Yale) in 17 seconds and then pinned Dennis Kropp (Stony Brook) in 5:00 to reach the final. In the finals he fell 5-4 in a tight match vs. George Andrews (UCONN).
- Andrews pinned Jose Gandarilla (RPI) in 1:15 and then was downed by Donavan Lozada (Springfield Tech) in the finals.
Patrick Lehman (Marathon) was 3-1 in the 125 lb. weight class and was 3rd, Casey Connor (Barnstable, MA) and Brandyn Whitacre (Jamestown) were each 2-2 and finished 4th, and Mitchell Lattuca (Lancaster) was 3-2 at 235 lbs. and was 5th.
Springfield Tech won the team title with 166 points.
The blue & gold now will shift their focus to the NCWA Championships that will be held in Allen, TX between March 9 - 11.
