Conner Fox (Midlakes) finished 4th in the 174 lb. weight class as ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï competed at the Thunderwolves Open at Niagara CCC.
Fox lost his first match of the day to the eventual champion but rallied to win four straight matches to earn a shot at 3rd place. Fox pinned Shane Crawford (Grand Valley State) in 4:15, defeated Brooks Boyle (Niagara CCC) 3-2, pinned Andrew Daigle (UMASS) in 2:08, and defeated David Lyons (Niagara CCC) 6-2 to earned a shot at 3rd place. In the 3rd place match he lost a hard-fought 8-4 decision to John Brabon (Niagara CCC).
Daniel Ognibene (Alexander) won his opening match in the heavyweight competition 6-2 but was unable to advance any further in the bracket. Josh Simons (Campbell-Savona) pinned Isiah Alston (Mercyhurst North East) in 6:03 in a consolation match at 165 lbs. and finished 1-2 on the day. Tyler Aldinger (Alexader) finished 1-2 at 149 lbs. earning a victory 8-5 over Jordan Palanca (Mercyhurst North East).
On Friday night the Pioneers squared off with Grand Valley State in a dual match. Travis Harvey (Alfred Almond) and Ognibene both received forfeits to start the match but GVSU won the next five matches to build a 26-12 lead before the Pioneers finished the night with two victories. Josh Lord (Owego Free) earned a 5-4 win over Bruce Rau and Fox defeated Shane Crawford 10-4.
The Pioneers close out the 2012 portion of their season with a pair of WNYAC matches. The first is slated for Wednesday vs. Niagara CCC. Action starts at 7 p.m. in the Orvis Activities Center.