NIACC's Valenzuela places 7th at Luther Open

DECORAH - NIACC freshman Carlos Valenzuela placed seventh at 141 pounds in the silver division Saturday at the Luther College Open.

Also placing for the Trojans in the silver division were McKenley Charelus (8th at 133 pounds) and Emmanuel Celestin (8th at 149 pounds).

Valenzuela, who is from Riverside, was 4-2 at Saturday's open tournament after going 1-2 at the Simpson College Luther Hill Open.

Valenzuela pinned Luther College's Austin Franklin in 1 minute, 40 seconds in his first-round match. Coe College's Brody Neighbor pinned Valenzuela in 4:20 in the second round.

Valenzuela won three straight matches in the consolation rounds before dropping a 15-6 major decision to RCTC's Andrew Larson.

Valenzuela won by no contest in the seventh-place match.

Charelus was 2-3 on Saturday with a fall over Eureka's Bernie Cox in the second round and a 8-5 decision over RCTC's Gavin Albers in the consolation round.

In the 133-pound seventh place match, Upper Iowa's Conner Nevin topped Charelus, 9-4.

Celestin was also 2-3 on Saturday with a fall over Upper Iowa's Cael Bridgewater in the consolation round and a 4-2 decision over St. Cloud State's Aoci Bernard.

In the 149-pound seventh-place match, Wisconsin La Crosse's Talan Schutte topped Celestin, 15-11.

NIACC (0-1 in duals) returns to action Wednesday at home in a dual meet against Ellsworth. Match time in the NIACC recreation center is slated for 7 p.m.