Columbia-Greene Media is reporting Rip Van Winkle, Columbia-Greene Community College’s official mascot, has moved on to the Elite Eight phase of the SUNY Mascot Madness tournament, a competition to crown New York’s favorite college mascot. Rip is now competing against SUNY Adirondack to make the Final Four. Rip, along with 35 other mascots from the SUNY system, was invited to compete, bracket-style, for the title of 2018 Mascot of the Year. Rip Van Winkle leads the college’s athletic teams, the Twins, and serves as a symbol of the twin counties of Columbia and Greene and the Catskill mountain range that connects them. Round three voting closes March 26 at 4 p.m. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.