LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team competed at the NWCA National Duals at the Kentucky International Convention Center on Thursday (Jan. 6) for the first time in program history. The dual tournament which has been around for nearly 20 years brings in the top programs from all levels from Division II through Junior College and has two women's divisions.
 
In their first trip, the Mavericks will bring home some hardware as they are guaranteed to finish in the top eight after a 2-1 performance on the first day of the tournament. Check out the quick recaps from each of the three duals below;
 
#15 Colorado Mesa 26, #18 Mercyhurst 19
The Mavericks won six of the ten bouts and benefitted from four bonus point victories in a 26-19 win over No. 18 ranked Mercyhurst in their opening round of the NWCA National Duals.
 
Senior Cian Apple opened with a first-round pin followed by one of the more anticipated matchups of the dual between No. 2 ranked Collin Metzgar and No. 12 Eric Bartos at 133-pounds. Metzgar came away with a 10-7 win over Bartos to push the Mavericks lead to 9-0 after the first two bouts.
 
Nick Gallegos earned a major decision victory at 149-pounds followed by an 11-4 decision victory by Ariel Rodriguez at 157 pounds.
 
The Lakers closed the dual by winning three of the final four matches to cut into the Colorado Mesa lead. No. 10 Donnie Negus was the lone win in the final four bouts with a pin at 197-pounds.
 
Bout-by-Bout Results
125 – Cian Apple (CMU) pins Jacob Ruggeri, 1:37
133 – #2 Collin Metzgar (CMU) dec. #12 Eric Bartos, 10-7
141 – Alexis Soriano (MER) pins Erik Contreras, 6:55
149 – Nick Gallegos (CMU) maj dec Alex Samson, 15-5
157 – Ariel Rodriguez (CMU) dec Vinny Catanzaro, 11-4
165 – Alex Holguin (CMU) maj dec Max Stedeford, 20-8
174 – Dillon Walker (MER) maj dec Dillon Walker, 10-2
184 – #8 Luke McGonigal (MER) dec Jason Bynarowicz, 6-2
197 – #10 Donnie Negus (CMU) pins Hunter Harnish, 5:57
285 – #3 Jacob Robb (MER) pins Gabe Carranza, 1:58
 
#1 Central Oklahoma 31, #15 Colorado Mesa 6
Colorado Mesa ran into a buzz saw in the quarterfinal round of the NWCA National Duals as they fell to No. 1 ranked Central Oklahoma 31-6 in their second bout of the day.
 
Senior Cian Apple delivered the Mavericks first and biggest win of the dual at 125-pounds as he defeated No. 7 ranked Paxton Rosen 8-4 to give the Mavericks a short-lived 3-0 lead.
 
The Bronchos then rattled off five straight wins including four by ranked wrestlers to take the commanding lead. The run included a matchup of the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked wrestlers at 133-pounds. Central Oklahoma's Tanner Cole, ranked No. 1, earned a narrow 3-1 win over second-ranked Collin Metzgar.
 
Grand Junction native Seth Latham picked up the Mavericks only other win in the dual at 174-pounds. Latham defeated Anthony Des Vigne, 7-4 for his first win of the day.
 
Bout-by-Bout Results
125 – Cian Apple (CMU) dec. #8 Paxton Rosen, 8-4
133 – #1 Tanner Cole (UCO) dec. #2 Collin Metzgar, 3-1
141 – #4 Nate Keim (UCO) tech falls Erik Contreras, 17-1 (5:14)
149 – #3 Brik Filippo (UCO) dec. Nick Gallegos, 4-2
157 – #3 Ty Lucas (UCO) tech falls Ariel Rodriguez, 16-1 (2:59)
165 – Hunter Jump (UCO) dec. Alex Holguin, 7-4
174 – Seth Latham (CMU) dec. Anthony Des Vigne, 7-4
184 – #1 Heath Gray (UCO) dec. Jason Bynarowicz, 10-3
197 – #1 Dalton Abney (UCO) dec. #10 Donnie Negus, 2-1
285 – Christian Arriola (UCO) won by forfeit
 
#15 Colorado Mesa 33, UNC Pembroke 10
Colorado Mesa rebounded from their loss to Central Oklahoma with a trophy clinching win over UNC Pembroke 33-10 in the final session of the day. The Mavericks have now guaranteed themselves a top eight finish and will be bringing home some hardware.
 
The Mavericks won seven of the nine contested bouts that included receiving a forfeit at 174 pounds. They had two wins come by way of the pin and five other highly competitive matches.
 
At 141-pounds, Erik Contreras came away with a win via the pin as he needed nearly the entire first period to pin Brave Chance Cottinghamto put the Mavericks ahead 9-6 in the dual and they would never look back.
 
Nick Gallegos followed Contreras and came away with a pin of Thomas Schock in the first round at the 1:13 mark of the period.
 
Following a Brave win at 157 pounds, the Mavericks won the final five bouts of the dual.
 
Bout-by-Bout Results
125 – Nick Daggett (UNCP) pins Cian Apple, 4:01
133 – Collin Metzgar (CMU) dec. Anthony Carter, 3-0
141 – Erik Contreras (CMU) pins Chance Cottingham, 2:51
149 – Nick Gallegos (CMU) pins Thomas Schock, 1:13
157 – Cliff Owens (UNCP) maj. dec. Ariel Rodriguez, 16-4
165 – Alex Holguin (CMU) dec. Rashaan Vereen, 5-4
174 – Seth Latham (CMU) wins by forfeit
184 – Jason Bynarowicz (CMU) dec. Jovaun Johnson, 5-0
197 – Donnie Negus (CMU) dec. Bryce Walker, 11-5
285 – Gabe Carranza (CMU) dec. Marcus Bell, 4-2
 
Colorado Mesa will take on fellow Super Region VI foe in Fort Hays State at 7am on Friday morning. With a win, the Mavericks will compete for a fifth-place finish at the National Duals, a loss would mean they compete for a seventh-place finish. The top four slots are reserved for the four semifinalists (Central Oklahoma, Newberry, Nebraska-Kearney, and St. Cloud State).
 
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NUWAY Combat College Open
 
The Mavericks also had four wrestlers compete in the open tournament associated with the National Duals. 197-pounder Kash Anderson won his weight class after pinning Bryant Wilkinson of Bellarmine in the final at 4:42.
 
Anderson navigated his way to the final by a 5-2 decision win over Tim Johnson of Life University then followed that up with a 17-2 technical fall win over Jaleel Jones of Averett. He was awarded a medical forfeit in the semifinals.
 
At 165-pounds, Dylan Ranieri was the runner-up after reaching the finals. He fell to Devan Hendricks of Bellarmine in the championship bout of the weight class. On his way to the final he earned two pins and a 5-3 decision over Dominick Lomazzo of Southeastern in the semifinals.