GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team sent several individuals to the Rocky Mountain Open on Sunday (Feb. 13) that was hosted by Colorado School of Mines. Twenty wrestlers in all ranging from redshirts all the way up to prominent backups and starters.
 
Gabe Carranza finished first at 285 pounds after defeating Wyoming's Mason Ding 7-4 in the finals. The redshirt freshman pinned Mines' Michael True at 2:05 then pinned Wyoming's Dorian Walters at 2:55 to reach the championship bout. Carranza now has two open victories under his belt and improved to 14-5 on the season.
 
Dylan Ranieri continued his solid season at open tournaments as he finished in second-place for the second time this season. The 165-pounder fell to Wyoming's Hayden Lieb in the championship bout 12-2, but before that earned three straight pins to reach the final. Ranieri pinned opponents from Wyoming, Western Colorado and Air Force to advance to the title bout.
 
Jason Bynarowicz also had a solid day as he finished as the runner-up at 184 pounds. Bynarowicz fell to Air Force's Andrew Wenzel in the final by a third period pin but, like Ranieri, pinned his way into the title bout. The redshirt freshman pinned Northern Colorado's Branson Britten with one second left in the bout to advance from the semifinals.
 
At 125 pounds, senior Cian Apple finished in third-place after defeating Utah Valley's Yusief Lillie 4-2 in the third-place match. Apple fell in his first match of the day but worked his way back through the consolation bracket. Along the way he picked up three pins on opponents from Adams State, Colorado School of Mines and Utah Valley.
 
Braeson Lewis finished in fifth-place at 174 pounds after pinning CSU Pueblo's Remington Winmill at the 42 second mark of the first period. Lewis finished the day 3-2.