KEARNEY, Neb. – The No. 18 Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team took over 30 wrestlers to the annual Younes Hospitality Open on Saturday (Nov. 22) afternoon. The Mavericks came away with five placers and several other strong performances during the tournament.
 
Freshman Gunnar Neal had an impressive day as he finished as the runner-up in the amateur division at 174 pounds. The Poway, Calif. native was dominant en route to the final as he picked up three major decision victories along with a 17-2 technical fall win.
 
In the final, he ran out of steam as he was pinned by Western Wyoming's Francisco Ayala near the end of the first period.
 
Fellow 174-pound freshman Levi DiCugno had a strong performance in the elite division as he finished third. DiCugno went 5-1 on the day and even avenged his only loss in the tournament as he defeated Otgonbayar Batsuuri of Nebraska-Kearney 5-2 in the third-place match.
 
The Lake Tapps, Wash. native defeated starters from CSU Pueblo, Newman, Northern State and Augustana during his route through the tournament. Those wins came in all forms including a technical fall and three decisions.  
 
Redshirt sophomore Tanner Stone had a strong day with a fourth-place finish in the intermediate 133-pound division. Stone went 4-2 on the day and avenged one of his two losses along the way. He fell to Joseph Salazar of Trinidad State 5-4 in his first match of the day but came back later in the tournament and picked up a 9-4 win over him to advance to the third-fourth matchup.
 
Stone edged out a pair of CSU Pueblo opponents along with a Mines opponent before falling to Augustana's Owen Hansen 10-2 in the third-place match.
 
Patrick Preston placed fifth in the intermediate division at 149 pounds. He went 3-2 on the day and earned a 17-1 technical fall win over Zion Amerson of Mines in the fifth-sixth place match.
 
Redshirt senior Gabriel Carranza reached the semifinal of the 197-pound bracket in the elite division. After falling in the semifinals to Adams State's Ben Tonnessen 8-3, Carranza medical forfeited out of the tournament and settled for sixth place.
 
The Mavericks will be back in action at home with a non-conference contest on December 4 when they host rival Western Colorado in Brownson Arena.