GOLDEN, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University sophomores
Levi DiCugno and
Devin Kinlicheenie both claimed first place finishes in their respective weight classes while 13 Mavericks ended the Mines Rookie Open with top-six places in the Mavs' season-opening tournament, contested on Sunday here at the Colorado School of Mines' Steinhauer Fieldhouse.
DiCugno conquered the 174 pound bracket, while bonus-pointed his way through each of his five matches while claiming two pins.
In similar fashion, Kinlicheenie, a transfer from New Mexico Highlands University, went 4-0 on Sunday to win the 197-pound title while scoring bonus points in every match, including the finals.
Meanwhile, Maverick freshmen made an outstanding collegiate debut with seven individual freshmen winning top six honors across a span of weight classes.
The Mavericks dominated the 197-pound bracket claiming four of the six placements.
Kinlicheenie beat teammate
Kai Ford by major decision (14-2) in the finals. Fellow Maverick
Joe Trygstad claimed fourth place while
Adam Avila took sixth.
Meanwhile, DiCugno avenged a finals loss from the 2025 version of tournament, posting a dominant 14-1 major decision victory over Northwest (Wyo.) College's Keegan Rager in the final. Teammate
Gavin Ramos also wrestled an impressive tournament in the weight class, taking fourth after winning his first three matches.
Freshman
Silas Varner navigated a deep 141-pound bracket to land a second place finish while
Steve Caday took sixth in that weight class.
Meanwhile, junior
Noah O'Dougherty and
Xander Rose both went 3-1 to finish third at 184 and 285, pounds, respectively. Both reached the semifinals and then won their third place matches by pin. Rose had three pins in his first collegiate tournament.
Freshman
Teagan Young also reached the semifinals and finished fourth at 125 pounds while fellow freshman
Colin George ended up fifth.
Kyden Silz also made an impressive collegiate debut at 133 pounds, winning his first two matches and ending the day with a fourth place finish.
The Mavericks will return to Golden for their first dual of the season, taking on Vanguard in a neutral-mat battle on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
