GUNNISON, Colo. Seven Mountaineers earned top-eight places Friday at the Western Colorado Open in Mountaineer Field House, the wrestling program's annual event prior to hosting the Tracy Borah Duals.
As a team, the Mountaineers were ninth in the final Open standings, but were buoyed by second places from
Hayden Johnson in the 174-pound bracket and
Parker Gasser at 197.
Earning fourth-place finishes were
Cole Mortensen at 165 and
Gable Watson at 285, with
Jacob McCarley adding a fifth place at 141 and
Zarek Hernandez (125) and
Amir Musalli (149) adding sixth-place finishes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Johnson began his afternoon with a second-period fall over Ben Robuck of Colorado Mesa, then added a second pin with a first-period fall over Thomas Tolbert of New Mexico Highlands that elevated Johnson into the finals. His day ended on his own back in the championship match, though, suffering a first-period pin to bracket champion Derek Matthews, wrestling unattached from his University of Northern Colorado team.
Gasser opened in the 197 bracket with a 6-3 decision over N.M. Highlands' Jayden Johnson in the four-bout first round. He advanced into the final on a 14-6 major over Mesa's Braden Baumgartner, but he, too, was a dealt a defeat in the final, surrendering an 18-1 tech fall to bracket champion Remington Peterson of Northern Colorado.
Mortensen opened with a pair of wins at 165 before losing in the semifinal round. He would win his initial consolation bracket match, only to suffer a second-period fall in the third/fourth-place match.
Watson pinned his first-round opponent at the 1:38 mark of the opening period, but was pushed to the consolation side of the 285 bracket with a second-round loss. He bounced back with another first-period pin in the consols to advance into the third/fourth-place match, but suffered the same fate at Mortenson, pinned in the second period to finish fourth in the bracket.
LOOKING AHEAD
Mountaineer wrestling hosts the 32nd Tracy Borah Duals on Saturday, beginning with a 9 a.m. match against Simon Fraser (B.C., Canada) University.
