Gunnison, Colo. – Adams State traveled to Gunnison on Friday to compete in the Western Colorado Open. The Grizzlies placed nine wrestlers in the 12-team tournament.
Dale Van Matre was the lone runner-up for Adams State at 141 pounds. After receiving a first-round bye, Van Matre opened his day with a 16-1 technical fall in seven minutes over CSU Pueblo's Nikolas Fernandez. He followed with a 9-5 decision in the semifinals before falling 9-4 to Air Force's Charlie LaRocca in the championship bout to finish second.
Dallas Porter placed third at 165 pounds. After a first-round bye, Porter dropped his opening bout by technical fall, 16-1. He rebounded with back-to-back major decisions, both by scores of 11-1, before earning a hard-fought 4-1 decision in the third-place match.
At 174 pounds, Levi Deaguero finished third. He opened the tournament with a 14-11 sudden-victory loss to Air Force's Aiden Robertson. Deaguero responded with a 12-0 major decision in the second round, followed by a fall in 2:54 over teammate Diego Duarte. He then posted a 15-2 major decision against Air Force's Mike Avelar before securing third place with a 4-1 decision over Genaro Pino of Air Force Prep.
At 125 pounds, Zion Mares placed fourth. He opened the tournament with an 11-0 major decision loss before rebounding with a fall in 2:50 over Marco Romero of Colorado School of Mines. Mares followed with a 16-3 major decision and a 10-6 decision in rounds three and four before dropping the third-place match to Dayson Torgerson by technical fall, 17-2.
Royce Uhrig also secured a fourth-place finish at 149 pounds. Uhrig opened the day with an 8-1 decision before earning a fall in 1:38 in his second bout. After a loss in round three sent him to the consolation bracket, he responded with a fall over Colby Ryan of Air Force. Uhrig then recorded two major decisions to advance to the third-place match but was unable to compete after reaching his match limit.
Jack Faczak added another fourth-place finish for the Grizzlies at 149 pounds. Faczak won his first two matches by major decision and decision before suffering a 15-0 technical fall loss. He rebounded with an 11-2 major decision over Colorado Mesa's AJ Salguero to reach the third-place match but did not wrestle after teammate Royce Uhrig reached his match limit.
At 149 pounds, Travis Vialpando was the lone Grizzly to place fifth. He opened the tournament with back-to-back falls, earning a pin in 1:41 over CSU Pueblo's Thales Rivas in the first round and another in 4:45 against Minot State's Robert Salehi in round two. Vialpando then dropped his next two bouts by major decision before advancing to the fifth-place match, which he won by forfeit.
Daniel Long finished sixth at 174 pounds. He advanced through his opening bout after his opponent was forced to medical forfeit before falling in a 4-1 sudden-victory decision to Air Force's Aiden Robertson. Long then dropped a 4-2 decision to Genaro Pino of Air Force Prep before falling by pin in 2:06 to Air Force's Mike Avelar in the fifth-place match.
Mahkyi Smith placed sixth in his first tournament as a Grizzly after not competing in more than a year. Smith opened with a fall in 2:55 over Colorado Mesa's Jack Hendricks before dropping a 4-2 decision in round two. He bounced back on the consolation side with a 16-0 technical fall in 3:39 and a 7-3 decision before falling 6-3 in his next bout. Smith was forced to medically forfeit the fifth-place match.
The Grizzlies return to action Saturday in Gunnison at the Tracey Borah Duals. Adams State will face Morningside at 9 a.m., Minot State at 10:30 a.m., Cal Poly Humboldt at noon and Vanguard at 1:30 p.m.
