Men’s wrestling finishes its regular season

CSC men’s wrestling team had a full weekend to finish out its regular season with two rescheduled duals and a tournament.

“I was happy to see even when we may not have wrestled our best as a team, we still supported each other,” Mason Watt, redshirt junior of Broomfield Colorado, said. “Going into regionals, team support is huge. It definitely will help you win those closer matches.”

The two duals against Colorado Mesa University at 6 p.m., Thursday in Grand Junction and against Western Colorado University at 6 p.m., Friday, only had two wins from Eagle wrestlers each.

Against Colorado Mesa University, Ethan Leake, redshirt sophomore of Clovis, California, at 141 pounds, and Mason Watt, redshirt junior of Broomfield, Colorado, at 285 pounds, were the two wins for the Eagles Thursday, unable to compete and giving Mavericks a win, 38-6.

“I wrestled well against Colorado Mesa,” Watt said. “I have put in extra work this season adapting my wrestling style and extra conditioning to be able to compete at a higher level. I am definitely seeing the hard work paying off so far this season.”

Leake decision win over Colorado Mesa’s Erik Contreras, redshirt sophomore of Berthoud, Colorado, 9-4

Watt decision win over Kash Anderson, redshirt freshman of Boise, Idaho, 5-0.

The 165-pound bout remained close between CSC’s Preston Renner, redshirt junior of Broomfield, Colorado, and Colorado Mesa’s Alex Holguin, freshman of Arenas Valley, New Mexico. Renner took the decision loss in the end, 5-3 in a Sudden Victory (SV-1).

Friday’s dual also saw two dual wins for the Eagles in 125-weight class and 197-weight class but were unable to keep the match close against Western Colorado University, 43-9. Quade Smith, freshman of Layton, Utah, pinned No. 13 Cody Fatzinger, redshirt junior of Arvada, Colorado, 6:43.

Eli Hinojosa, redshirt junior of Imperial, took the second win for the Eagles by with a decision against Porter Fox, junior of Kamas, Utah, 7-4.

CSC also sent wrestlers to the Rocky Mountain Open at 10 a.m., Sunday.

Colter Julian, sophomore of Kemmerer, Wyoming, led the Eagle with the most wins, going 2-2 in the 133-weight bracket. Julian finished his second match against Adams State’s Jimmizan Redhorse, redshirt junior of St. Michaels, Arizona, with a major decision win and pinned CSU-Pueblo’s Dimitri Villanueva, redshirt sophomore of El Paso, Texas, just shy of three and a half minutes.

Yusef Nelson, redshirt sophomore of Auburn, Washington; Hunter Gilmore, freshman of Arlington; Javen Palmer, redshirt junior of Casper Wyoming; and Terry Winstead, redshirt junior of Harrah, Oklahoma, all went 1-2 on Sunday. Gilmore and Palmer took their wins over a Division I opponent.

Watt said he plans to stick to his routine, and trusting the process that the coaching staff has developed.

“I have enjoyed thinking outside the box in my training,” he said. “Developing a different relationship with the coaching staff has helped me become a better wrestler.”

CSC men’s wrestling team nears the end of its season with the NCAA Super Region 6 Championships Saturday, Feb. 26, in Grand Junction, Colorado.