GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (Feb. 28, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo wrestling team had two student-athletes place third and one finish fourth at the NCAA Super Region VI Championship Sunday. 
 
Due to a limited field at the NCAA Division II National Championships, only the regional champion at each weight class automatically qualified for the national tournament. Only seven or eight more qualifiers from Super Region VI were selected from the runner-up finishers or the true second place match winners. 
 
At 149, No. 10 Gavin Melendez (R-Sr., Los Banos, Calif.) finished third for the second straight year, as he posted a 3-1 record on the day. He won his first bout by an 11-2 major decision to advance to the semifinal. In his next match he went toe-to-toe with No. 5 Sam Turner from University of Nebraska at Kearney, but an escape point for Turner would be all he need to defeat Melendez, 1-0. In his consolation semifinal match, Melendez recorded five takedowns on his way to another major decision victory, this time by a 12-4 result. In his third place match, the senior used a second period takedown to lead 3-1 after five minutes of wrestling. In the third, Melendez secured the win with a late-period takedown to win by a 5-1 decision against No. 11 Jason Hanenberg of Western Colorado University. Turner would go on to lose the title bout in sudden victory, which meant there would be no true second place bout for Melendez and his season would end with a 6-2 record. 
 
At heavyweight, No. 7 Gavin Nye (R-Jr., Gerber, Calif.) went 1-2 and placed third for the second straight season. Seeded number two in the bracket, Nye earned a bye in the first round to advance to the semifinal. In his first match of the day, Nye scored five points in the second period on an escape, takedown and two-point nearfall to eventually win 6-0. The win advanced him to the region championship where he faced Lee Herrington of UNK. With the match tied 2-2 in the second period, Herrington recorded a takedown and then a pin to claim the title. Nye then moved to the true second place bout where he had to face No. 4 and top seed Weston Hunt from Colorado School of Mines. Down 3-2 halfway through the third period, Nye produced a takedown to open a 4-3 lead. Hunt earned a point for an escape and the two nationally ranked foes were tied 4-4 with less than 40 seconds left. Unfortunately for Nye, Hunt was able to find a takedown and turn it into a pin and Nye's season abruptly ended. He went 3-2 overall this year.
 
At 165, Justin Davis (R-Jr., Pueblo, Colo.) lost his opening match, but battled back on the consolation side and posted a 6-4 decision win to advance to the consolation semifinal. He went up against No. 10 Aaden Valdez of Adams State University, who is also a Pueblo native. Davis was able to record an upset, as he won by an 8-5 decision. Davis faced his first round foe, Skyler Lykins from Mines, in the third place match and suffered a loss to go 2-2 in the tournament and 3-2 on the season. 
 
At 174, Elijah Valdez (R-So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) started his regional off in a big way with a 13-4 major decision victory against No. 5 and the No. 1 seed in the bracket, Rowdy Pfeil of Chadron State College. In the semifinal, Valdez suffered a 5-1 decision setback, then a tough 4-3 decision loss in the consolation semifinal ended his tournament with a 1-2 record and his season with a 3-4 mark. 
 
At 125, senior Parker McBride (Duvall, Wash.) won his first match by a 4-0 decision. He lost his semifinal match to No. 4 and eventual region champion, Isaiah De Le Cerda from Adams State. He lost his next match in the consolation side of the bracket to go 1-2 on the day and 4-6 this season.  
 
The ThunderWolves finished in sixth place with 20.5 team points. The regional results also determined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference order of finish for 2020-21, and there, the Pack placed fifth. 

New Mexico Highlands University, San Francisco State University, and Simon Fraser University did not compete in the regional, as they had opted out of the season.
 
REGIONAL LINEUP
(Final Season Records)
 
125 – Parker McBride (3-4)
133 – Devin Lueck (1-3)
141 – Andrew Sansburn (1-5, 1 fall)
149 – #10 Gavin Melendez (6-2)
157 – Ruben Garcia (3-2, 2 falls)
165 – Justin Davis (3-2)
174 – Elijah Valdez (3-4, 1 fall)
184 – Jair Flores (2-4)
197 – Ben Gould (0-4)
285 – #7 Gavin Nye (3-2)
 
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