GUNNISON, Colo. (January 6, 2024) - The Colorado State University Pueblo wrestling team finished its two-day trip west and had strong outings at the Western Colorado Open on Friday and in a pair of dual's at the Tracy Borah Duals on Saturday inside Mountaineer Field House.

On Friday, the ThunderWolves competed in the single day WCU Open and had two wrestlers finish in second place led by AJ Gunn (So., Evergreen, Colo.) and Soloman Arnds-Volcin (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.).

The Pack returned to the mat on Saturday and played in the Tracy Borah Duals and defeated Findlay 39-7 before falling 22-18 against Minot State. In the two dual's, Dominick Castro (Fr., Pueblo, Colo.), Michael Atencio (R-So., Rye, Colo.), Anthony Nichols (R-Sr., Grand Coulee, Wash.) and Ben Gould (Sr., Canyon Country, Calif.) all earned points for the ThunderWolves.

Western Colorado Open Recap
The Pack had three wrestlers compete in the 133 pound bracket on Friday led by Gunn finishing with a 3-1 record and included a pair of wins by fall.

In his first match, Gunn pinned Naythan Galbiso from New Mexico Highlands at 4:33 and followed it up with another win by fall (4:51) over Adams State's Joseph Enockson.

In the semifinal match, Gunn was pitted against teammate Brandon Bigler (So., Pacifica, Calif.) and won by tech fall (21-4) to advance to the title bout.

In the championship match, Gunn lost by fall (4:52) against Jacob Jones from Air Force Prep.

At 174 pounds, Arnds-Volcin finished the day with a 3-1 mark and included one win by fall and two decision victories.

He pinned Daniels Bendiks of Minot State (5:55) in the semifinal round and earned his spot in the championship match. In his first two outings, he earned two decision wins over Merrell Morley (4-3) from Utah Valley and Mike Avelar (8-1) from Air Force Prep.

Facing Josh Palacio from Air Force Prep in the title bout, Arnds-Volcin lost by maj. decision 14-5, earning second place.

Also competing at 133 pounds, Tyler Hamm (Fr., Chandler, Ariz.) finished third overall and recorded a 3-1 record. He took home third place after he pinned Joseph Enockson from Adams State in the first period (1:19).

He picked up a win by fall (1:37) over Naythan Galbiso of NMHU.

In his journey, Hamm faced off against teammate Bigler and won by a 10-6 decision in the consolation semifinal.

Remington Winmill (R-So., Wendell, Idaho) finished in fourth place at 184 pounds. He earned a 4-2 record and lost by fall against Marcus Allen from Minot State in the 3rd place match.

He had a win by tech fall, win by fall and a maj. decision and decision victories under his belt for the Pack.

Findlay dual recap
The ThunderWolves registered eight victories in ten matches against the Roughnecks.

As a team, the Pack earned one win by fall, two maj. decision wins, and one tech fall victory.

Josiah Aldinger (Fr., Falcon, Colo.) earned the lone win by fall over Giulian Bodiu (5:20) and Donn Greer (So., Soledad, Calif.) picked up a TF win (23-7) over Andrew (Jayson) Knick.

Cyruss Meeks (Jr., Casper, Wyo.) picked up a 10-2 maj. decision over Logan Sanom. 

Minot State dual recap
In the second dual of the day, CSU Pueblo and the Beavers of Minot State each won five matches in the ten-match dual.

Gould earned the only win by fall for the ThunderWolves at the 197 pound match-up. Gould pinned Cannon Potts at 2:58, scoring six points for the ThunderWolves.

Also adding to the team points with decision wins were Castro, Atencio, Nichols, and Arnds-Volcin.

Up Next
The ThunderWolves return to action on January 20 and will compete at the UNK Younes Hospitality Duals. CSU Pueblo will face Sioux Falls (S.D.), Northern State and Maryville at the Buffalo Co. Fairgrounds in Kearney, Nebraska.