GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa wrestling team will be back on the mat this week with a pair of crucial Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference duals in Brownson Arena. The Mavericks will take on Adams State on Thursday at 6pm before hosting New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 7:30pm following the Mavericks basketball teams.
 
STANDINGS
This season, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion will be determined by their dual record. Colorado Mesa enters the RMAC duals this week with a 1-1 mark having beaten Chadron State roughly two weeks ago while falling to San Francisco State just after the first of the year.
 
Adams State is currently a half a dual behind conference leader Colorado School of Mines and is tied with nationally ranked CSU-Pueblo. The Cowboys are in the back of the pack with no RMAC dual wins at this time.
 
LATHAM VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Freshman Seth Latham has wrestled in six matches against NCAA Division II ranked opponents in his first season as a Maverick. The Grand Junction native is 3-3 in those matches and has won his last two against Division II ranked opponents.
 
Overall against ranked opponents (NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA) he is 4-4 with a win over No. 8 NAIA Deandre Cherry of Concordia (Neb.) and a loss to No. 4 NCAA Division III Kyle Briggs of Wartburg.
 
PENHA'S POINTERS
Senior Eduardo Penha has given the Mavericks stability in the lighter weights. The No. 7 ranked wrestler at 141 pounds is 13-2 on the season with his two losses coming to the No. 5 (Pitt-Johnstown's Joey Alesandro) and No. 2 (Fort Hays State's Brandon Ball) ranked wrestlers at the weight.
 
With wins in his final five bouts of the year, he will be a top seed in the weight class for the Super Region 6 Tournament in Kearney, Neb. at the end of the month.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will travel to the Front Range for a pair of duals against of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes. They will take on Colorado School of Mines on Wednesday before heading south for a bout with the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves on Thursday.
 
PROJECTED LINEUP
125: Tim Romero, Jr., Thornton, Colo., 8-13 overall record
133: Bracken Lovell, Fr., Delta, Utah, 12-11 overall record
141: #7 Eduardo Penha, Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., 13-2 overall record
149: Daniel Van Hoose, RFr., Grand Junction, Colo., 9-10 overall record
157: Luke Au Yeung, So., Windsor, Calif., 4-15 overall record
165: Jason Buhr, Sr., La Jara, Colo., 13-4 overall record
174: Seth Latham, Fr., Grand Junction, Colo., 13-9 overall record
184: Nolan Krone, RFr., Henderson, Colo., 21-7 overall record
197: TJ Lodermeier, Jr., Hinton, OKla., 11-10 overall record
285: Hunter Mooring, RFr., Pueblo, Colo., 11-13 overall record