GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team will host a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes this week in Brownson Arena. On Friday, they will welcome in the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves (2-3, 1-0 RMAC) for the annual Bank of Colorado Battle in Brownson at 6pm before a Saturday tilt with nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines (5-2, 3-0 RMAC) at 5pm.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks made their maiden voyage to the East Coast for a double dual against Coker and Lander in Hartsville, South Carolina. The Mavericks defeated Lander, a first-year program, 21-13 winning seven of the ten bouts with only one coming for bonus points. In the second matchup of the day, they defeated the Coker Cobras 31-13 winning seven of the ten bouts again but with four matches going for bonus points.
 
FRESH FACES
Colorado Mesa welcomed a pair of fresh faces to the lineup in the double dual out in South Carolina. At 149 pounds, freshman Dyllan Fuchs made his debut gave the Mavericks a preview of what to expect. Fuchs scored a pair of decision victories in his first two duals and moved his record to an impressive 8-1 on the season.
 
The other addition to the lineup is Fred Green at 165 pounds. Green, who wrestled for assistant coach Mike Mendoza at Boise State, went 2-0 in last weekend's duals. The Port Orchard, Wash. native became eligible following the Tracy Borah Duals after sitting out due to transfer rules.
 
NEW RANKINGS
The new NWCA rankings were released this week with three Mavericks in the rankings. Payton Tawater moved down to No. 8 at 157 pounds after not having wrestled for almost two weeks while newcomer Fred Green enters the rankings at No. 10 at 165 pounds.
 
Donnie Negus slid to No. 11 at 197 pounds after being held out the past two weekends with an injury. He is scheduled to compete this week against CSU-Pueblo and Mines.
 
Colorado Mesa is No. 25 in the national rankings with their three ranked wrestlers garnering 11 total points.
 
B.I.B.
This year marks the sixth year that the Colorado Mesa wrestling program has hosted the Bank of Colorado Battle in Brownson. The Mavericks are 3-2 in Battle in Brownson matches with two wins coming against Western Colorado and the other against this year's opponent in CSU-Pueblo.
 
This year the first 500 fans through the door will receive a Battle in Brownson T-Shirt and at the intermission of the dual (following the 157 pound matchup) the Mavericks will honor 2018 All-American Bruno Nicoletti with his All-American ring.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
CSU-Pueblo enters the week with a 2-3 record overall and a 1-0 mark in RMAC duals having defeated nationally ranked Chadron State. The ThunderWolves had the same 1-3 record as the Mavericks in the Tracy Borah Duals with their lone win coming against Findlay.
 
D'Andre Brumfield and Gavin Nye are in this week's national rankings for CSU-Pueblo. Brumfield checks in at No. 11 in the 133 pound rankings while Nye is at No. 12 in the 285 pound list.
 
SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
Colorado School of Mines will enter Brownson Arena on Saturday night ranked No. 9 in this week's NWCA rankings, up from No. 18 in the last rankings. They are 5-2 in duals this year with their lone two losses coming to then No. 6 Central Oklahoma and No. 8 Upper Iowa at the NWCA National Duals.
 
The Orediggers have four ranked wrestlers that all fall in the lineup at 165 pounds or heavier. Skyler Lykins is No. 6 at 165 pounds, Andrew Salisbury is No. 12 at 184 pounds, and Wes Hunt checks in at No. 4 at 285 pounds.
 
!74 pounder Robert Gambrell is the highest ranked RMAC wrestler in any weight at No. 2.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will host the San Francisco State Gators in their final home dual of the season on Thursday January 30 at 6pm in Brownson Arena. The match will be part of a double dual for the Gators as they will wrestle Western Colorado at 4pm in Brownson Arena.
 
Projected Weekend Lineup
125 – Collin Metzgar, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo. (8-6 overall)
133 – Dylan Keeney, RSo., Payson, Ariz. (13-10 overall)
141 – Daniel Van Hoose, So., Grand Junction, Colo. (6-2 overall)
149 – Dyllan Fuchs, Fr., Spring Creek, Nev. (8-1 overall)
157 – #8 Payton Tawater, RJr., Arvada, Colo. (7-3 overall)
165 – #10 Fred Green, Jr., Port Orchard, Wash. (15-3 overall)
174 – Seth Latham, So., Grand Junction, Colo. (12-7 overall)
184 – Nolan Krone, So., Henderson, Nev. (15-5 overall)
197 – #11 Donnie Negus, Jr., Elizabeth, Colo. (8-5 overall)
285 – Hunter Mooring, So., Pueblo, Colo. (3-7 overall)

**SPECIAL NOTE: The dual between Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado has moved dates and will now be wrestled on Wednesday February 19 in Gunnison at 6pm. It was originally on our schedule for Wednesday February 5.**