The Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team will host the Colorado Mesa Open and a dual with Dixie State this weekend in Brownson Arena. The tournament will feature roughly 150 competitors from across the Western United States while the dual will feature several wrestlers that are not typically in the starting lineup.
 
THE DON (NIE)
The Maverick lineup will welcome back sixth-year senior Donnie Negus at 197 pounds. Negus placed fifth at the weight during last season's NCAA Division II National Championships and made the decision to come back for his final season.
 
The Elizabeth, Colo. native finished the season with a 12-3 record and atoned for his only loss in the regular season with a win over Joseph Reimers in the Super Region VI Championship match. Negus opens the season ranked No. 4 at the weight with the top three wrestlers all people he faced last season.
 
MURDER'S ROW
Colorado Mesa will have three out of the four wrestlers back that made up the murder's row from 165 to 197. National Champion Fred Green exits despite having one championship semester remaining on his eligibility at 165 pounds but Seth Latham at 174 pounds and 184 pounder Nolan Krone return to the lineup. Add in the aforementioned Donnie Negus at 197 pounds and a strong portion of the lineup is intact.
 
Latham was a NCAA National Qualifier in 2020 while Krone was an all-American in 2020 before COVID shut down the National Championship meet that season. Both placed third at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament last season and narrowly missed out on a trip to the National Tournament.
 
COMING HOME
Grand Junction High School product Dawson Collins decided he wanted to leave town for his college wrestling after graduating high school. He competed last season at Division I Utah Valley University during last season's shortened COVID season and went 3-4 during the season, 2-4 against Big 12 opponents.
 
After the year, he decided to move back home and wrestle for the hometown team. He is the likely starter at 125 pounds and will be able to compete in front of his friends and family. The two-time Colorado State Champion is slated to compete in the Colorado Mesa Open on Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Eleven teams are slated to compete in the Colorado Mesa Open on Saturday with teams as far away as Havre, Mont., Rocklin, Calif. and Plainview, Texas to as close as Western Colorado in Gunnison. Approximately 150 wrestlers are scheduled to compete on four mats in the season's first larger scale tournament.
 
On Sunday, the Mavericks are scheduled to compete against Dixie State in a dual. They will likely roll out a lineup that features a lot of the backups for the Mavericks that may be seeing their first collegiate dual action. That lineup has yet to be set so tune in on Sunday to the RMAC Network to catch all the action.
 
COACHING STAFF
Head coach Chuck Pipher returns to the bench for his 15^th season with Colorado Mesa. Last season, Pipher led the Mavericks to the RMAC Championship as the top placing team at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament. He had two wrestlers qualify for the NCAA National Championships and was able to come home with two all-Americans in Donnie Negus at 197-pounds and national champion at 165 pounds in Fred Green.
 
Pipher has amassed a 114-110 record in duals since the program was brought back in 2006. He has also had an all-American in 10 straight seasons which is the longest running streak in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Also returning to the bench is assistant coach Mike Mendoza who is entering his third season in the program after successful coaching stints at Adams State, Cal State Bakersfield, Boise State and Northeastern Junior College. He brings over 20 years of coaching experience to the staff.

New to the coaching staff this season is another Pipher. Bo Pipher is in his first season on the staff after spending the past five years competing and earning his degree at Penn State. Pipher wrestled for the Nittany Lions under Cael Sanderson and amassed a 27-31 record in his time. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
The Mavericks are once again slated to host the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament and it is looking more and more like it will be a full field. Last season, Simon Fraser and New Mexico Highlands did not compete at the regional tournament due to COVID restrictions in New Mexico and Canada.
 
The tournament is scheduled to be on Saturday February 26 in Brownson Arena.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will head out on the road for the Nebraska Kearney Younes Hospitality Open in Nebraska. The tournament is one of the top for the Mavericks during the year that features both an amateur and elite division so whole teams can compete.