The No. 5 Colorado Mesa women's wrestling team will compete one final time before the NCAA mandated Holiday break which begins next Monday. The Mavericks will compete at the Women's West Coast Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday. Friday's competition will feature a set of five duals in a tournament format before a Saturday Invitational Tournament with those dual teams and then some added teams and wrestlers.
 
THE RETURN
Friday's dual competition could see the return of a pair of wrestlers off the injured list. Jennesis Martinez and Holly Beaudoin could make their season debuts in the dual competition on Friday, a return that could boost the lineup against stiff competition.
 
Martinez will likely step into the 101-pound spot where she has been the past two seasons earning all-American honors in each. She enters the season with a 29-14 record and ranked No. 2 in the country by the NWCA.
 
Holly Beaudoin will likely jump up a weight class and compete with teammate Jolynn Harris for the starting spot at 136-pounds. The Poulsbo, Wash. native went 10-5 last year before a season-ending injury cut her freshman campaign short.
 
FILLING IN
True freshman Jayleen Sekona has been a great addition to the team and will provide much needed depth at 191-pounds. Sekona is the projected starter in Friday's duals filling in for all-American Isabeau Shalack who is still rehabbing from off season surgery.
 
The Alaskan is 8-4 on the season and has placed in the top three at two tournaments this season.
 
BACK FROM CAMP
Redshirt sophomore Marissa Gallegos returns to the mat after a stint at the Olympic Training Center for training with the U.S. Senior National team. Gallegos earned the opportunity after placing third at the U.S. Senior World Team Trials in Lincoln, Neb. back in September.
 
The experience gained from those camps helps not only the selected wrestler but everyone in the room as different techniques and drills are brought back to the room for the entire team to use.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Women's West Coast Tournament of Champions is broken down into two days of competition with the first day comprised of duals between select college programs followed by an invitational tournament on Saturday side-by-side with a high school invitational.
 
The Mavericks are entered into both sides of the tournament but do not know who they will face at this time.
 
Some of the top programs in the country (all divisions) are scheduled to be at the event including Simon Fraser, Emmanuel, Adrian, Menlo and Texas Wesleyan.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Colorado Mesa will be off for the NCAA mandated Holiday Break but will return shortly after as they have a new tournament they will be attending. The Mavericks will compete in the Midlands Women's Championships on Thursday December 30 in Hoffman Estates, Ill., hosted by Northwestern University. The Midlands Championships is heralded as the most prestigious non-conference wrestling tournament in the nation and is hosting the women's event for the first time ever.
 
Projected Dual Lineup
101 – #2 Jennesis Martinez, RSo., Albuquerque, N.M., 0-0 Overall
109 – Maya Cortes, Fr., Chicago, Ill., 3-6 Overall
116 – Anja Tschohl, RSo., Andover, Kan., 7-2 Overall
123 – #2 Marissa Gallegos, RSo., Denver, Colo., 5-0 Overall
or #7 Lizzie Miller, RFr., El Dorado Springs, Mo., 3-1 Overall
130 – #3 Claire DiCugno, Fr., Lake Tapps, Wash., 12-1 Overall
136 – Holly Beaudoin, RFr., Poulsbo, Wash., 0-0 Overall
143 – #3 Kaylee Haynes, RJr., Grand Junction, Colo., 9-1 Overall
155 – OPEN
170 – #8 Tatum Heikkila, Fr., Aberdeen, Wash., 4-0 Overall
191 – Jayleen Sekona, Fr., Anchorage, Alaska, 8-4 Overall