GUNNISON, Colo. – The No. 16 Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team used a dominating effort to claim their second consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship on Wednesday (Feb. 16) evening after a 26-16 victory over their rivals from Western Colorado.
 
The Mavericks (12-2, 7-0 RMAC) opened the night with three straight wins.
 
Dawson Collins (125) scored a decision win over Cody Fatzinger to improve to 3-1 against him this year while Collin Metzgar (133) earned a decision win over Alex Alvarez to stake the Mavericks to a 6-0 lead in the dual.
 
One of the dual changing bouts of the night, Andrew Silva delivered a come-from-behind win over No. 10 ranked Dean Noble, 10-7. Noble came out early and looked to have a bonus point victory well in hand, but Silva battled back and took advantage in the third period.
 
Western Colorado (8-8, 5-2 RMAC) gained a ton of momentum after the result at 149 pounds. Mountaineer cut deep into the Maverick lead after delivering a pin at 1:26 to make it 9-6 in the dual.
 
Redshirt freshman Ryan Wheeler took the wind out of the sails of both the Mountaineers and the Mountaineer faithful in the next match. Wheeler delivered a pin at 2:18 of the first round to push the Maverick lead back to 15-6.
 
After a Mountaineer major decision victory at 165 pounds, the Maverick Murder's Row took over and delivered.
 
Seth Latham earned a major decision victory over Cole Hernandez at 174 pounds followed by a 9-4 decision victory for Nolan Krone at 184 pounds setup the final member of the trio.
 
With the Mavericks on the verge of clinching the dual and the championship, sixth-year senior Donnie Negus stepped to the mat at 197-pounds. After a close first two periods of action, Negus earned a pair of four-point nearfalls in the third period to win, seal and clinch the dual and the title with a 13-1 major decision victory over Porter Fox.
 
Western Colorado's Sammy deSeriere claimed a third period injury default win over Gabe Carranza to close out the night.
 
Both teams will compete at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament on February 26 in Grand Junction. The top three finishers at each weight class will advance to the NCAA Championships in March.
 
Bout-by-Bout Results
125 – #5 Dawson Collins (CMU) dec. Cody Fatzinger, 9-5
133 – #7 Collin Metzgar (CMU) dec. Alex Alvarez, 6-2
141 – Andrew Silva (CMU) dec. #10 Dean Noble, 10-7
149 – Jason Hanenberg (WCU) pins Nick Gallegos, 1:26
157 – Ryan Wheeler (CMU) pins Ryan Wilson, 2:18
165 – Hunter Mullin (WCU) maj. dec. Alex Holguin, 14-6
174 – Seth Latham (CMU) maj. dec. Cole Hernandez, 11-1
184 – Nolan Krone (CMU) dec. Cole Gray, 9-4
197 – #8 Donnie Negus (CMU) maj. dec. Porter Fox, 13-1
285 – Sammy deSeriere (WCU) injury default Gabe Carranza, 5:26