The No. 12 Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team begins the home portion of their schedule in late January. They will take on No. 6 Adams State on Thursday at 6:00pm before a dual with New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 6:00pm with both in Brownson Arena.
 
GOOD WEEKEND
Redshirt Dawson Collins had a weekend to remember at the NWCA National Duals. The Grand Junction native went 4-0 that included an overtime win over No. 5 Jaxson Rohman of Augustana in his final match, but the talk of the tournament was the very first win of the tournament.
 
In the very first bout of the tournament, Collins defeated reigning two-time national champion and No. 1 ranked Cole Laya of West Liberty 3-1 in overtime at 125 pounds. The returning all-American scored a takedown near the edge of the mat with a front headlock snap by to score the big win.
 
For his efforts over the weekend, Collins was named the RMAC Wrestler of the Week.
 
MR. STEADY
For the past three season, redshirt senior Collin Metzgar has been the Mavericks most steady wrestler splitting his time between 125 pounds when he first showed up to 133 pounds now. Metzgar is 14-5 on the season and ranked No. 9 at the weight this year after making a trip to the NCAA tournament a year ago.
 
In their last competition at the NWCA National Duals, Metzgar, and teammate Dawson Collins, were the lone Mavericks to go 4-0 at their respective weight for the Mavericks. The Colorado Springs native opened with a 5-4 win over Vincent Scollo of West Liberty who came into the week ranked No. 6 at 133 pounds. He followed that win with three straight bonus point victories that included two major decisions and a fall.
 
FRESH RANKINGS
Colorado Mesa has five wrestlers in the rankings this week which includes action at the NWCA National Duals. Collin Metzgar remains at No. 9 at 133 pounds and Ryan Wheeler is down a spot to No. 6 at 157 as both have been in the rankings all season.
 
Alex Holguin is down a spot to No. 8 at 174 pounds while Dawson Collins is back into the rankings at 125 pounds. He is in at No. 6 following his outstanding weekend at the NWCA National Duals where he defeated a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers including previous No. 1 Cole Laya of West Liberty.
 
Making his debut in the rankings at 165 pounds is redshirt freshman Gus Dalton. The Emery, Utah native is 7-2 on the season that includes a win over then-No. 4 Hunter Mullin of Western Colorado and a seventh-place finish at the Midwest Classic.
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Adams State comes in as one of the favorites to not only win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference but once again make noise at the NCAA National Championships. They have a pair of returning national champions with each swapping weights. Grand Junction native Josiah Rider is at 149 pounds after winning the 157-pound championship last season while Noah Hermosillo is at 157 pounds after winning the 149-pound title last winter.
 
The Grizzlies also feature two other Grand Junction High School products in the lineup. Kieran Thompson is scheduled to compete at 141 pounds on Thursday while Hunter Tobiasson is set to wrestle at 184 pounds.
 
New Mexico Highlands is coming off a high as they defeated CSU Pueblo 19-18 last Saturday for their first conference win of the season. The Kilgore brothers lead the way for the Cowboys as they are scheduled to compete at 157 and 184 pounds respectively.
 
COACHING STAFF
Longtime coach Chuck Pipher officially announced his retirement from coaching wrestling just as the season started. Assistant coach Mike Mendoza was named the full-time head coach just after the season started and Bo Pipher was named the full-time assistant coach.
 
Mendoza has been with the program since 2019 after making stops at Northeastern Junior College, Boise State, Cal State Bakersfield, and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Adams State. He spent time as the head coach at Northeastern JC where he elevated the program from an 0-6 dual record when he took over to an 11-3 mark in his final season. He was also the head coach at Boise State the year prior to the school dropping the program.
 
Bo Pipher, nephew of Chuck Pipher, was a three-time Colorado State Champion and wrestled for Cael Sanderson at Penn State for four seasons before graduating. He is in his second season with the program after assisting with the team a year ago helping Dawson Collins and Collin Metzgar to the NCAA National Championship Tournament.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Mavericks will head out on the road for a pair of conference duals. They will travel to Pueblo on Thursday, February 3 for a dual with the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves before heading north on Friday for a matchup with Colorado School of Mines.
 
Projected Lineup
125: #6 Dawson Collins, RSo., Grand Junction, Colo. (13-6 overall)
133: #9 Collin Metzgar, RSr., Colorado Springs, Colo. (14-5 overall)
141: Andrew Silva, RSo., Fullerton, Calif. (7-9 overall)
149: Alex Castaneda, Fr., Eaton, Colo. (12-7 overall)
157: #6 Ryan Wheeler, RSo., University Place, Wash. (13-4 overall)
165: #9 Gus Dalton, RFr., Emery, Utah (7-2 overall)
174: #8 Alex Holguin, So., Arenas Valley, N.M. (11-6 overall)
184: Jason Bynarowicz, RSo., Broomfield, Colo. (11-7 overall)
197: Kash Anderson, RSo., Boise, Idaho (9-7 overall)
285: Ruben Samuelson, RFr., Carbondale, Colo. (7-9 overall)