The No. 4 ranked Colorado Mesa women's wrestling team will compete in the Las Vegas Desert Duals at the Flamingo Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The Mavericks are scheduled to have six duals on the day and have a pair of teams scheduled to compete and possibly intermingle.
 
BOYD BOMBS
Freshman Kaydence Boyd has been a solid backup to nationally ranked Hailey Chapman this season and will continue to be in that 130-pound slot this weekend at the Las Vegas Desert Duals. Boyd has started her career with a third-place finish at the Maverick Open and a second-place finish at the Bob Smith Open. She also had a solid finish at the Missouri Valley Open finishing 3-2 in one of the toughest tournaments of the season.
 
The Bakersfield, Calif. native is 10-4 on the season and won both of her matches at the Adams State Triangular by pin which earned her RMAC Wrestler of the Week honorable mention honors last week.
 
NEXT WOMAN UP
Moving into the season, the Mavericks knew it would be tough replacing NCWWC National Champion Marissa Gallegos. Sophomore Hania Halverson has done an outstanding job filling that role and getting the job done.
 
Halverson is 10-1 on the season with all ten of her wins coming by pin. She placed third at the Maverick Open and has won seven straight matches heading into the weekend.
 
LET CELINA COOKE
Sophomore Celina Cooke will likely take most of the matches at 155 pounds this weekend with Kim Carlin likely to step in for a couple of those duals. When Cooke has been on the mat, she has fared exceptionally well.
 
The Sparks, Nev. native is 12-2 on the season and has won two of the three opens she has competed in. She won the Maverick Open and the Bob Smith Open at Fort Hays State while going 3-2 at the Missouri Valley Open. She has been victorious in her past five matches.
 
RETURN OF THE BEAUDOZER
Sunday's duals are scheduled to mark the return of Isabeau Shalack to the lineup for the Mavericks. The Evergreen Park, Ill. native has been marred by injuries the last two seasons but found a way to compete at the Region V Tournament last year with minimal prep.
 
Shalack is a returning all-American at 191 pounds and has a 19-10 career record and includes a runner-up finish at 235 pounds at the Missouri Valley Open this season.
 
THE MATCHUPS
Colorado Mesa will have six different duals on Sunday in the Flamingo Ballroom and levels of competition range from NAIA club programs to RMAC scheduled matches to NCAA club programs. The Mavericks are scheduled to compete against Pacific University, Ottawa Arizona, Grand Canyon club program, Simon Fraser, University of Iowa and Wartburg.
 
Pacific is a regional opponent while Colorado Mesa has seen several of the Ottawa Arizona wrestlers at the Maverick Open. The third match of the day will be against the Grand Canyon club program whom they have never faced before in competition.
 
The matchup with Simon Fraser will be the most important one of the day, as it will count in the RMAC standings. The Red Leafs are ranked No. 8 in the most recent NWCA national rankings and feature four nationally ranked wrestlers. Those wrestlers are highlighted by No. 4 Julia Richey who won the Missouri Valley Open at 191 pounds which later earned her RMAC Wrestler of the Week.
 
Probably the most intriguing matchup of the day is against No. 1 ranked Iowa who is in their first full-fledged season of competition. The Hawkeyes have 14 wrestlers who are nationally ranked including four ranked No. 1 at their respective weight. Like the Mavericks, Iowa will have a group of wrestlers competing at the U.S. Senior National tournament and could be without three of the four wrestlers ranked No. 1.
 
Their final matchup of the day will be with another first-year program in Desert Duals host Wartburg. The Knights are ranked in a tie for No. 15 in the most recent rankings and have two wrestlers ranked in the top-10 at their respective weight.
 
U.S. SENIOR NATIONALS
Colorado Mesa will have five individuals compete at the United States Senior National Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. The top five individuals, who have yet to qualify, will earn berths to the United States Olympic Trials with a shot at making the US Olympic Team that will compete in the Paris Olympics this coming summer.
 
Adriana Gomez (50kg), Kiely Tabaldo (53kg) and current assistant coach Marissa Gallegos (57kg) will compete on Friday and Saturday while Hailey Chapman (62kg) and Dalia Garibay (68kg) will compete on Saturday and Sunday.
 
ELEVATING TO A CONFERENCE
In April, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced it would be sponsoring the sport of women's wrestling marking it as one of only two conferences (Conference of the Carolinas) to do so. The conference will feature Colorado Mesa, Adams State, Chadron State, Texas Woman's, and Simon Fraser as members with each doing a single round robin for duals. They will conclude with the RMAC Tournament on February 3 at a site yet to be determined.
 
Colorado Mesa was the inaugural pick to win the conference in the preseason coach's poll.
 
THE STAFF
Head coach Travis Mercado is in sixth season in charge of the program and is the only coach the program has ever had. He is 32-15 in dual matches and scored a program best 108 points at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship giving the program a fourth-place finish at the National Meet in 2023. He has had 29 All-Americans since starting the program ahead of the 2018-19 season and has had an All-American every season.
 
New this season, the Mavericks added a full-time assistant that most Maverick fans will recognize. Marissa Gallegos enters her first season on the coaching staff and will assist in the day-to-day operation with duties including but not limited to work-out plans, recruiting, and advanced scouting. Gallegos capped her career with an undefeated season and the program's first National Champion.
 
Also, back to help in a volunteer role is Jolynn Harris who spent last season as a diving graduate assistant coach and part-time wrestler at McKendree.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will get their NCAA mandated winter break time off but then will be back in action right away on January 5-6 when they travel to the Midwest for the NWCA National Duals which is a bracketed team tournament to help determine the best dual team in the country among NCAA schools. This year's tournament will be in Cedar Falls, Iowa at the University of Northern Iowa Dome (UNI Dome) for the first time. The past several tournaments have occurred in Louisville, Ky.
 
COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP AT DESERT DUALS
101: #3 Jennesis Martinez, RJr., Albuquerque, N.M. (7-0 overall)
109: #8 Adriana Gomez, Fr., Laveen, Ariz. (12-4 overall)
116: #10 Kiely Tabaldo, Fr., Sunnyvale, Calif. (6-0 overall)
123: Hania Halverson, So., Kalispell, Mont. (10-1 overall)
130: Kaydence Boyd, Fr., Bakersfield, Calif. (10-4 overall)
136: #5 Holly Beaudoin, RJr., Poulsbo, Wash. (3-0 overall)
143: Erica Schroeder, RSo., Nuevo, Calif. (4-5 overall)
155: Celina Cooke, So., Sparks, Nev. (12-2 overall)
170: Melena Jones, RJr., Kansas City, Mo. (3-4 overall)
191: Isabeau Shalack, RSo., Evergreen Park, Ill. (3-1 overall)
 
COLORADO MESA ENTRIES AT SENIOR NATIONALS
50kg: Adriana Gomez, Fr., Laveen, Ariz.
53kg: Kiely Tabaldo, Fr., Sunnyvale, Calif.
57kg: Marissa Gallegos, Denver, Colo. (current Mavericks assistant coach)
62kg: Hailey Chapman, So., Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
68kg: Dalia Garibay, RJr., Brentwood, Calif.