The No. 7 Colorado Mesa women's wrestling team will head to the Lone Star State of Texas for a pair of duals this weekend. The Mavericks will take on the Pioneers of Texas Woman's University in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opening dual followed by a non-conference dual against the William Jewell Cardinals.
LATEST SCHEDULE
As of Friday morning, the schedule for Sunday's dual triangular is as follows.
2 p.m. CST (1 p.m. Mountain)- Texas Woman's vs. William Jewell
25 minutes after first dual - 3:15 p.m. CST (estimate)- Colorado Mesa vs Texas Woman's
25 minutes after second dual - 4:30 p.m. CST (estimate) - Colorado Mesa vs. William Jewell
SUPER SOPHIA
Freshman Sophia Cornish had an opening weekend to remember as she went 6-0 and won the 110-pound weight class at the season opening Maverick Open. For her efforts, she was awarded the first RMAC Wrestler of the Week honor of the season for her performance.
The Mission Viejo, Calif. native defeated NJCAA No. 1 Rachel Jones of Snow College twice and finished the week with five technical fall wins and a pin.
Her pin of Fort Hays State wrestler Sophia Schultz occurred in 12 seconds and was picked up and posted by FloWrestling on Instagram which has drawn over 650,000 views on the platform.
MORE FIREPOWER COMING
With the season underway, the Mavericks have deployed a strong but youthful lineup which has given some of the veterans a chance to get healthy and in proper shape. Four of those veterans will likely be sprinkled into the lineup in the coming weeks.
The first one that could be inserted is two-time All-American Isabella Morales at 110-pounds. Morales is likely available this week but will likely make her debut at the Missouri Valley Open. Her, paired with Cornish, make a formidable 1-2 punch at the weight.
Four-time All-American Jennesis Martinez (103) and one-time All-American Hailey Chapman (131) likely won't return to the lineup until after the winter break but will add even more veteran leadership to the lineup.
All-American Isabeau Shalack may be a spot starter during the fall and will add depth at 207 pounds in the back half of the season.
THE CLOSER
Senior Jayleen Sekona has started her quest for a fourth All-American honor and it has started on a good note. Sekona finished the opening weekend with a perfect 5-0 record and won the 207-pound weight class at the Maverick Open.
Sekona has been the closer for a majority of the dual meets during her career and has had good success in that role. The Anchorage, Alaska native is 11-4 in her career during dual matches where she has been the final match of the evening.
She is a major reason the Mavericks are 15-1 in home duals in their history and have hope to returning to the top-4 at the NWCA National Duals in January.
THE NEW WEIGHTS
One of the changes to this year's season are the new weight classes. There are still 10 weight classes but have allowed for growth to help encapsulate more women competing in the sport. The new weight classes are as follows: 103, 110, 117, 124, 131, 138, 145, 160, 180, 207.
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa checked into the RMAC preseason poll at No. 2, just one-point behind 2023-24 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion Simon Fraser. The Mavericks garnered 14 points and two first place votes while the Red Leafs picked up 15 points and three first-place votes.
Adams State, Chadron State and Texas Woman's tied for the third position with seven points.
The Mavericks and Red Leafs will hold their conference dual once again at the Las Vegas Desert Duals on December 21.
The RMAC Tournament has been set for Saturday February 1 at a site yet to be determined. Colorado Mesa collected six individual championship and had nine medalists (top-3) in the inaugural event last season held at Regis University.
THE STAFF
Head coach Travis Mercado is in seventh season in charge of the program and is the only coach the program has ever had. He is 45-20 in dual matches and returns a solid lineup with six returning All-Americans in Jennesis Martinez, Isabella Morales, Erica Smith, Jayleen Sekona, Hailey Chapman, and Isabeau Shalack. He has had 35 All-Americans since starting the program ahead of the 2018-19 season and has had an All-American every season.
Marissa Gallegos enters her second 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 returning to the staff is volunteer assistant Jolynn Harris who is in her second season. Harris is a former Maverick wrestler and diver from 2019-22 who earned NWCA Scholar All-American honors during her career.
WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will take a week off from competition before getting back onto the mat. When they return, they will make the journey to one of the biggest collegiate women's wrestling tournaments in the country as they will take part in the Missouri Valley Open in Marshall, Mo.
COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP
103: Madison Heinzer, Fr., San Jose, Calif. (6-1 overall)
110: Sophia Cornish, Fr., Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (6-0 overall)
117: Jojo McDaniel, Fr., Orting, Wash. (6-1 overall)
124: Alejandra Valdiviezo, Fr., Ramona, Calif. (7-1 overall)
131: Hania Halverson, Jr., Kalispell, Mont. (4-3 overall)
138: Keyla Ajoleza, RSo., Capistrano Beach, Calif. (3-3 overall)
145: Celina Cooke, Jr., Sparks, Nev. (4-2 overall)
160: Gretchen Donally, Fr., Ballantine, Mont. (6-0 overall)
180: Maggie Smith, RFr., Rock Springs, Wyo. (4-3 overall)
207: #4 Jayleen Sekona, Sr., Anchorage, Alaska (5-0 overall)
