GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The core of the Colorado Mesa University men's wrestling lineup will get their season underway on Saturday when the nation's 12
th-ranked Mavericks head to San Francisco State University's Main Gym for a pair of non-conference duals.
The Mavericks will take on the Menlo College Oaks at 11 a.m. PST (Noon Mountain) before taking on the host Gators in "The Swamp" at 1 p.m. PST (2 p.m. Mountain).
Separate live streams for both duals will be on the Gators' YouTube channel -
https://www.youtube.com/@sfstate_gators
Live results for both duals can be found on TrackWrestling at the links above.
Last Time Out
A contingent of younger Mavericks and redshirts got the 2024-25 season underway last Saturday at the Mines Rookie Open in Golden, Colorado.
Redshirt freshman
Tanner Stone led the Maverick effort, finishing as the runner-up in the 125-pound weight class. He went 4-1, rattling off four wins to begin the season in the final.
Redshirt sophomore
Alex Castaneda placed sixth at 149 pounds after going 5-1 with three straight consolation bracket pins before running into a match limit that prevented him for wrestling for fifth place.
Another CMU redshirt, competing unattached, also placed.
In the rankings
The Mavericks are beginning the season ranked 12th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)'s Division II Preseason Team Rankings. The Mavericks also have seven different wrestlers ranked in the top 12 of their respective weight classes.
The Mavericks' list of ranked wrestlers in weight order includes
Dayson Torgerson (8
th, 125 lbs.),
Oran Huff (9
th, 133),
Ryan Wheeler (7
th, 157),
Gus Dalton (6
th, 174),
Jason Bynarowicz (9
th, 184),
Gabriel Carranza (12
th, 197) and
Tyler Doyle (7
th, 285).
Wheeler, is a 2023 All-American and 2-time national qualifier, who redshirted last year. The other six Mavericks were all national qualifiers last year.
All seven are included in Saturday's probable lineup.
Lineup Look
125- #8
Dayson Torgerson (So., Aurora, Colo.) OR
Tanner Stone (R-Fr., Sacramento, Calif.)
133- #9
Oran Huff (R-Jr., Lyons, Colo.)
141-
Denim Torgerson (R-Jr., Aurora, Colo.)
149-
Alex Castaneda (R-So., Johnstown, Colo.) or
Sammy Mobly (R-Fr., Castle Pines, Colo.)
157- #7
Ryan Wheeler (R-Jr., University Place, Wash.)
165-
Will Alvarado (R-Fr., Fort Lupton, Colo.) OR
Wil Moneypenny (R-Fr., Berthoud, Colo.)
174- #6
Gus Dalton (R-Jr., Emery, Utah) OR
Alex Holguin (R-Jr., Arenas Valley, N.M.)
184- #9
Jason Bynarowicz (R-Sr., Broomfield, Colo.)
197- #12
Gabriel Carranza (R-Sr., Victorville, Calif.) OR
Eddie Nelson (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)
285- #7
Tyler Doyle (Jr, Littleton, Colo.) OR
Ruben Samuelson (R-Jr., Carbondale, Colo.)
Know Your Foes
Menlo
The Oaks, who hail from Atherton, California, are transitioning into NCAA Division II membership and are in their first season with a NCAA Division II schedule. A traditional power at the NAIA Level, the Oaks started their season last Friday with a 38-7 win over wrestling newcomer Cal Poly Humboldt and then had five wrestlers place in the Menlo Invitational last Saturday.
After going 8-2 in duals last season, they won the Cascade Collegiate Conference title and took third at last year's NAIA National Championships as Jovan Garcia won the 133-pound national title while Nicolas Aguilar took second at 125 pounds. Neither of those men return in 2024-25 after graduation although Coach Joey Martinez does return the services of two of his four other all-Americans in Kanaiponoa Tapia (157) and Marcus Zamora (174). Tapia placed third at the NAIA National Championships while Zamora finished seventh and is included in this week's probable lineup.
Tapia is not expected to wrestle on Saturday.
Oak freshman Noah Elliott was named as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Men's Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday and beat four NCAA Division I wrestlers on his path to the 149-pound title at the Menlo Invitational.
San Francisco State
The Gators also opened their season at the Menlo Invitational last Saturday and had six wrestlers finish in the top four of their respective brackets. Kydyn Lima led the way with a 174-pound crown.
Last year's Gator squad went 8-5 in duals, including a 4-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference mark. They won their last six duals and then took sixth at the NCAA Division II Super Regional VI Championships, qualifying two men in Kyle Botelho and Basil Othman for the national championships. Both of those men are now seniors on the Gator roster.
Botelho took fourth in the 165-pound bracket last week after finishing second at the regional last year. Othman was third at 157 pounds at the 2024 regional and did not wrestle last week.
SFSU, a longtime associate member of the RMAC for men's wrestling, has left the conference to join the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. However, they are still slated to dual four RMAC opponents this year and will compete against the Mavs at this year's NCAA Super Regional VI Championships.
Dual History
The Mavericks have faced the Menlo Oaks in a dual one previous time, falling 22-18 just shy of two years ago on Nov. 12, 2022. That match-up also took place in The Swamp.
The Mavs are 7-4 all-time against the Gators, winning each of the last four match-ups. They defeated the Gators, 30-10 on Dec. 1, 2023 in the last match-up and were 28-12 victors in their last trip to The Swamp on Nov. 12, 2022.
CMU is 2-3 against the Gators in San Francisco.
RMAC Favorites
The Mavericks have been picked as narrow favorites in this year's RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
They topped the 8-team poll with 44 points and received two first place votes. Four other teams also received first place votes.
CMU was tied for third in last year's RMAC standings with a 5-3 conference dual meet mark after winning the previous two titles with 7-0 marks.
Up Next
After returning home from California, the Mavericks will open up RMAC action with their first of just three home duals of the entire season next Friday (Nov. 15) at 6 p.m. The Mavs will take on New Mexico Highlands that night.
CMU's other two home duals will be on Jan. 25 against Adams State and on Feb. 13 against Western Colorado.
