The No. 14 Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team will head to the mountains this afternoon for their lone dual of the week as they take on their rival and No. 17 ranked Western Colorado Mountaineers in a non-conference dual. The two programs have been wrestling each other in a home and home series since the 2017 season with it being each school's shortest trip.

COMING INTO HIS OWN 
One of the hottest wrestlers not only for the Mavericks but in the RMAC is 149-pounder Alex Castaneda. The redshirt sophomore is 11-4 on the season with three of his four losses coming outside of Division II and placed fifth at the always tough Younes Hospitality Open in Kearney, Neb. prior to the Thanksgiving break.  

The Eaton, Colo. Native will have one of his biggest tests of the season tonight as he takes on fifth-ranked Dean Noble tonight. The two have met once before when Castaneda was a true freshman with Noble coming away with an 8-2 win at the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament at Chadron State. 

In that tournament, Castaneda came away with a sixth-place finish at 141 pounds.

ENDING STRONG 
Junior Tyler Doyle has only gotten better since he stepped on campus and is already looking for a high finish at the NCAA National Championships in March. Doyle has also provided stability at the back of the Maverick dual lineup and is 7-2 overall and 4-0 in duals on the season. 

The Highlands Ranch, Colo. Native is on a 14-match dual win streak that dates back to the beginning of the 2023-24 season.  

NIFTY FIFTY 
Colorado Mesa had two wrestlers reach the 50-win milestone in their careers during the Younes Hospitality Open. 157-pounder Ryan Wheeler eclipsed the mark with a 20 second pin of Brandon Harris of Briar Cliff and with three other wins now sits at 53-22 in his career. 

Redshirt junior 174-pounder Gus Dalton went over 50 wins in his career with his first victory of the day, a 12-0 major decision win over Chance Sjulin of Wayne State. He is now 52-27 in his career. 

The duo joins Jason Bynarowicz in the lineup with more than 50 wins in their career. Bynarowicz has a strong chance to go over the 75-win plateau ahead of the new year as he is currently 73-43 in his career. 

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS 
No. 17 Western Colorado has started out the season with a 1-1 record in duals with a lopsided win over New Mexico Highlands in an early season conference dual, similar to the Mavericks. They also lost in a non-conference dual with Nebraska-Kearney 33-10 with their lone wins coming from Dean Noble at 149 pounds and Cole Hernandez at 174 pounds. Both of those Mountaineers are nationally ranked with Noble at No. 5 and Hernandez at No. 3 at their respective weights. 

The Mountaineers lead the all-time dual series 16-12 but the Mavericks have gotten the best of their rivals recently having won five of the past six. Western Colorado won the first seven after Colorado Mesa reinstated the program ahead of the 2007 season.

Western Colorado is led by alum Charlie Pipher who enters his seventh season at the helm and has amassed a 59-35 record in duals during his tenure.

MATCHUP OF THE NIGHT 
Most wrestling fans were likely hoping for a matchup of No. 8 vs. No. 9 at 184 pounds between Cole Gray and Jason Bynarowicz but that will likely have to wait until the February matchup in Grand Junction as Gray did not appear on the probable lineup. 

This means that you might have your pick between the 149-pound matchup between No. 5 Dean Noble and Alex Castaneda or the 174-pound matchup between likely Gus Dalton and No. 3 Cole Hernandez. Dean Noble is one of the more experienced wrestlers in the RMAC and has been wrestling well while his opponent is one of the hottest wrestlers for the Mavericks in Alex Castaneda.

The last time Cole Hernandez and Gus Dalton wrestled was in the Super Region VI semifinals in Pueblo where Hernandez came away with a 6-3 sudden victory. The two have wrestled several times over the past couple years but that was the closest match between the two.

COACHING STAFF 
Head coach Mike Mendoza enters his sixth season with the program and third year as the head coach of the Mavericks. Mendoza was named the RMAC Coach of the Year and the Super Region VI Coach of the Year in his first year as the head coach of the program while in his second season he coached the Mavericks to a third-place finish at the NCAA Super Region VI meet and sent six wrestlers to the NCAA National Championship meet.  

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. 

Kyle Greenwald is now the head assistant at Colorado Mesa after spending last season as one of the lead assistants at former Division II school Mercyhurst. He wrestled for Division I Clarion from 2014-18 and spent time coaching for NAIA power St. Thomas University in Florida.

Bo Pipher is still an assistant for the program but is now in a lesser role with the program focusing more on the practice plans and training. This will be his fourth season with the program. Pipher, a three-time Colorado State Champion, wrestled for Cael Sanderson at Penn State for four seasons before graduating.

Donnie Negus, Tim Romero, Joe Ritzen, Collin Metzgar, Jacob Seely, Jared Johnshoy, and Konnor Schmidt are all assisting with the program as well.

WHAT'S NEXT 
The Mavericks will compete in the 45th annual Midwest Classic that begins on Saturday December 14 and will conclude on Sunday December 15 with placement matches. The Midwest Classic, also known as Mini-Nationals, is one of the toughest yet most prestigious tournaments in the country as several of the top-25 ranked teams will be in attendance along with a significant portion of the top-10 at each weight class. 

COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP VS. WESTERN COLORADO 
125: #7 Dayson Torgerson, So., Aurora, Utah (5-2 overall) 
133: #12 Oran Huff, RJr., Lyons, Colo. (5-4 overall) 
141: Denim Torgerson, RJr., Aurora, Utah (3-3 overall) 
149: Alex Castaneda, RSo., Eaton, Colo. (11-4 overall) 
157: #5 Ryan Wheeler, RJr., University Place, Wash. (8-1 overall) 
165: Will Alvarado, RFr., Fort Lupton, Colo. (1-6 overall) -OR- 
165: Wil Moneypenny, RFr., Berthoud, Colo. (2-5 overall) 
174: Gus Dalton, RJr., Emery, Utah (4-3 overall) -OR- 
174: Alex Holguin, RJr., Arenas Valley, N.M. (3-3 overall) 
184: #9 Jason Bynarowicz, RSr., Broomfield, Colo. (6-2 overall) 
197: Gabe Carranza, RSr., Victorville, Calif. (1-4 overall) 
285: #5 Tyler Doyle, Jr., Littleton, Colo. (7-2 overall)