The Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team will be on the road this week as they head to Gunnison for a showdown with their rivals the Western Colorado Mountaineers on Tuesday at 6pm in Paul Wright Gym. They will also have a group of wrestlers compete in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open on Sunday beginning at 9am in Golden.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Colorado Mesa competed against CSU Pueblo in their last home dual of the season which was also this year's version of the Bank of Colorado Battle in Brownson. They saved one of their best team performances for the end of the season as they were able to shutout CSU Pueblo 37-0. The Mavericks secured wins in all 10 bouts for their first-ever shutout over the ThunderWolves in 15 meetings that date back to 2009.
 
The win was also their first shutout since the 2020 season when they were able to secure a shutout over San Francisco State 45-0. The shutout against the Gators was their first-ever since the program was brought back in 2006.
 
BOUNCING BACK
Colorado Mesa was in the midst of a three-match losing skid prior to the shutout win over CSU Pueblo. The lightweights struggled gong 1-11 during that stretch but snapped that skid in the win over the ThunderWolves as all four of them picked up wins.
 
Dayson Torgerson picked up an 18-0 technical fall win at 125 pounds before Oran Huff delivered a 10-3 decision victory. Juan Garcia held onto a 2-1 nail biter at 149 pounds and Denim Torgerson faced the biggest deficit of the evening at 4-1 but came back for an 11-4 win at 141 pounds.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Western Colorado comes into the week with a 10-5 record in duals as they are coming off a road loss to Adams State last Thursday in Alamosa. They are 5-2 in conference with their losses coming to the Grizzlies and No. 15 ranked and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion Chadron State.
 
Cole Hernandez is a man on a mission this year as he enters the week at 25-2 on the season and ranked No. 3 in the NWCA national rankings. He is on a 15-match winning streak and was the runner-up at the Younes Hospitality UNK Open and placed third at the Midwest Classic.
 
Western owns a 16-11 edge in the all-time series but the Mavericks have won the last two matchups including a 24-7 win back on November 30 of this year.
 
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGIATE OPEN
Colorado Mesa is slated to send 21 wrestlers to the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open on Sunday at the Colorado School of Mines' Lockridge Arena. The tournament is designed for teams' redshirt and back-up wrestlers to get one more chance at gaining some mat experience and matches.
 
Western Colorado, Air Force and Air Force Prep currently have wrestlers entered in the tournament so far with another half a dozen schools expected to be entered during the week.
 
COACHING STAFF
Head coach Mike Mendoza enters his fifth season with the program and second year as the head of the program. 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 as he led the Mavericks to their third straight RMAC Championship by going a perfect 7-0 in conference duals and a 9-4 overall dual record.
 
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 is back as the top assistant for his second season and third overall with the program. Pipher, a three-time Colorado State Champion, wrestled for Cael Sanderson at Penn State for four seasons before graduating.
 
Donnie Negus, Joe Ritzen, Tim Romero, and Collin Metzgar are also helping the program in the wrestling room.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will be off until the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament on Pueblo, Colo. on Saturday March 2. The Mavericks will take their 10-man lineup to Massari Arena for a shot at earning a trip to the NCAA National Championship tournament.
 
COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP
125: Dayson Torgerson, Fr., Aurora, Utah (14-8 overall)
133: Oran Huff, RSo., Lyons, Colo. (14-9 overall)
141: Denim Torgerson, RSo., Aurora, Colo. (9-9 overall)
149: Juan Garcia, So., Johnstown, Colo. (11-10 overall)
157: Owen Cline, RFr., Orting, Wash. (13-7 overall)
165: Tanner Baumgartner, RSo., Keenesburg, Colo. (7-12 overall)
174: Gus Dalton, RSo., Emery, Utah (11-6 overall)
184: #7 Jason Bynarowicz, RJr., Broomfield, Colo. (18-3 overall)
197: Gabe Carranza, RJr., Victorville, Calif. (21-6 overall)
285: Tyler Doyle, So., Littleton, Colo. (21-4 overall)