The No. 23 Colorado Mesa men's wrestling team has just one competition this week as they will head to the Cornhusker State for a matchup with the Chadron State Eagles in an important Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual. This week's dual will feature a pair of ranked matchups that we will highlight in this week's preview.
THE OPENING BOUT
The first of two scheduled nationally ranked matchups features No. 7 ranked Dayson Torgerson from Colorado Mesa and No 9 ranked Hunter Jacobson of Chadron State at 125 pounds. This will not be the first matchup of the season for the two wrestlers as they competed against each other at the Midwest Classic in December with Torgerson coming out on top with a 13-5 major decision victory.
Torgerson enters the matchup with a 13-4 overall record this season with one of those losses to No. 6 ranked Anthony Anciete of Tiffin while Jacobson enters with a 13-6 record with losses to No. 2 Jaxson Rohman, No. 4 Isaiah Gamez and he fell last week to Christian Lopez of Mines.
NEXT MAN UP
Colorado Mesa's Jason Bynarowicz and Chadron State's Keegan Gelhausen have formed a bit of a friendly rivalry since the two were inserted into their respective school's starting lineup three years ago. Gelhausen, ranked No. 7, holds the upper hand this season with a win over Bynarowicz, ranked No. 15, at the Midwest Classic 6-5 in the quarterfinals.
Over the past three years, they have met up five times currently with No. 6 scheduled for Friday. Bynarowicz holds the all-time edge 3-2 with all of his wins coming by pin and the two losses coming by a combined three points.
All-Time Matchups
12/14/2024: Gelhausen dec. Bynarowicz, 6-5 (Midwest Classic)
3/2/2024: Bynarowicz pins Gelhausen, 3:53 (NCAA Super Region Tournament)
1/28/2024: Bynarowicz pins Gelhausen, 2:46
2/25/2023: Gelhausen dec. Bynarowicz, 5-3
2/11/2023: Bynarowicz pins Gelhausen, 4:47
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
The Chadron State Eagles are receiving votes in the most recent NWCA rankings with a pair of ranked wrestlers in Hunter Jacobson (No. 9) at 125 pounds and Keegan Gehlhausen (No. 7) at 184 pounds. The Eagles are coming off their first dual and first dual loss of the season as they fell to No. 16 Colorado School of Mines last week.
The Eagles are coming off the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship as they went a perfect 8-0 in duals. It was the first wrestling title for the Eagles since 1995 and the first for head coach Brett Hunter who was a two-time NCAA National Champion for the Eagles in 2007 and 2009.
Chadron State has six duals between now and February 14 and will lead up to the NCAA Super Region VI Tournament which will be held in Gunnison at Western Colorado this season on March 1.
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
Colorado Mesa will return home next week for a dual in Brownson Arena as they welcome in the Adams State Grizzlies for a men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday with action beginning at 2:00pm.
COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP
125: #7 Dayson Torgerson, So., Aurora, Utah (13-4 overall)
133: #15 Oran Huff, RJr., Lyons, Colo. (12-6 overall)
141: Denim Torgerson, RJr., Aurora, Utah (7-5 overall)
149: Alex Castaneda, RSo., Eaton, Colo. (15-7 overall)
149: Owen Cline, So., Orting, Wash. (5-2 overall)
157: Sammy Mobly, RFr., Castle Pines, Colo. (5-6 overall)
157: Tommy Thomas, RFr., Severance, Colo. (7-9 overall)
165: Will Alvarado, RFr., Fort Lupton, Colo. (2-9 overall)
165: Wil Moneypenny, RFr., Berthoud, Colo. (8-6 overall)
174: Gus Dalton, RJr., Emery, Utah (6-7 overall)
184: #15 Jason Bynarowicz, RSr., Broomfield, Colo. (14-4 overall)
197: #13 Gabe Carranza, RSr., Victorville, Calif. (8-6 overall)
285: #11 Tyler Doyle, Jr., Littleton, Colo. (14-4 overall)
