GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's wrestling team will look to continue their unbeaten dual season and clinch a share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title when they head out on their final road trip of the regular season on the front range.
 
The Mavericks, a perfect 8-0 overall and 4-0 in RMAC duals, will wrestle at CSU Pueblo on Thursday night at 6 p.m. before heading up to Golden to face the No. 16 Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Friday at the same time.
 
Victories in both would ensure that the Mavs would clinch a share of the title.
 
Both duals can be seen on the RMAC Network and will have live results via TrackWrestling at the links above.
 
Title Chase
 
The RMAC Championship is determined by the RMAC dual meet standings compiled through a round robin schedule.
 
Mines currently leads the RMAC standings with a 5-0 record, just ahead of the 4-0 Mavs, who can forge a tie atop the standings with a Thursday night win at CSU Pueblo, which is currently 2-2 in conference duals and still mathematically alive for a share of the RMAC title in fifth place.
 
If the Mavs are able to get past the ThunderWolves on Thursday, Friday's dual at Mines would then become a de-facto championship match-up with the winner guaranteed at least a share of the crown with the added possibility of going on to claim an outright title next week.
 
Mines will host Simon Fraser next Wednesday (Feb. 12) in their final dual while CMU will close out the regular season against Western Colorado next Thursday (Feb. 13).
 
Chadron State and Western Colorado are still alive for a share of the crown and are tied for third in the current standings 3-2 marks but will need to get some help.
 
Ranked Wrestlers
 
The Mavericks continue to have six individually ranked wrestlers, according to the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Rankings released on Jan. 20.  Five of those are included in the Mavs' probable lineup list below while 157-pounder Ryan Wheeler is out of the current lineup due to injury.
 
Thanks to those six men, the Mavericks sit 25^th in the NWCA team rankings, based on a point system calculated off the individual rankings to try to simulate a national tournament prediction and thus not always a good gauge of dual meet strength.   The Mavs have 16 points in those rankings.  Mines is ranked 16^th as a team with 27 ½ points and also has six individually ranked wrestlers.
 
No. 13 Western is then only other RMAC squad in the top 25.
 
COLORADO MESA PROJECTED LINEUP
125: #7 Dayson Torgerson, So., Aurora, Utah (14-5 overall)
133: #14 Oran Huff, RJr., Lyons, Colo. (13-7 overall)
141: Denim Torgerson, RJr., Aurora, Utah (8-6 overall)
149: Alex Castaneda, RSo., Eaton, Colo. (12-4 overall) OR Keyton Young (RFr., Collbran, Colo. (9-5 overall)
157: Owen Cline, So., Orting, Wash. (6-3 overall)
165: Will Alvarado, RFr., Fort Lupton, Colo. (2-11 overall) OR Wil Moneypenny, RFr., Berthoud, Colo. (8-6 overall)
174: Gus Dalton, RJr., Emery, Utah (7-8 overall)
184: #15 Jason Bynarowicz, RSr., Broomfield, Colo. (14-4 overall) OR Tanner Baumgartner, RJr., Keenesburg, Colo. (9-7 overall)
197: #10 Gabriel Carranza, RSr., Victorville, Calif. (10-6 overall)
285: #13 Tyler Doyle, Jr., Littleton, Colo. (16-4 overall)
 
Ranked Match-ups
 
There are two potential match-ups of ranked wrestlers set for Friday's dual with Mines as CMU's Dayson Torgerson is ranked seventh at 125 pounds, two spots ahead of Mines' Christian Lopez.
 
At 197 pounds, CMU's Gabriel Carranza is ranked tenth while Mines' Ryan Cody is 12^th.

Rest or Rhythm
 
The Mavericks will be well rested coming into this week's duals having last wrestled 12 days at home against Adams State on Jan. 25.  The Mavs, who were off last weekend, previous match-up was eight days before that on Jan. 17 at Chadron State.
 
Mines has had four duals over the past two weeks, all of which came in a 9-day span.  The Orediggers did go 4-0 in that stretch winning at CSU Pueblo on Jan. 24 before coming back home to beat Western Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 25.  The Orediggers then went on the road last weekend winning at Adams State on Saturday (Feb. 1) and New Mexico Highlands on Sunday (Feb. 2).
 
CSU Pueblo has had three duals over the past two weeks with trips to Central Oklahoma on Sunday, Jan. 26 and to Western Colorado this past Saturday after hosting Mines on Jan. 24.  They lost each of those duals after winning their previous eight.
 
Big Guy Delivery

The Mavericks have come from behind in each of their last two victories, edging Chadron State, 21-19 on the road on Jan. 17 before squeaking out a 20-18 home win over Adams State on Jan. 25.
 
In both duals, Maverick veterans Gabriel Carranza and Tyler Doyle came up with the necessary wins in the 197 and 285-pound weight classes, the last two bouts of each dual.
 
Against Adams State, the Mavericks trailed 18-3 through six matches and needed victories in each of the last four weight classes to have a chance at winning the dual.  Gus Dalton and Tanner Baumgartner, who replaced injured and nationally-ranked Jason Bynarowicz, also did their part with 174 and 184-pound decisions to pull the Mavs within striking distance at 18-9.
 
However, the Mavs still needed the bonus points, which Carranza and Doyle delivered as Carranza recorded a pin late in the first period of the 197-pound bout before Doyle registered a 20-4 technical fall win to give the Mavs the 2-point win.
 
Against Chadron State, the Mavericks were down 19-15 after giving up a forfeit at 184 before Carranza and Doyle claimed decision victories to push the Mavs to victory.
 
The big guy duo is a combined 13-2 in dual meets this year, with Doyle sporting a perfect 8-0 record while Carranza is 5-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 in RMAC duals.
 
Know your Foes
 
CSU Pueblo

The ThunderWolves, under the direction of veteran head coach Dax Charles, have put together a solid 8-5 dual meet season.  They won eight straight in late December and through mid-January before dropping their last three to nationally-ranked foes in No. 16 Mines, No. 5 Central Oklahoma and No. 13 Western Colorado, the last two which were 40-6 decisions.
 
Charles has a young probable lineup expected to go in Thursday's dual with the Mavs, featuring three freshman, three sophomores and three upperclassmen while leaving the 125-pound weight class open, a bout they have had to forfeit in the three recent losses.
 
133-pound freshman Eddie Bowman has 16 wins to lead the probable lineup while fellow freshman Kevin Boston sports at 12-3 record at the 149-pound weight class.  Boston was named as the RMAC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 14.
 
Henry Sturn, a sophomore, is also a wrestler to watch especially if the dual is tight, having registered a 15-9 record at 285 pounds.  Sturn is the only 2-time RMAC Wrestler of the Week this season, having received the awards on Dec. 10 and again on Jan. 21.
 
Cyruss Meeks, the only senior in Charles' probable lineup, is also a returning national qualifier at 157 pounds but has only posted a 4-7 record this year.
 
Colorado School of Mines
 
The Orediggers have also had a solid season, going 11-2 in duals while leading the RMAC standings with their aforementioned 5-0 conference mark.  They have won their last four overall since falling 25-19 in a regional match against Cal Poly Humboldt on Jan. 17.
 
Oredigger Coach Austin DeVoe has five nationally ranked wrestlers in his probable lineup for Friday's tilt, including No. 4 ranked Grayston DiBlasi at 141 pounds.  Fellow senior Christian Lopez is also ranked ninth at 125 pounds and was named as the RMAC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 7.  The duo are a combined 32-10 with DiBlasi, holding an 18-4 record and the claim of being a 2-time national qualifier.
 
DiBlasi is also third on the Orediggers' all-time wins chart with 91.
 
Freshman Marcus Caro, ranked 11^th at 157 pounds, leads the Orediggers with 20 wins while Wyatt Reisz (18-3) and Ryan Cody (12-6) are ranked 14^th and 12^th, respectively at 174 and 197 pounds.  Reisz was the Jan. 28 RMAC Wrestler of the Week.
 
Championship Pedigree
 
With the 2024-25 title possibly being decided on Friday, it is worth looking back at recent history, which will show the Mavericks and Orediggers as the championship programs of the RMAC.

Mines won the RMAC titles, decided by dual meet standings, in both 2018-19 and 2019-20 before the Mavericks started a string of three straight championship seasons in 2020-21, when the RMAC title was decided based on results from the Super Regional Championships because of COVID ramifications that thwarted much of the dual meet season.
 
The Mavericks then claimed the RMAC dual-meet titles in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 with perfect 7-0 RMAC records in both.
 
Chadron State won last year's RMAC title with an 8-0 mark as the Mavericks dropped three of their eight conference duals, including a 19-18 decision to Mines on criteria, while tying for third in the RMAC standings.  Mines went 6-2 last year taking second place in the conference standings behind the Eagles.
 
Over the last four seasons, including this one, the Mavericks have a conference-leading 25-3 mark in RMAC duals while the Orediggers are 22-5, the second best aggregate mark.
 
All-Time Series
 
The Mavs hold an 11-4 series lead over CSU Pueblo since the ThunderWolves resumed their program in 2008-09.  CMU has won the last four match-ups.  However, only one of those four wins have come on the road in Pueblo, a 27-16 decision on Feb. 2, 2023.
 
The ThunderWolves had won the three previous match-ups, including 2017 and 2019 decisions in Massari Arena.  CMU is 5-2 on the road against the Pack.
 
The Mavs are 11-9 against Mines in the modern era since 2006-07, but are just 4-6 in Golden.  The Orediggers have won four of the last six meetings with CMU's two wins coming in 2022 and 2023 en route to RMAC titles.  Mines won last year's match-up on criteria, 19-18 after the teams split the dual five matches each.  Mines won the third tie-breaker, 75-65 on total match points, snapping the Mavs' 12-dual home winning streak.
 
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.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend's swing, the Mavericks will close out the dual meet season with their Annual Battle in Brownson Dual sponsored by the Bank of Colorado next Thursday (Feb. 13).  The Mavs will take on arch-rival Western Colorado in that 6 p.m. contest.
 
The Mavs will then send a contingent of mostly reserves and redshirts to the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open next Saturday (Feb. 16) at Mines before the starters will compete at the NCAA Super Region VI Championships at Western Colorado on Mar. 1.
 
The top three individuals in each weight class from that regional, which will feature 12 teams, including all eight RMAC squads, will then qualify for the Mar. 14-15 NCAA Division II National Championships in Indianapolis.