GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After cruising through the Tracy Borah Duals with a perfect record last Saturday, the nation's 18^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks (4-1, 1-0 RMAC) will travel to 16^th-ranked Adams State University (5-0, 1-0 RMAC) for a key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's wrestling matinee this Saturday (Jan. 17) in Alamosa and the Grizzlies' Plachy Hall.
 
The dual is slated to begin at 2 p.m. and can be seen live with a subscription to the RMAC Network (more information below).  Fans can also follow the dual through TrackWrestling at this link.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks opened the 2026 portion of the season in Gunnison last weekend with a group of 12 back-ups combining for 27 wins and an individual title at the Western Colorado Open on Friday.
 
Wil Moneypenny led four Maverick placers, claiming the 165-pound title.
 
The Maverick starter then fared quite well in Saturday's Tracy Borah Duals as the Mavericks won 24 of the 30 total bouts while posting lopsided dual wins over Cal Poly Humboldt (49-5), Vanguard (35-11) and Minot State (41-11).  The Mavs won 12 matches by pin throughout the dual sweep while six different Mavericks went 3-0.
 
Redshirt senior Ruben Samuelson won all three of his 285-pound matches by first-period pins as the Mavs closed out each dual in emphatic style.  Adonias Cantu (125), Alex Castaneda (149), Owen Cline (157), Will Alvarado (165) and Christian Pebley (174) all went 3-0 as well while Gabriel Carranza went 2-0 before resting in the Mavs' final dual against Minot State.
 
Adams State also competed in the Tracy Borah Duals, posting wins over the same three opponents and another against Menlo, who the Mavs did not face.
 
RMAC Honor
 
Thanks to his 3-0 day and three pins, Ruben Samuelson was named as the RMAC Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday.  He is the second Maverick to earn the honor this season joining Dec. 9 awardee Sammy Mobly.

Samuelson pinned all three of his opponents in the first period of the 285-pound bouts and needed just four minutes and three seconds combined to do so.
 
Dual Perfection
 
As a team, the Mavericks are undefeated at both 125 and 174 pounds in their seven duals, counting two exhibition wins on Nov. 1 against Colorado junior colleges.
 
Christian Pebley is also a perfect 7-0 in duals at 174 and is one of five Mavericks who have unbeaten dual records while wrestling in at least two.  Redshirt freshman Adonias Cantu is 6-0 at 125 while Owen Cline and Gabriel Carranza both sport a 4-0 record at 157 and 197 pounds, respectively.
 
AJ Hague, Juan Garcia and Brady Samuelson are all 2-0 in spot dual starts this season.
 
50+ Club
 
Redshirt junior Alex Castaneda became the fifth current Maverick to reach the 50 career win milestone over the weekend.  The Eaton, Colorado native has won nine of his last ten matches, including three wins on Saturday and now has 51 career victories in his CMU career.
 
Senior Tyler Doyle, who has only competed unattached this season leads the current Maverick roster with 73 career wins.  He sits just ahead of fifth-year senior Gabriel Carranza, who has 70 career victories.   Fellow redshirt senior Ryan Wheeler has 59 career wins to his credit.  Dayson Torgerson, who has also competed only unattached this season, has 57.
 
Probable Lineup
 
Here is a look at the weight-by-weight look at the Mavs' probable lineup for Saturday's dual.  Each wrestler's 2025-26 overall and dual meet records are listed in parenthesis.
 
125: Adonias Cantu (16-5 overall, 6-0 in duals)
133: AJ Hague (10-5, 2-0) OR Murphy Harris (3-0, 1-3)
141: Apollo Cruz (9-7, 3-1)
149: #6 Alex Castaneda (10-6, 3-2) OR Juan Garcia (2-1, 2-0)
157: #7 Owen Cline (5-1, 4-0)
165: Will Alvarado (12-0, 4-2)
174: Christian Pebley (11-6, 7-0)
184: Noah O'Dougherty (9-7, 5-2) OR Logan Noble (12-10, 0-0)
197: #7 Gabriel Carranza (11-3, 4-0)
285: Ruben Samuelson (9-4, 5-2)
 
Looking at the rankings
 
The National Wrestling Coaches Association released its latest set of NCAA Division II Coaches' Rankings on Dec. 17.  The Mavs continue to sit 18^th as a team as they were in both the preseason and first regular season edition of the rankings from Nov. 20.
 
The Mavericks also continue to have three nationally-ranked individuals, which all contributed points to the team rankings, which are formed by a tournament power index.
 
Following his fifth place finish at the Midwest Classic, Alex Castaneda moved back into the rankings in the No. 6 spot at 149 pounds.  He defeated two wrestlers who were in the previous set of rankings and was personally ranked 13th in the preseason edition of the rankings before falling out in the Nov. 20 rankings.  He is now 10-6 on the season.
 
The Mavs have a pair of men, ranked seventh in their respective weight classes.
 
Owen Cline, is in that spot at 157 pounds after sitting fifth in the Nov. 20 rankings.  He is 5-1 on the season.
 
Meanwhile, Gabriel Carranza moved up two spots to seventh at 197 pounds following his fourth place performance at the Midwest Classic, where he defeated the then No. 4, 11, 14 and 15 ranked wrestlers over the two days.  Carranza is now 11-3 on the year.
 
About the Grizzlies
 
The Adams State Grizzlies went 4-0 in Saturday's Tracy Borah Duals, which was their first dual action of the season after a tournament-filled fall semester.
 
They then opened up RMAC action with a 23-19 dual win at CSU Pueblo on Wednesday night.
 
They currently sit 16^th as a team in the NWCA Division II Coaches' Rankings with 27 ½ Tournament Power Index points, 4 ½ more than the Mavs.
 
Those points come from three individually ranked wrestlers in No. 3 Isaiah Gamez (125 pounds), No. 13 Kieran Thompson (141) and No. 3 Aaden Valdez (157).
 
Gamez and Valdez both went 4-0 on Saturday while Thompson went 3-0.
 
Gamez and Valdez also both recorded pins in Wednesday's victory over CSU Pueblo while Thompson was downed, 7-4 by the ThunderWolves' Eddie Bowman.
 
The Grizzlies trailed 12-6 through four bouts of Wednesday's before Valdez's pin at 157 sparked a 13-point run that along with bonus points proved to be the difference.  The Grizzlies and Pack split the bouts evenly as Malachi Rider, Levi Deaguero and Ben Tonnessen joined Gamez and Valdez as victors.
 
Friendly Bench Battle
 
Although they will go against each other on Saturday, Colorado Mesa head coach Mike Mendoza and Adams State head coach Jason Ramstetter have a long history together and are good friends off the mat, regularly planning fishing trips together.  They were college teammates at Cal State Bakersfield and both began their coaching careers at Adams State.
 
Mendoza was Ramstetter's first graduate assistant, starting in 1999, when Ramstetter, now in his 27^th season, started his coaching career as the Grizzlies' head coach.

As head coaches of the two programs, they have faced off with each other in duals three times with Mendoza and the Mavericks earning the win in 2023, 30-20 in Brownson Arena on their way to the RMAC title while Ramstetter and the Grizzlies earned the 2024 dual in Alamosa 23-15.   The Mavs then won last year's dual, 20-18 in Brownson Arena.
 
Series History
 
The rivalry between the Mavs and Grizzlies has been quite competitive.  The Mavs hold a 10-9 dual series lead over the Grizzlies since resuming their program in 2006-07. 
 
However, the Mavericks have controlled the series in recent times, winning five out of the last six and ten out of the last 12 duals after the Grizzlies won five strand and seven out of eight from 2007-14.
 
RMAC Network News
 
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 season.  This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
 
Colorado Mesa turns 100
 
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
 
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavs will have another RMAC dual next week, hosting the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. in Brownson Arena.