GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's wrestling team will look to defend its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament title on Saturday when the Mavs compete in the Cadet East Gym on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
 
Action will begin at 10 a.m. with the first session, which will include the preliminary round matches through the third and fifth place matches.  The slate of championship bouts for each of the ten weight classes will begin at 3 p.m.
 
All of the action can be seen with a yearly, season or daily subscription to the RMAC Network (more information below).
 
Check back to CMU schedule page on Saturday morning for a link to the live results.
 
A full recap of the day's action will be posted on www.cmumavericks.com on Saturday evening.
 
Ticket Information/Accessing the Academy
 
Tickets for the day can be purchased through the RMAC Championship website at https://fan.hudl.com/tickets/VGlja2V0ZWRFdmVudDY4ZWQ1YzAxMzQxYjA5NGY2ZDVkNmEzMQ==
 
Additionally, all spectators and participants must complete this security form here to access the Air Force Academy campus and have their Real ID presented at the gate.  Attendees without a Real ID will need to present their passport at the South Gate.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks claimed a 30-18 RMAC road dual win over Adams State on Sunday afternoon.  The Mavs won three matches by pin and two others by 11-0 technical fall margins while picking up a forfeit at 207 pounds to claim the victory.
 
The lead in the dual changed hands on five separate occasions before the Mavs won the final three bouts at 160, 180 and 207 pounds to claim the victory.
 
Adriana Gomez (110), Brooke McCurley (131) and Kimberly Carlin (180) all won by fall while Lorianna Piestewa (124) and Valerie Glenn (260) both recorded the technical fall victories.
 
A full recap can be seen below: https://cmumavericks.com/news/2026/1/25/womens-wrestling-mavs-claim-30-18-road-win-in-back-and-forth-dual.aspx
 
RMAC Championship History
 
The Mavericks won the initial RMAC Tournament team title in 2025 crowning five champions and nine finalists.  The Mavs scored 149 ½ team points to out-pace regular season dual meet champion Simon Fraser by 20 ½ points.
 
Three returning Mavericks in Jojo McDaniel (117), Lorianna Piestewa (124) and Hania Halverson (131) won titles in 2025.
 
Halverson was also one of a conference-high six Mavericks to have won a weight class at the inaugural 2024 RMAC Women's Wrestling Championships.  No official team scores were kept at that year's championships.
 
Probable Lineup
 
Each of the RMAC's five teams are limited to 15 entries with no more than two in a particular weight class.  Only the top finisher in each weight class will contribute towards the team score.
 
The Mavs expect to have a full lineup of 15, including at least one representative in each weight class.
 
Here is a look at the Mavs' probable lineup along with their 2025-26 season records.
 
103 – #3 Mia Zuniga (18-5) and Kinlee Brandley (7-12)
110 – Adriana Gomez (24-11)
117 – #10 Sophia Cornish (20-9) and Jojo McDaniel (17-13)
124 – #4 Lorianna Piestewa (18-4)
131 – Brooke McCurley (16-8) and Thalia Vogelsang (13-7)
138 – Keyla Ajoleza (9-6)
145 – Mollie Dare (6-6)
160 – Celina Preston (19-10) and Valerie Glenn (11-2)
180 – Maggie Smith (9-10) and Kimberly Carlin (14-10)
207 – #6 Jayleen Sekona (22-7)
 
Previous RMAC Experience
 
Eight Maverick in this year's lineup have previous RMAC Championship experience.  All eighth have placed, including Jojo McDaniel and Lorianna Piestewa, who will look to defend their 117 and 124-pounds titles, respectively, on Saturday.

Here's some quick notes about the Mavericks veterans' previous RMAC Championship experience.

• Adriana Gomez- Went 3-1 to place third at the 2024 RMAC Championships in the 109-pound bracket.
• Sophia Cornish- Went 1-1 to take second in the 110-pound bracket in 2025.
• Jojo McDaniel- Went 2-0 to win the RMAC's 117-pound title.  She was also named as the RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2025.
• Lorianna Piestewa- Went 3-0 and won the 124-pound RMAC bracket last year.
• Brooke McCurley- Went 2-1 and took third at 124 pounds last year.
• Valerie Glenn- Went 2-2 and placed fifth at 138 pounds in 2025 after going 2-2 while placing fourth at the 2024 tournament in the 143-pound bracket.
• Celina Preston – Went 1-1 and placed second behind teammate Erica Smith at 145 pounds in 2025.  She went 1-2 and finished fourth in the 155-pound bracket in 2024.
• Kimberly Carlin- Went 2-2 and placed fourth in 2025 after going 1-1 to take second behind teammate Caylee Collins in the 170-pound bracket in 2024.

Honors at Stake
 
The 2025-26 All-RMAC honors will solely be based on the results from this weekend's tournament.  The individual champion in each weight class will earn First Team All-RMAC honors while the other finalist will claim second team honors.
 
Ten-Win Seasons
 
The Mavs' dual victory over Adams State on Sunday was their tenth of the season and allowed the Mavs to reach double figures for dual wins for the fourth straight season.
 
They are now 10-8 with one dual remaining against Chadron State next Friday.
 
The Mavs went 13-3 in duals last season after going 11-5 in 2023-24 and 14-2 in 2022-23. 
 
The Mavs' dual meet schedule this season has been particularly challenging as has seen the Mavs contest nine duals against fellow nationally-ranked squads including No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 McKendree and current No. 4 Grand Valley State, who was ranked third at the time.
 
The Mavs also defeated NAIA No. 4 Providence earlier this season.
 
Streaky Mavs
 
Three different Mavericks, including two in the Mavs lineup for this week, will enter the RMAC Championships with winning streaks of five or more.
 
Lorianna Piestewa has the longest winning streak, claiming her last eight bouts in the month of January.
 
Mia Zuniga won her last six matches of the 2025 calendar year but has missed the January portion of the schedule due to injury.  She will return to the mat this week.
 
Hania Halverson has won her last five matches but is not in the Maverick lineup this week.
 
Gretchen Donally had won eight straight matches before being charged with a loss by injury default in her 145-pound match of Sunday's dual at Adams State.  That injury will keep her out this week.
 
Top Seeds
 
Five of the Mavericks in Saturday's tournament have been seeded first in their respective weight classes.
 
That list includes Mia Zuniga (103), Adriana Gomez (110), Sophia Cornish (117), Keyla Ajoleza (138) and Jayleen Sekona (207).  Lorianna Piestewa (124) and Celina Preston (160) are both seeded second.
 
Record & Century Watch
 
CMU redshirt senior 207-pounder Jayleen Sekona has matched former Maverick great Marissa Gallegos for the program's all-time wins record at 94 and will attempt to become the winningest Maverick in program history this weekend.
 
Sekona, a 3-time all-American out of Anchorage, Alaska, will set a new record with her next win, which could come on Saturday.
 
She is also just six career wins shy of 100.
 
Sekona now has a 94-33 career record.

Gallegos went 94-8 in her Maverick career, highlighted by a 2023 national championship and undefeated 28-0 season.  Gallegos is the only Maverick women's wrestler to have won a national title.
 
National Rankings
 
A new edition of the NWCA NCAA Women's Coaches' Poll was released on Friday, Jan. 16.  The Mavs remained in the No. 7 spot as a team and continue to have five nationally-ranked individuals, who combine to give
 
The Mavericks still have five individually ranked wrestlers, who combined to earn 28 tournament power index ranking points, five more than the 23 they had in the previous (Dec. 19 rankings).
 
Mia Zuniga leads the group and continues to sit third at 103 pounds.  Lorianna Piestewa moved up three spots to fourth at 124 pounds  while Jayleen Sekona dropped one spot to sixth in the 207-pound rankings.  Gretchen Donally was able to move up one spot to ninth in the 145-pound rankings while Sophia Cornish maintained her No. 10 ranking at 117 pounds.
 
The Mavs and No. 11 (tie) Simon Fraser are the two nationally-ranked teams in the RMAC field. The Red Leafs have three nationally-ranked wrestlers in Ella Finding (#8, 131), Liv Weiber (#4, 145) and Julia Richey (#7, 207).

Adams State, Chadron State and Texas Woman's do not have any nationally-ranked wrestlers.
 
Iowa continues to sit atop the team rankings and is followed by McKendree, North Central and Grand Valley Sate and King.
 
The full rankings can be seen here: https://nwcaonline.com/news/2026/1/16/national-wrestling-coaches-association-ncaa-womens-individual-rankings-reshuffle-following-national-duals.aspx
 
Home Mat Dominance
 
In official action, the Mavericks are now 16-1 all-time in home duals in this their eighth season with a program and have won 16 consecutive times inside Brownson Arena.  The Mavs' only home dual loss came on Oct. 27, 2018, the very first day of the program's history to then NAIA No. 1 Wayland Baptist.
 
The Mavs have just one remaining home dual this season, which will come on next Saturday (Feb. 7) against Chadron State.
 
An historic year
 
The NCAA will sponsor a championship in the sport of women's wrestling for the first time in 2025-26.  The collegiate championship, featuring teams from all three divisions of the NCAA, will be held on Mar. 7-8, 2026 in Coralville, Iowa.
 
A total of 18 wrestlers in each of the ten weight classes will qualify through one of six NCAA regional tournaments on the weekend of Feb. 21-22.  The Mavericks will wrestle out the Region VI tournament, which will be hosted by Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
 
Only three wrestlers from each weight class at each regional will advance to the national tournament.
 
Another notable change is that teams will only be allowed to send one wrestler in each weight class to the regional.
 
The Region VI field includes 18 teams from around the Western half of the United States plus the lone Canadian team in the NCAA— Simon Fraser.
 
All five RMAC teams are part of the region along with Fort Hays State (Kan.), Lindenwood (Mo.), Linfield (Ore.), Lyon (Ark.) McKendree (Ill.), McMurray (Texas), Minot State (N.D.), Pacific (Ore.), Schreiner (Texas), Sioux Falls (S.D.), Vanguard (Calif.), Westminster (Mo.) and William Jewell (Mo.).
 
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, although a Peak Pricing promotion is currently available through Jan. 30, which would lower the annual cost by 25 percent to $95. Using the code RMACSPRING26 during the purchasing price.
 
A RMAC Championship pass can be purchased for $15.  Those passes are included with monthly or annual subscriptions.
 
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 close out the dual portion of the season hosting Chadron State in the team's Senior Night dual at 6 p.m. following the 4 p.m. men's dual between the Mavs and Eagles.
 
That night will also be CMU's Pajama Night promotion.