GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's seventh-ranked Colorado Mesa University Maverick women's wrestling team will open up 2026 taking on many of the best teams in the country at this weekend's NWCA/USMC National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa while a different contingent of backups will head to Chadron, Nebraska for Chadron State's Eagle Women's Open.
 
The Mavericks, who have a 4-6 dual meet record, have been seeded seventh in the 16-team NCAA Women's Combined Division of the National Duals and will take on West Liberty at 2:30 p.m. CDT (1:30 p.m. Mountain) on Friday in their opening match-up inside the UNI-Dome.
 
The Mavs will then wrestle either No. 2 seed McKendree or Gannon in their second match later that day at 4 p.m. CDT (3 p.m. Mountain). 
 
Remaining match-ups in the bracket-style event that will run through Saturday, which features more than 100 of the top wrestling programs in four men's and three women's divisions.
 
More information about the Multi-Division Dual Meet Championships, can be found at www.nwcaonline.com.
 
Follow the Mavs
 
Fans can watch the action at the National Duals with a paid subscription to FloWrestling.  Live results will also be available here.
 
The complete bracket can be seen here and recaps of the Mavs' efforts will be posted on cmumavericks.com after each day's competition.
 
Live results of the Eagle Women's Open can also be found on FloWrestling at this link.  A live stream through the RMAC Network (subscription required) can be accessed here.
 
National Duals History
 
The Mavericks took sixth at last year's NWCA National Duals and went 3-2.
 
They have wrestled in the event in three of the previous five years placing fourth in both 2020 and 2023 before taking eighth in 2024.  They were also slated to compete in the 2022 event but were unable to make it due to weather-related travel difficulties.  The 2021 event was canceled due to COVID ramifications.
 
The Mavs have a 9-9 overall record in their four previous appearances.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks wrapped up 2025 competing at the Wartburg Desert Duals on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Mavs went 1-4 throughout the day in the Flamingo Hilton Hotel, falling to four nationally-ranked foes, three of which were ranked in the top eight, before bouncing back to close out the day with a 40-10 win over Vanguard.
 
Although the team results did not go quite as well as hoped, the Mavs did have some big highlights as Jayleen Sekona and Mia Zuniga both claimed wins over top-ranked wrestlers.  Zuniga went 4-0 throughout the day and was later named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week.
 
Thalia Vogelsang also claimed a win over sixth-ranked Hanna Palise of Grand Valley State in the dual with the third-ranked Lakers.
 
A full recap and listing of all the Mavs' results can be seen here.
 
National Rankings

A new edition of the NWCA NCAA Women's Coaches' Poll was released on Dec. 19, just two days after the Desert Duals.  The Mavs were ranked seventh as a team, two spots lower than they had been in the Dec. 4 edition of the rankings.
 
The Mavericks still have five individually ranked wrestlers, who combined to earn 23 tournament power index ranking points.
 
Mia Zuniga, who is unavailable for this weekend's action due to injury, leads the group and is now ranked third at 103 pounds after moving up five spots from eighth in the Dec. 4 edition of the rankings. 
 
Jayleen Sekona is now ranked fifth at 207 but dropped one spot from her previous No. 4 ranking.
 
Lorianna Piestewa is now ranked seventh at 124 while Sophia Cornish and Gretchen Donally are both ranked tenth at 117 and 145 pounds, respectively.
 
Eight of the top nine teams in the rankings are in the bracket for this weekend's National Duals, including top-ranked Iowa.
 
The full rankings can be seen here: https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/12/19/national-wrestling-coaches-association-iowa-holds-firm-at-no-1-as-king-breaks-into-the-top-five.aspx
 
Record Watch
 
Jayleen Sekona went 3-2 at the Desert Duals and moved in to sole possession of second place on the Mavs' all-time career wins chart with 90.  The redshirt senior out of Anchorage, Alaska is now just four wins away from matching Marissa Gallegos' program record of 94 career wins, a mark she could equal or surpass as soon as this weekend.
 
Sekona, a 3-time all-American, had entered the Desert Duals tied with Jennesis Martinez for second place on the all-time wins chart at 87 and now has a 90-32 career victory.
 
Probable Lineups
 
Head Coach Travis Mercado will take 15 women to Iowa while assistant coach Grace Kristoff will take 14 women, including two who will compete unattached to Saturday's Eagle Women's Open.
 
Here is a look at the Mavs' lineup for both events, listed by weight class.
 
NWCA National Duals
103: Kinlee Brandley
110: Adriana Gomez
117: #10 Sophia Cornish, Jojo McDaniel
124: #7 Lorianna Piestewa & Brooke McCurley
131: Hania Halverson & Thalia Vogelsang
138: Delarie Juarez
145: #10 Gretchen Donally
160: Celina Preston, Taylor Colangelo
180: Maggie Smith, Kimberly Carlin
207: #5 Jayleen Sekona
 
Eagle Women's Open (Team Entries Only)
103: Alissa Perez
110: Kiera Hersel
117: Morgan Johnson, Rachel Jones, Bella Morales
124: Miah Weldon
131: Alyssa Jackson, Emily Zachary
138: Bella Terrian
145: None
160: Abygayle England, Valerie Glenn
180: None
207: Alena Bartley
 
About the National Duals Opponents
 
West Liberty
 
West Liberty University of West Liberty, West Virginia will bring an impressive 14-3 dual meet record into Friday afternoon's match-up.  The Hilltoppers have won nine straight duals and went 3-0 in their Hilltopper duals on Dec. 21 before the holiday break.
 
They are in their second year of the program's existence and went 9-3 in their debut season, qualifying five women for the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships, all of whom are on this year's roster.  That list includes Jeulenea Khang, Grace O'Korn, Skyelar Smith, Janiya Brogan and Jamie Shapton.
 
McKendree
 
The Bearcats, who hail from Lebanon, Illinois, sport a perfect 11-0 record in duals meets this season and have won 13 straight and 16 of their last 17 duals since last year's NWCA Duals, when they placed third.
 
They are ranked second as a team in the current national rankings and have three top-ranked, four second ranked and nine overall nationally-ranked wrestlers.  Their No. 1's are Gabrielle Tedesco (110), Yu Sakamoto (117) and Shelby Moore (124).  Heather Crull (103), Haylie Jaffe (138), Savannah Gomez (160) and Destiny Rodriguez (180) are all ranked second in their respective weight classes while Alex Szkotnicki is ranked third at 131 while Eduarda Rodrigues is ninth at 145 pounds.
 
Gannon
 
The Golden Knights, who hail from Erie, Pennsylvania are currently tied for 18^th in the NWCA rankings.  They have three nationally-ranked wrestlers in Jada Bedeyos-Chaves (10^th, 103 lbs.), Sierra Chiesa (8^th, 131) and Bella Phillips (8^th, 180).
 
They have a 6-3 dual meet record and went 3-1 at the Gannon Women's Duals on Dec. 6 before taking 20^th at the North Central Open before the holiday break.
 
They finished 14^th at last year's NCWWC National Championships.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavs have not previously take on West Liberty in a dual.  They are 0-5 against McKendree, having wrestled against them three times at the national duals.
 
CMU has also not faced Gannon in a dual.
 
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 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.).
 
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 be back in the Midwestern plains next week competing in the York Open in York, Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 17 before taking on regional foes Fort Hays State and Sioux Falls in a tri-dual on Saturday, Jan. 18 in Hays, Kansas.