MANHEIM, Pa. – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released their Preseason National Rankings on Friday (Oct. 23) afternoon. Colorado Mesa had three wrestlers check into the rankings and pushed the team to a top-10 preseason national ranking.
 
Mia Zuniga checks into the rankings at No. 4 at 103 pounds in the preseason rankings. The Toppenish, Wash. native finished the season with a 23-9 record and placed eighth at the NCAA National Championships to earn All-American honors. She went 7-1 in duals and had a nine-match winning streak from December 14 through February 22. Zuniga earned RMAC Wrestler of the Week on December 22 after earning a win over No. 1 ranked Rayana Sahagun of Grand Valley State during the Desert Duals in Las Vegas.
 
Senior Adriana Gomez will begin the season ranked No. 4 at 110 pounds. Gomez set the program record for wins in a season after going 32-15 and placed eighth at the NCAA National Championships to earn All-American honors. The Laveen, Ariz. won the RMAC Championship and garnered All-RMAC First Team honors. She finished with a 4-0 record in RMAC duals and had 13 tech fall victories and six pins.
 
Junior Lorianna Piestewa is the final Maverick in the preseason rankings as she also earned a No. 4 ranking at 117 pounds, down from 124 pounds where she wrestled her first two seasons. The Gallup, N.M. native went 27-8 during the season and placed fourth at the NCAA National Championships. Piestewa went a perfect 5-0 at the NWCA National Duals to earn RMAC Wrestler of the Week on January 13.
 
With the three highly ranked wrestlers, Colorado Mesa came in at the No. 8 spot in the NWCA National Poll. Inaugural NCAA National Champion McKendree will begin the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the country followed by Iowa, Presbyterian, North Central and King and Lehigh are tied for the No. 5 position.
 
The Mavericks will open the season with their annual Fall Brawl on Saturday November 7 against Texas Woman's at 5:00 PM.