GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's wrestling team will put their youth on full display as the youngsters will kick off the 2026-27 season in Golden at the Mines Rookie Open on this Sunday.
Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. on multiple mats in the Colorado School of Mines' Steinhauer Fieldhouse.
Live results can be found here.
There will not be any live video coverage.
The Lineup
The Mavericks have entered 26 wrestlers for Sunday's tournament and are expected to be represented in nine of the ten weight classes. Twelve of the Mavs' entries are freshmen on the Maverick team who will make their collegiate debuts.
Two others in
Steve Caday and
Devin Kinlicheenie are transfers and will compete in a Maverick uniform for the first time. Caday has joined the CMU program after three seasons at NCAA Division I CSU Bakersfield while Kinlicheenie spent the 2025-26 season at New Mexico Highlands.
Here's a list of the Maverick entries by weight class.
125 (5):
Ian Bacon,
Colin George,
Mikey Medina,
Riley Valdez,
Teagan Young
133 (3):
Connor Peterson,
Kyden Silz,
Tanner Stone
141 (4):
Steve Caday,
Murphy Harris,
Kyle Holtberg,
Silas Varner,
Steve Caday
149: None
157 (3):
Izzy Acosta,
Mike Dickinson,
Auston Eudaly
165 (2):
Will Alvarado,
Kody Goss,
174 (2):
Levi DiCugno,
Gavin Ramos
184 (2):
Gunnar Neal,
Noah O'Dougherty
197 (4):
Adam Avila,
Kai Ford,
Devin Kinlicheenie,
Joe Trygstad
285 (1):
Xander Rose
Returning Placers
Four Mavericks who placed at last year's Mines Rookie Open are returning and looking to add on to their previous performances.
Levi DiCugno wrestled an impressive tournament last season placing second, while teammate
Gunnar Neal, expected to compete at 184 pounds on Sunday, earned a third place finish in the same 174-pound bracket. Wrestlers
Noah O'Dougherty (184) and
Joe Trygstad (197) earned fifth and sixth place finishes, respectively.
Preseason Predictions
The Mavericks have been predicted to take second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings,
according the conference's preseason coaches' poll. The Mavs fell just shy one point shy of the top spot in the poll as Adams State finished with 32 points while the Mavs garnered 31. The Mavs and Grizzlies both claimed three first place votes and two second place selection.
Colorado School of Mines also picked up a first place vote and finished third in the poll with 28 points.
The RMAC also announced the Preseason All-RMAC team in conjunction with the poll. 133-pound junior
AJ Hague was the lone Maverick to pick up an honor. The preseason all-conference team is made up of the top returning vote-getter from last year's all-conference voting process at each weight class.
National Rankings
Two Maverick veteran wrestlers in 125-pound senior
Dayson Torgerson and 149-pound fifth-year
Alex Castaneda have also been named to the
NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Associations) NCAA Division II Preseason Rankings.
Torgerson is slated to return to the lineup after redshirting in 2025-26 and claimed the No. 9 position in the rankings. Previously, he claimed all-America honors at the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships. His seventh place finish at nationals was part of a 23-8 sophomore campaign, which included a first place finish at the Super Region VI Championships. While redshirting last season, the Aurora, Utah native compiled a 15-3 record as an unattached wrestler at open tournaments.
Castaneda returns for his fifth year and earned a No. 5 preseason ranking after qualifying for the 2026 national tournament thanks to a third place finish at the Super Region VI Championships. He had a high-flying season earning bonus points in 11 of his 17 victories, seven of which came by way of pin.
Five in Five
In the offseason, NCAA Division II changed its eligibility rules to give student-athletes five full years of competition, while eliminating redshirts and other exemptions. That will have a big impact on college wrestling where wrestlers competing unattached during their redshirt seasons was common.
Up Next
The Mavericks will return to Golden for their first dual meet of the season and will take on Super Regional VI foe Vanguard next Friday (Nov. 13) at 5:30 p.m. in neutral-mat action.
CMU will host their first of just three home duals and open up their RMAC slate against New Mexico Highlands University on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.
