GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's wrestling team will help make history this weekend as the Mavs compete in the NCAA Region VI Championships in St. Charles, Missouri and Hyland Arena.
 
The tournament, hosted by Lindenwood University, will feature 15 teams and will qualify the top three wrestlers in each of the ten weight classes for the Mar. 6-7 NCAA Championships in Coralville, Iowa, the first NCAA sponsored championship for the sport.
 
Action will begin at 11 a.m. CST (10 a.m. Mountain) on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
Tickets are available here.
 
Live results, brackets and streams of the matches will be available on TrackWrestling at this link.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks wrapped up the regular season with a 34-12 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Senior Night Dual win over Chadron State on Feb. 7.
 
The Mavs won the eight bouts, including four by pins and another by forfeit. 
 
The victory allowed the Mavs to finish with an 11-8 dual meet record, including a 3-1 mark in RMAC duals as they claimed second place in the final standings.
 
Prior to the dual, the Mavericks honored their eight seniors and social media manager Adelaide Martinsen.
 
"Defending Champs"
 
Although this will be the first NCAA sponsored regional championship, the Mavericks have won a regional title in the last three years.  They won the NCWWC Region 5 Tournament that they hosted in 2023, crowning five champions.
 
They also had five champions at the 2024 NCWWC Region VI Tournament, which they won in Denton, Texas.
 
They then returned to Denton for the NCWWC Region 8 Tournament, which they won last year.
 
Lorianna Piestewa and Gretchen Donally both won individual titles.
 
Queens of the RMAC
 
Adriana Gomez (110 pounds), Sophia Cornish (117) and Jayleen Sekona (207) all won RMAC titles the Jan. 31 conference tournament.  The Mavericks have now won a conference-leading 14 RMAC weight class championships in the 3-year history of the tournament out of a possible 30.
 
They were also named to the First Team All-RMAC squad that was officially announced on Wednesday.  Jojo McDaniel, who took second behind Cornish at 117 pounds, and Celina Preston, the RMAC runner-up at 160 pounds, were also officially named as Second Team All-RMAC performers.
 
Maverick record and Century Watch
 
Jayleen Sekona picked up her 95^th and 96^th career victories en route to the RMAC title and in the process, became the winningest Maverick women's wrestler in program history.  She then won for the 97^th time during her Senior Night dual over Chadron State's Esther Peters.
 
A 3-time all-American out of Anchorage, Alaska, Sekona now has a 97-33 career record and two more wins than former record holder Marissa Gallegos recorded.
 
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.
 
Sekona is now just three wins away from reaching the 100 mark and has a very realistic chance of doing so this weekend.
 
Lineup Look
 
Here is a look at the Mavs' lineup for the regional championships.
 
103 – #3 Mia Zuniga (19-5)
110 – Adriana Gomez (27-11)
117 – #8 Sophia Cornish (23-9)
124 – #5 Lorianna Piestewa (22-5)
131 – Hania Halverson (16-11)
138 – Keyla Ajoleza (12-7)
145 – #10 Gretchen Donally (26-10)
160 – Celina Preston (21-11)
180 –Kimberly Carlin (17-12)
207 – #7 Jayleen Sekona (25-7)
 
Seeds
 
All ten of the Mavericks are seeded for this tournament.  Seven of those are ranked amongst the top three. 
 
Lorianna Piestewa is seeded first at 124 pounds while Mia Zuniga (103), Gretchen Donally (145) and Jayleen Sekona (207) are all seeded second.  Adriana Gomez (110), Sophia Cornish (117) and Celina Preston (117) are all seeded third in their weight classes.
 
Hania Halverson is seeded fifth at 131 pounds while Maggie Smith is seeded sixth at 180 pounds and Keyla Ajoleza is seeded seventh at 138 pounds.
 
Ten-Win Seasons
 
With their 11 dual wins this season, the Mavericks reached double figures for the fourth straight season.
 
They went 14-2 in 2022-23, 11-5 in 2023-24 and 13-3 last year before posting their 11-8 record this season.  The Mavericks' schedule this season this season was quite challenging and saw the Mavs take on eight different nationally-ranked opponents a combined nine times. 
They are now 10-8 heading in to this Saturday's dual against Chadron State.
 
Quest for the Single-Season Record
 
Six different Mavericks have recorded 20 or more wins this season and many of those have a shot at setting the Mavs' single-season record, which is currently held by Claire DiCugno, who went 31-8 during the 2021-22 season.
 
Adriana Gomez now leads the Mavericks with 27 wins (27-11).  Gretchen Donally is just one win behind with a 26-10 record.  Jayleen Sekona is 25-7 while Sophia Cornish is 23-9 while Lorianna Piestewa is 22-5.  Celina Preston is 21-11.
 
Twenty times Four
 
With her RMAC Tournament semifinal win, Celina Preston became the first Maverick to ever record 20 or more wins in four seasons.  She then added another by forfeit in the Chadron State dual.  Preston now has 85 career wins, the fourth highest total in program history behind only Jayleen Sekona (97), Marissa Gallegos (94) and Jennesis Martinez (87).
 
National Rankings

A new edition of the NWCA NCAA Women's Coaches' Poll was released on Thursday, Feb. 19.  The Mavs are now ranked eighth as a team and continue to have five nationally-ranked individuals, who combine to give the Mavs 25 points in the Tournament Power Index, which determines the rankings.
 
Mia Zuniga leads the group and continues to sit third at 103 pounds.  Lorianna Piestewa dropped a spot from the previous set of rankings and is now ranked fifth at 124 pounds.        while Jayleen Sekona also dropped one spot to seventh in the 207-pound rankings.
 
Meanwhile, Sophia Cornish and Gretchen Donally are now both ranked tenth at 117 and 145 pounds, respectively.
 
A look at the competition
 
The Mavericks are one of six nationally-ranked teams that will compete in the Region VI Championships, one of six around the country this weekend.  No. 2 McKendree, No. 12 (tie) Fort Hays State, No. 15 (tie) Simon Fraser, No. 18 William Jewell and No. 21 Lindenwood are the others.
 
Additionally, 23 total wrestlers from the region are ranked amongst the top ten in the nation.
 
The 117-pound bracket is especially loaded with four nationally-ranked wrestlers, meaning that at least one will not make it to the national tournament as only three wrestlers in each weight class will move on.
 
All ten weight classes have at least one ranked wrestler coming into the weekend.
 
Here is a look at all of the nationally-ranked wrestlers by weight class:
 
103: #1 Heather Crull (McKendree), #3 Mia Zuniga (Colorado Mesa)
110: #3 Gabrielle Tedesco (McKendree), #7 Emily Mendez (William Jewell)
117: #1 Yu Sakamoto (McKendree), #5 Alex Waitsman (William Jewell), #8 Sophia Cornish (Colorado Mesa), #9 Leiannah Landreth (Fort Hays State)
124: #5 Lorianna Piestewa (Colorado Mesa), #7 Shelby Moore (McKendree)
131: #1 Cameron Guerin (McKendree), #10 Ella Finding (Simon Fraser)
138: #3 Haylie Jaffe (McKendree), #5 Jacinda Espinosa (Lindenwood)
145: #4 Liv Weiber (Simon Fraser), #9 Alexis Gomez (McKendree), #10 Gretchen Donally (Colorado Mesa)
160: #2 Savannah Gomez (McKendree)
180: #2 Isabella Renfro (Fort Hays State), #3 Destiny Rodriguez (McKendree)
207: #1 Tristan Kelly (McKendree), #7 Jayleen Sekona (Colorado Mesa), #8 Julia Richey (Simon Fraser)
 
Home Mat Dominance
 
The Mavericks 34-12 win over Chadron State allowed the Mavs to complete a perfect home season.  The Mavs went 4-0 in official home duals this season and are now 17-1 all-time in home duals in this their eighth season with a program.
 
They have won 17 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.
 
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. 6-7, 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.
 
Region VI includes 18 teams from around the Western half of the United States plus the lone Canadian team in the NCAA— Simon Fraser.
 
However, three of the 18 teams did not meet minimum participation requirements this season and will not be allowed to compete this weekend.
 
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.). 
 
Lyon, McMurray and Westminster were the schools that failed to hit the minimums.
 
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
 
Mavericks that finish in the top three this weekend will advance to the inaugural NCAA Championships on Mar. 6-7 in Coralville, Iowa.