GUNNISON, Colo. - #9 Colorado School of Mines survived its toughest conference test of the season thus far, beating Western Colorado 19-13 to take over sole possession of first place in the RMAC.  

The Orediggers (7-2, 5-0 RMAC) entered the weekend as one of two unbeaten teams in the conference along with the Mountaineers (10-6, 3-1 RMAC) to set up a first-place showdown. With two duals left, Mines can now clinch at least a share of its second straight RMAC championship with a win over Adams State at home on Feb. 7.

With the dual starting at 165 pounds, Mines had the opportunity to put four nationally-ranked grapplers on the mat in the first five bouts, and reeled off five straight wins from them before Western Colorado tightened matters with three in a row of their own. It was Noah Ottum's dramatic overtime victory at 149 that sealed the dual as the Mountaineers could have potentially won up to that point.

#6 Skyler Lykins got things off to a great start at 165 with an 11-6 win over Hunter Mullin, and #2 Robert Gambrell prevailed in a nationally-ranked battle with #12 James LaConte, winning 9-6 at 174. #12 Anderson Salisbury beat Ruger Wyneken 10-5, and Nolan Funk picked up a key bonus-point major decision, 15-7, against Espen Weber thanks to a late takedown. #4 Weston Hunt battled to a 4-3 decision over Sammy Deseriere at heavyweight to lead 16-0.

Western's momentum began at 125 pounds where #10 Patrick Allis majored Jake Stogdill 14-4, and Cody Fatzinger outlasted Jake Woods in overtime, 8-6, at 133 before Jason Hanenberg won 4-3 over Wes Rayburn on riding time to tighten the score to 16-10 with two bouts left.

That set up Ottum and Giovanni Cassioppi at 149 pounds, and it turned into the match of the night. Cassioppi led 4-3 after two periods, but Ottum scored a takedown before the Mountaineer escaped to make it 5-5 at the end of three. That sent it to sudden victory where Ottum struck with a takedown to win 7-5, securing the dual for Mines; Cole Mortensen's 8-7 win over Ryan Fidel at 157 proved academic as it finished 19-13.

NOTABLES
- The win was Mines' first in Gunnison since 2002-03. The Orediggers have won two straight over Western.
- Lykins improved to a team-best 14-3 against D-II competition and 16-3 overall.
- Salisbury picked up his team-leading 18th victory of the season.
- Funk's major decision was his fourth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Lykins and Salisbury.
- Hunt moved to a perfect 4-0 in duals this season. 
- Ottum won his third straight to improve to 10-7, the third straight double-digit win season for the redshirt junior.

NEXT UP
Mines hosts #13 Adams State Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. in Volk Gym.
 

---

#9 Colorado School of Mines 19, #RV Western Colorado 13 [Full Scoring]
165: Skyler Lykins (CSM) over Hunter Mullin (WCU) (Dec 11-6)
174: Robert Gambrell (CSM) over James Laconte (WCU) (Dec 9-6)
184: Anderson Salisbury (CSM) over Ruger Wyneken (WCU) (Dec 10-5)
197: Nolan Funk (CSM) over Espen Weber (WCU) (MD 15-7)
285: Weston Hunt (CSM) over Sammy Deseriere (WCU) (Dec 4-3)
125: Patrick Allis (WCU) over Jake Stogdill (CSM) (MD 14-4)
133: Cody Fatzinger (WCU) over Jake Woods (CSM) (SV-1 8-6)
141: Jason Hanenberg (WCU) over Wesley Rayburn (CSM) (Dec 4-3)
149: Noah Ottum (CSM) over Giovanni Cassioppi (WCU) (SV-1 7-5)
157: Cole Mortenson (WCU) over Ryan Fidel (CSM) (Dec 8-7)