#18 Colorado School of Mines vs. #21 Colorado Mesa, Saturday, 1 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results]
 

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OREDIGGERS START RMAC TITLE DEFENSE VS. COLORADO MESA
After handily beating #12 Fort Hays State in their season opener last week, #18 Colorado School of Mines begins its quest for a third straight RMAC championship by hosting Colorado Mesa Saturday for a 1 p.m. dual. The meet between the Orediggers (1-0) and Mavericks (3-2) will feature 28 bouts in all; after the main 10-match dual starting at 1 p.m., the 18 extra matches will spread across two mats, with both streamed live on the RMAC Network and live results via TrackWrestling.com.
 
NO SPECTATORS FOR MINES WINTER SPORTS
Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado, Colorado School of Mines' policy of not admitting spectators will continue for all winter sports – including wrestling - until further notice. Although Jefferson County was recently moved back to Level Orange by the state, facility capacity restrictions still make it impossible to welcome fans to campus at this time. Mines Athletics will continuously re-evaluate this policy as government guidance changes in the future.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines entered the season sitting at #16 in the NWCA Division II poll, but dropped two spots this week to #18 despite the win over Fort Hays State. Individually, Skyler Lykins is ranked #11 at 165 pounds, Anderson Salisbury #6 at 184, and Weston Hunt is #5 at 285. The Orediggers were also picked as the RMAC preseason favorite over Adams State. Saturday's dual will feature two top-10 match-ups as #11 Lykins meets #5 Fred Green at 165 and #6 Salisbury meets #7 Nolan Krone at 184 pounds.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Mines enters the season in a position it has never been in – two-time defending RMAC champion. The Orediggers ran the table last year going a perfect 7-0 in the conference; under regional coach of the year Austin DeVoe, Mines was 9-2 overall which included four wins over ranked opponents.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines began its season with a dominating 31-6 win over #12 Fort Hays State on Thursday. The Orediggers won eight bouts including falls by Noah Ottum at 149 pounds and #8 Skyler Lykins at 165. Jake Stogdill, Wes Rayburn, Carter Noehre, #6 Anderson Salisbury, Nolan Funk, and #5 Weston Hunt all picked up decisions, while Gabe Martinez battled into sudden victory in a loss to #2 Mason Turner and KJ Kearns hung tough with #6 Marty Verhaeghe in a 3-0 setback.
 
HUNT EARNS RMAC WEEKLY HONOR
Weston Hunt was selected as the RMAC Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday. In a top-10 showdown, Hunt punctuated Mines' win over Fort Hays State with a 4-2 victory over #10 AJ Cooper; Hunt did not surrender an offensive point as he exploded for a second-period reversal into a nearfall-2 to take the lead and the win. It is Hunt's third career RMAC honor, joining awards on Jan. 29, 2019 and Nov. 21, 2017.

THE RMAC PICTURE
Six of the eight RMAC wrestling programs are competing this winter, with New Mexico Highlands and San Francisco State opting out of competition. The Orediggers will wrestle a round-robin with the other five active teams (Adams State, Chadron State, Colorado Mesa, CSU Pueblo, and Western Colorado) and an RMAC champion will be crowned if at least five teams complete 50 percent of their round-robin.

LEADING THE WAY
Mines has selected three captains for the 2020-21 season, with veteran leaders Skyler Lykins and Noah Ottum returning along with redshirt freshman KJ Kearns.
 
RACKING UP THE WINS
Skyler Lykins is the Orediggers' active career leader in wins with 57, and with his pin over Fort Hays' Nick Lucas last week, Lykins also remains the Orediggers' leader in career falls at 22; he ranks sixth all-time in program history and his next one would tie him for fifth with former teammate Jake Woods. Weston Hunt, at 48-19 in his career, is approaching the 50-win milestone, and his 16 career falls are tied for 10th all-time at Mines.
 
MINES VS. COLORADO MESA SERIES
Mines and Colorado Mesa are meeting for the 31st time since 1953, with CMU holding a 21-8-1 all-time lead. Mines has won the last two, however, including a 28-11 victory in Grand Junction a year ago that included pins by Ryan Fidel and Weston Hunt and Nolan Funk's overtime upset of then-#8 Donnie Negus.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks are 4-2 this season but own three wins over ranked opponents, knocking off #23 Newman 22-14, #12 Fort Hays State 22-21, and #10 Adams State 32-13. They beat Chadron State on Thursday night, 34-12, with four straight pins from 165 to 197. Like Mines, CMU is strong at the upper weights, led by #7 Nolan Krone at 184 pounds (6-0) and by a trio of 2020 NCAA qualifiers in Fred Green at 165, Seth Latham at 174, and Donnie Negus at 197.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE CHANGE
Mines has rescheduled the postponed Western Colorado dual for Thursday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. as the two square off at Volk Gym.
 

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#16 Colorado School of Mines vs. Colorado Mesa Probable Starters
125: Jake Stogdill (1-0) vs. Cian Apple (5-1)
133: Gabe Martinez (0-1) vs Collin Metzgar (3-2)
141: Wes Rayburn (1-0) vs Daniel Magana (3-2)
149: Noah Ottum (1-0) vs Ryan Wheeler (1-3)
157: Carter Noehre (1-0) vs Zander Condit (0-1) or Dylan Ranieri (1-1)
165: #11 Skyler Lykins (1-0) vs #5 Fred Green (3-1)
174: Ryan Fidel (1-0) vs Seth Latham (3-3)
184: #6 Anderson Salisbury (1-0) vs #7 Nolan Krone (6-0)
197: Nolan Funk (1-0) vs Donnie Negus (5-1)
285: #5 Weston Hunt (1-0) vs Gabe Carranza (3-3)
 
Extra matches – Mat 1
125: Luke Grisafi vs. Christian Lopez
133: Pedro Billups vs. Malachi Contreras
133: Troy Ramirez vs. Tyler Krause
141: Johnny Masopust vs. Teague Dilbeck
141: Kaden Hine vs. Dylan Yancey
149: Andrew Silva vs. Taylor Gambill
149: Marcos Magana vs. Zachary Krause
157: Erik Contreras vs. Daniel Caddy
157: Ariel Rodriguez vs. Tristian David
 
Extra Matches - Mat 2
174: Jason Bynarowicz vs. KJ Kearns
165: Nick Gallegos vs. Jack Damenti
165: Grady Funk vs. Garrett Bakarich
165: Braeson Lewis vs. Noah Rupp
184: Wyatt Hoeppner vs. David Leck
184: Ben Roebuck vs. Levi Farris
285: Kash Anderson vs. Mike True
285: Isley Busch-Matuu vs. Anthony Atria
174: Jason Bynarowicz vs. Aidan Funk