Mines at Colorado Mesa - Saturday - 4 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results]

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OREDIGGERS HEAD ACROSS THE ROCKIES FOR CMU DUAL
The final dual of five in a row on the road is this weekend for Colorado School of Mines as they visit RMAC foe Colorado Mesa Saturday at 4 p.m. The Orediggers (4-2, 2-2 RMAC) are looking to bounce back after setbacks at Western Colorado and Chadron State, while the Mavericks are also looking for a win after suffering their first loss of the season to Adams State. The dual will stream live on the RMAC Network and live results will be on Trackwrestling.com. 

LAST TIME OUT
Every weight class was a battle and Mines was in it to the end, but fell 22-12 at #12 Chadron State on Jan. 19. The Orediggers picked up four victories courtesy of Cody Thompson, Jaron Mahler, Tristin David, and Ryan Cody, and were within three points heading into the final bout, but the Eagles (5-1, 3-0 RMAC) picked up a pair of bonus point wins and a pin to finish in their victory. Thompson improved to 6-0 in duals and 4-0 against the RMAC this season.

THE SERIES
Mines and Colorado Mesa match up for the 34th time, with CMU holding a 23-9-1 all-time advantage including the last two; Mines has won three of the last five. Last year, the Mavericks won 26-12 in Golden. Mesa comes in 5-1, suffering their first loss of the season in their last outing on Jan. 12 against Adams State, 23-15. 

IN THE POLLS
Mines appeared in fifth place in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll, with favorite Adams State topping the list ahead of Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado, and Chadron State. In last week's new NWCA rankings, Mines is receiving votes in the team tournament top-25 (as is Colorado Mesa), with Grayston DiBlasi ranked #8 at 141 pounds. This week's OpenMat rankings have DiBlasi #12 and Wyatt Reisz #14 at 174; Mesa has Jason Bynarowicz is #7 at 184 in the NWCA rankings and #10 by OpenMat; Augustus Dalton is #20 at 174, Gabe Carranza is #15 at 197, and Tyler Doyle #20 at 285 in the OpenMat rankings. 

LEADING THE WAY
As the season hits its halfway point, Grayston DiBlasi and Cody Thompson lead the team in wins with 14 apiece, and Cade Whish and Wyatt Reisz are at 13 each. Thompson leads the team in dual points produced at 30 in six outings. Whish leads the Orediggers with seven falls followed by Moreno, Bakarich, and Carson Dulitz at four, with Ryan Cody owning the season's fastest pin in 29 seconds. 

DIBLASI MOVING UP THE RANKS
Speaking of Grayston DiBlasi, the junior has been putting up wins at a historic pace in his two-plus years in Golden, and he is already climbing up the Orediggers' all-time falls list. His 24 career pins has him now tied for fifth all-time at Mines, and at 68-19 in less than three full seasons, DiBlasi is on pace to potentially be the first Oredigger in 30 years to challenge for 100 career wins.

PINNED DOWN
Speaking of falls, Garrett Bakarich's winning performance at the Western Colorado Open earlier this month also put him into the all-time top-20 of pins at Mines, vaulting him to 14th with 17 in his career. Impressively, Bakarich has produced those 17 pins out of 19 career wins, and all four of his wins this year have come via the pin. 

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Austin DeVoe is in his 11th season in charge of the Mines Wrestling program, having rebuilt the Orediggers into a national contender with a pair of RMAC titles, seven all-Americans, and seven Academic All-Americans in his tenure. With 72 dual wins under his belt, Mines has had six consecutive winning dual seasons including the only three double-digit win seasons in program history, and Mines tied the program record for wins last year at 11-2. On the national stage, Mines has had team success as well including an 11th-place finish in 2022 which was the program's best finish since the 1990s. 

GET THAT SILVER
Mines Wrestling can count one more alumnus among its ranks, even though he's still on the team. Levi Farris earned his silver diploma with a B.S. in engineering physics during Mines' winter commencement on Dec. 15; the fifth-year senior from Palmer, Alaska is continuing his studies in his final year of eligibility with a master's in materials science. 

NEXT UP
Mines ends its long road trip next Saturday with a home dual against Adams State at 1 p.m.
 

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PROJECTED LINEUP: Mines at Colorado Mesa
125 - Christian Lopez (7-5) 
133 - Trebor Moreno (9-3) 
141 - #8 Grayston DiBlasi (14-5)
149 - Cody Thompson (14-2) 
157 - Jaron Mahler (10-5) or Jakob Smith (5-3)
165 - Tristin David (10-5) 
174 - Wyatt Reisz (13-6) 
184 - Mason Diel (8-6) or Garrett Bakarich (4-2) 
197 - Ryan Cody (6-5) 
285 - Cade Whish (13-7) or Laith Ibrahim (6-5)