Mines Tri-Dual - Friday, Nov. 15 - Volk Gym
4 p.m. - Fort Hays State vs. Otero College [Live Results] [RMAC Network]
5:30 p.m. - #20 Mines vs. Otero College [Live Results] [RMAC Network]
7 p.m. - #20 Mines vs. Fort Hays State [Live Results] [RMAC Network]

---

OREDIGGERS WELCOME FORT HAYS STATE, OTERO ON FRIDAY
For a second straight Friday, Volk Gym will host a trio of wrestling duals as #20 Colorado School of Mines welcomes in Fort Hays State and Otero College. Off to a 2-0 start, Mines will take on Otero at 5:30 p.m. and Fort Hays State at 7 p.m.; the neutral dual will start the evening at 4 p.m. All three duals will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network and live results are available on TrackWrestling at the links above.

THE SEASON THUS FAR
#20 Mines took both duals in a tri-meet last Friday, defeating Snow College and Northeastern Junior College. The Orediggers (2-0) put two different lineups on the mat, dispatching a tough Snow team 25-19 to start before shutting out Northeastern 53-0 behind nine bonus-point wins. Christian Lopez, Grayston DiBlasi, and Wyatt Reisz each went 2-0 while Marcus Caro, Mason Diel, Ryan Cody, and Laith Ibrahim each had pins.

Mines started the season on Nov. 3 hosting the Rookie Open, placing seven wrestlers in all. Caro won the 157-pound bracket, Cade Whish finished second at 285 pounds and Jeffery Morosini was third at 197 to lead Mines' placers. Valor Buck was fourth at 165, Timber Parlin fifth at 184, and Kaleb Valdez-Lemos and Xander Sweeney were both sixth at 165 and 125, respectively.

IN THE POLLS
Mines starts the season ranked #20 in the NWCA's tournament rankings, and #22 this week in OpenMat's tournament and dual rankings. Individually in the NWCA top-12s, Cody Thompson debuted at the #1 149-pounder in the nation with Grayston DiBlasi at #10; in the OpenMat top-20s this week, Thompson was #3 and DiBlasi #12 joined by Christian Lopez (#14 at 125), and Wyatt Reisz (#20 at 174). Mines was selected fourth in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll in October.

THE SERIES
Mines and Fort Hays State are old RMAC rivals as they meet for the 39th time since 1958 this weekend. FHSU leads the all-time series 22-16, but Mines has won the last six in a row including 33-8 last year in a neutral-site dual in San Francisco. Since renewing the non-conference series in 2014, Mines is 7-2 against the Tigers. The Orediggers and Otero College meet for just the third time as the southern Colorado juco comes to Golden for a third straight time; Mines is 2-0 against the Rattlers including a 56-0 win last year.

DIBLASI REACHES WINS MILESTONE
Grayston DiBlasi won twice last Friday to take his career record to 75-22, putting him among elite company in the Mines all-time records. DiBlasi is only the 14th Oredigger to reach 75 career wins, and his .773 career winning percentage currently slots in fourth all-time in program history. He is far and away Mines' active wins leader ahead of Christian Lopez (46) and Cody Thompson (41).

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Orediggers have a home-heavy 2024-25 schedule with 11 dates in Golden, including a pair of tri-meets and the return of the Jack Hancock Duals. After this Friday's tri-meet, Mines will not be back home until the new year; the fall semester closes with tournament appearances at the Younes Hospitality Open (Kearney, Neb.) on Nov. 23, and the Midwest Classic (Indianapolis, Ind.) on Dec. 14-15. Mines picks up the new year with the Jack Hancock Duals in Volk Gym on Jan. 4 before starting the RMAC schedule on Jan. 10 against Chadron State at home.

BACK ON THE MAT
One of the highlights of the Rookie Open came when Yahir Chairez-Salazar made his return to the mat with a first-period win by fall at 149 pounds, marking another milestone in his incredible comeback story. A freshman who redshirted for both the wrestling and football teams in 2022-23, Chairez-Salazar was involved in a serious car accident in the summer of 2023 that caused an amputation of his left leg above the knee. Determined to keep wrestling, he got back on the mat earlier this year to train for his comeback - a journey that culminated barely 15 months after his accident with a return to the mat and a win. You can read more about Yahir's remarkable story here.  

OREDIGGERS EARN RMAC AWARDS
Mines had five wrestlers named to the 2024 All-RMAC teams last winter, and all five return in 2024-25. Cody Thompson earned a spot on the first team, Wyatt Reisz was Freshman of the Year in addition to a second-team spot, Ryan Cody was also named to the second team, and Grayston DiBlasi and Christian Lopez were named honorable mention. Reisz was the first Freshman of the Year in program history.

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Austin DeVoe is in his 12th season in charge of the Mines Wrestling program, having rebuilt the Orediggers into a national contender with a pair of RMAC titles, eight all-Americans, and eight Academic All-Americans in his tenure. With 78 dual wins under his belt, Mines has had seven consecutive winning dual seasons including the only three double-digit win seasons in program history, including tying the program wins record in 2022-23 with an 11-2 record. 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. 
 

---

MINES VS. OTERO COLLEGE PROJECTED LINEUPS
125 - Xander Sweeney (6-1) vs. Elijah Montalvan
133 - Elliot Kim (2-2)/Izaiah Padilla (0-0) vs. Joseff Rivera
141 - #10 Grayston DiBlasi (2-0) vs. open
149 - Yahir Chairez-Salazar (1-3)/Carson Dulitz (0-0) vs. Joe Zamora
157 - Jaron Mahler (2-3) vs. Frederico Luna/Riley Robinson
165 - Jakob Smith (0-0) vs. Dilan Ruiz
174 - Garrett Bakarich (1-0) vs. Cameron Galicia
184 - Timber Parlin (3-1) vs. Kaleb Cooper
197 - Jeffery Morosini (4-1) vs. David Williams
285 - Cade Whish (3-2) vs. TJ Rivera/Griffin LaRue

MINES VS. FORT HAYS STATE PROJECTED LINEUPS
125 - Christian Lopez (2-0) vs. AB Stokes
133 - Trebor Moreno (1-0) vs. Andrew Honas
141 - #10 Grayston DiBlasi (2-0) vs. Corbin White
149 - #1 Cody Thompson (1-0) vs. Drew Bell
157 - Marcus Caro (6-0) vs. Marcel Dely
165 - Tristin David (1-0) vs. Jacob Judd
174 - Wyatt Reisz (2-0) vs. Connor Padgett
184 - Mason Diel (1-0) vs. Matt Rodriguez
197 - Ryan Cody (1-0) vs. #8 Tereus Henry
285 - Laith Ibrahim (1-0) vs. Riah Ostrander