Mines Tri-Dual - Friday, Nov. 8 - Volk Gym
4 p.m. - Northeastern JC vs. Snow College [Live Results] [RMAC Network]
5:30 p.m. - Mines vs. Snow College [Live Results] [RMAC Network]
7 p.m. - Mines vs. Northeastern JC [Live Results] [RMAC Network]

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OREDIGGERS HOST THE START OF DUAL SEASON
Three duals will take place Friday night at Volk Gym as Colorado School of Mines welcomes Northeastern JC and Snow College to Golden. It will mark the opening of the dual season for the Orediggers, who will take on Snow at 5:30 p.m. and Northeastern JC at 7 p.m. Snow and Northeastern will wrestle each other at 4 p.m. to start the evening. All three duals will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network.

LAST WEEK
Mines is coming off a successful start to the season after hosting the Rookie Open on Sunday, placing six wrestlers in all. Cade Whish finished second at 285 pounds and Jeffery Morosini was third at 197 to lead Mines' placers as the Orediggers had 10 attached competitors in action to start the year. 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.

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.  

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 #13 joined by Christian Lopez (#13 at 125), Jakob Smith (#16 at 157), and Wyatt Reisz (#18 at 174). Mines was selected fourth in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll in October.

THE SERIES
Mines is renewing its dual series with Northeastern JC as the two met for three straight years in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with Mines going 3-0 in those meets. Mines will wrestle Snow College, a juco out of Utah, for the first time ever on Friday after the Badgers brought back wrestling two years ago for the first time since the 1980s. 

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. Mines fans will have plenty of opportunities to see the Orediggers both before and after the holiday break, including four straight home duals to start the season. After this Friday's tri-meet, Mines will host another next Friday, Nov. 15 with Fort Hays State and Otero College at Volk Gym; 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.

OREDIGGER RETURNERS 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.

LEADING THE WAY
Mines brings back starting experience at all 10 weight classes from last year, and of a dozen Orediggers with double-digit wins last season, all 12 of them are back led by Cody Thompson (25-3), Grayston DiBlasi (19-8), and Wyatt Reisz (19-8). Cade Whish (8) and Garrett Bakarich (7) led the team in falls a year ago while DiBlasi comes back as the program's active leader in career wins and pins with a 73-22 record and 24 falls. 

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 76 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. 
 

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MINES VS. SNOW COLLEGE PROJECTED LINEUPS
125 - Xander Sweeney (5-1) vs. TBA
133 - Izaiah Padilla (0-0) vs. Dagen Lamano or Jordan Free
141 - #10 Grayston DiBlasi (0-0) vs. Wylie Stone or Ejay Torres
149 - Yahir Chairez-Salazar (1-2) vs. Josiah Wickard
157 - Jaron Mahler (2-2) vs. Mack Bray or Cutler Blonquist
165 - Tristin David (0-0) vs. Caleb Marx
174 - Garrett Bakarich (0-0) vs. Cutler Crandall
184 - Avery Krippner (0-0) vs. Rylan Stevens
197 - Deandre Rucker (0-0) or Jeffrey Morosini (4-1) vs. Andre Leota or Ken Phillips
285 - Cade Whish (3-1) vs. Rylee Creasey

MINES VS. NORTHEASTERN JC PROJECTED LINEUPS
125 - Christian Lopez (0-0) vs. Cade Liniger
133 - Trebor Moreno (0-0) vs. Calvin Mendez
141 - #10 Grayston DiBlasi (0-0) vs. Bronson Richins
149 - #1 Cody Thompson (0-0) vs. Silas Thompson
157 - Marcus Caro (5-0) vs. Angel Vela or Airoughn Morris
165 - Jakob Smith (0-0) vs. Ethan Sinclair
174 - Wyatt Reisz (0-0) vs. Luke Arthur
184 - Mason Diel (0-0) vs. Cassius Garcia
197 - Ryan Cody (0-0) vs. Ricardo Castillo
285 - Laith Ibrahim (0-0) vs. Ryan Escamilla