COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  The 22nd-ranked Mountaineers from Western Colorado officially open their 2023-24 schedule with a trip to the U.S. Air Force Academy in a Division-II versus Division I wrestling match against the Falcons.

Western, which finished in fourth place with four All-Americans at the NCAA 2023 D-II national tournament, has a pair of wrestlers ranked nationally in their respective weight classes at the beginning of the new season.

Patrick Allis – a returning All-American who finished third in the 125-pound bracket at last winter's nationals – has moved up a class to 133 where he's seventh in the National Wrestling Coaches Association preseason rankings.

Another returning All-American, Cole Hernandez, was sixth at the 2023 nationals at 174 and is ranked third in the preseason rankings in the same weight class.

Taking over at 125 for Western will be Roberto Estrada, who captured the gold medal at that weight this summer at the 2023 Under-20 Pan-American Championships in Santiago, Chile.

Returners from last season expected to fill in the lineup at Air Force include Jacob McCarley at 141, Dean Noble at 149 (a 2023 nationals participant at 141), Ryan Wilson (157), Ryan Dirksen (165), Cole Gray (184), Tommy Tatham (285), and coming back from a season missed due to injury, Sage Harrison at 197.

The Mountaineers will close the weekend in Golden, Colo., with newcomers participating in the Colorado School of Mines Rookie Open.