GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.  Western Colorado wrestling completes its dual-meet schedule Thursday with the Annual Battle in Brownson that this season pits the 23rd-ranked Mountaineers against host and No. 12 Colorado Mesa University in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference battle.

Earlier this season Western hosted the then-No. 10 Mavericks in a non-conference dual that ended with the Mountaineers earning a 27-9 victory in Paul Wright Gymnasium. Mesa won the most recent dual in Brownson Arena, 33-6 in 2021, reversing the result from visiting Western's 25-24 victory the season before.

The Mountaineers will close out the regular season ON Sunday with the Colorado School of Mines Open to which Western will send its reserves and redshirts.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 9-7 overall, 4-2 RMAC
The Mountaineers are coming off a pair of dominant home RMAC wins the weekend prior, downing New Mexico Highlands 41-7 and following the next night with a 37-6 victory over Colorado State Pueblo.

Western captured the opening seven bouts Friday against Highlands, clinching the match with Hunter Mullin's second period fall in the 165-pound match. Ninth-ranked Cole Hernandez extended the winning streak to its seventh match with his 13-4 major decision at 174. In all, the Mountaineers recorded five pins, two majors and one decision in the rout of the Cowboys.

Saturday's match against the Thunderwolves opened with eight straight Western wins. Patrick Allis earned a forfeit at 125 to initiate the roll and Alex Alvarez gave the unbeaten string its momentum his 19-4 technical fall at 133.

Consecutive pins by Dean Noble at 141 and fourth-ranked Jason Hanenberg at 149 sped the rolling stone of momentum. Hard-fought decisions at 157 and 165 by Ryan Wilson and Mullin, respectively, allowed Pueblo to fight back against the roll, but

Hernandez pounded out a 19-2 tech fall in the next match to speed things up again.

The capper was Hayden Johnson's 4-0 decision at 184 for the eighth consecutive Mountaineer win.

In the two matches, Allis, Alvarez, Noble, Hanenberg, Wilson, Mullin, and Hernandez each won twice, while Johnson and Zachary Schraeder won one match apiece.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THE DUAL | 7-4 overall, 5-0 RMAC
The Mavs opened the season 1-4 but found their footing at the NWCA National Duals with a dominating 38-6 win over then-No. 24 Ashland (Ohio) University and a narrow 20-19 win over previously-ranked Augustana (S.D.) University.

Mesa, the same weekend, sent a 'B' squad to Western's Tracy Borah Duals where it registered a 24-21 RMAC victory over N.M. Highlands that began the program's current five-match winning streak.

The second of those wins was perhaps the most impressive as the Mavs hosted No. 8 Adams State and scratched out a 30-20 win over the visiting Grizzlies.

Wins over Highlands, CSU Pueblo and then Colorado School of Mines, all RMAC matches, continued the streak and set up the dual against the Mountaineers on Thursday.

Mesa's lineup includes five wrestlers ranked in the NWCA D-II individual rankings: 125 – No. 6 Dawson Collins; 133 – No. 9 Collin Metzgar; 157 – No. 6 Ryan Wheeler; 165 – No. 9 Gus Dalton; and at 174 – No. 8 Alex Holguin.

LOOKING AHEAD
The NCAA 2023 Division II Super Region 6 Tournament will be hosted by Chadron (Neb.) State College on February 25, with the Mountaineers vying for advancement into the D-II national tournament March 10-11 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.