LAS VEGAS, N.M.  Coming off its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defeat of the season, Mountaineer wrestling will look to get back in the win column with Thursday evening's conference match against the host Cowboys of New Mexico Highlands University.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Mountaineers had entered their Jan. 27 match against visiting and 15th-ranked Chadron State College with an unblemished 4-0 RMAC record, a win tally that had improved after Western had downed host Colorado State University Pueblo, 26-22, the night before.
• The Eagles from CSC raced out to a 16-0 lead in Paul Wright Gym, but Western began its climb back into the match with Dean Noble's 15-10 decision at 149 pounds.
• That win began a string of five consecutive victories that would eventually pull the Mountaineers even at 16-16 with two weights still to hit the mat.
• Ryan Wilson at 157 followed Noble's win with a low-scoring 5-1 decision, followed by Walker Heckendorf's 9-3 decision at 165.
• Third-ranked Cole Hernandez battled 12th-ranked Logan Berger at 174, with Hernandez finishing with a 13-9 decision to draw Western within four points. That deficit was erased by Cole Gray at 184 after he posted a dominating 11-3 decision.
• Chadron State earned decisions at 197 and 285, though, to escape with the victory.
• The Mountaineers have downed N.M. Highlands in 15 consecutive matches dating back to 2008.

N.M. HIGHLANDS HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Cowboys bring a 3-6 overall record and a 1-3 RMAC mark into Thursday's match. Their lone conference victory came against Simon Fraser University, 28-19, at Western Colorado's Tracy Borah Duals on Jan. 6.
• In common opponents, both teams have defeated Simon Fraser and both have been defeated by Chadron State and Colorado Mesa University, though Western's bout with the Mavericks was a non-conference affair.
• Colorado School of Mines and Minot State University defeated Highlands but both were defeated by the Mountaineers.
• The Cowboys have often been paced by Zachary Ferris at 197 and Rhys Sellers at 125. Both wrestlers have been ranked within the NWCA individual rankings, but both have slipped out of the rankings with the Jan. 22 NWCA listings.

UP NEXT

• The Mountaineers travel to Alamosa, Colorado, on Feb. 8 to take on host Adams State University.
• Both Western and the Grizzlies are receiving points in the Jan. 22 NWCA team rankings, with the Mountaineers one spot shy of the top 25 with 13 points, and Adams State earning 1 point.