GUNNISON, Colo.  It's Operation Red night for Western Colorado wrestling in its final home match of the season on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers will square off against Colorado Mesa University in Paul Wright Gym with the Western senior class honored prior to the match start at 6 p.m.

The first 500 Western Colorado fans through the door will receive free Operation Red t-shirts.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Mountaineers are coming out of a 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference stretch, downing CSU Pueblo (26-22) and N.M. Highlands (36-10) but dropping narrow losses to No. 15 Chadron State (22-16) and Adams State (23-16) – all four including six-point forfeits by Western at the 133-pound weight class.
• Third-ranked Cole Hernandez has run his record to 26-2 this season at 174 pounds. Hernandez enters Tuesday's match on a 15-match win streak, and earlier this season defeated CMU's Augustus Dalton by technical fall (20-4, 5:54) in a non-conference match against the host Mavericks in late November.
• Dean Noble at 149, Ryan Wilson at 157, and Cole Gray at 184 also bring win streaks into Tuesday. Noble is 18-7 this season and has won his last five bouts, Wilson is 21-4 with 11 consecutive wins, and Gray is 17-7 and a winner of five straight. Both Noble and Gray were winners in that November match at Colorado Mesa.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Mavericks are 6-3 overall and 4-3 against RMAC opponents leading into Tuesday night.
• CMU's Jason Bynarowicz is No. 7 at 184 pounds in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association individual rankings. The redshirt-junior's record in duals matches is 8-1 and his overall record stands at 18-3.
• The Mavs took the November match against Western by the count of 24-17, earning their first 12 points via Western forfeits at 125 and 133. Western roared back to within a point, 18-17, after Cole Gray pinned Bynarowicz in the third period, but CMU earned decisions at 197 and 285 to clinch the victory.
• In common opponents, both Western and CMU have downed CSU Pueblo, Simon Fraser University, University of Findley (Ohio), and N.M. Highlands. The Mountaineers defeated Colorado School of Mines while the Mavs lost to the Orediggers by one point on tiebreak criteria, and both Western and CMU have been defeated by Adams State and No. 15 Chadron State.

UP NEXT

• Western Colorado redshirts and reserves will participate in Sunday's Colorado School of Mines Open in Golden, Colo.
• The NCAA Division II Region VI Championship tournament is on March 2 in Pueblo, Colo. The top three finishers in each weight class earn advancement to the national championship tournament in Park City, Kansas, on March 15 and 16.