PUEBLO, Colo.  Western Colorado's 24th-ranked wrestling team will compete Saturday in the NCAA Division II Super Region VI Championship, seeking to advance individuals into the national championship event two weeks later.

The top three wrestlers from each of the 10 weight classes at each of six regional championships will advance to nationals in Park City, Kansas, on March 15-16.

Region VI includes 11 teams, three of whom are in the top 25 in the latest (Feb. 19) National Wrestling Coaches Association D-II rankings – No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 14 Chadron State, and the Mountaineers.

The region also includes four others – Adams State, Simon Fraser, Fort Hays State, and Colorado School of Mines – that are in the Receiving Votes list on the NWCA ranking.

The Mountaineers will enter the region championship led by Cole Hernandez, second ranked nationally at 174 pounds, 27-2 on the year, and carrying a 16-match win streak into the tournament. Hernandez earned All-American honors at the 2023 national championship with a sixth-place finish.

The middle of the Western lineup includes a 1-2-3-4 and 5 punch, beginning with Dean Noble at 149. Noble has won six straight and is 19-7 this season, setting up the next weight, 157, for Ryan Wilson who's won 12 consecutive matches and is 22-4 on the year.

Walker Heckendorf at 165 steps onto the mat next and has won five of his last six bouts and is 14-4 overall.

The Cole and Cole Show follows, with Hernandez at 174 and Cole Gray at 184. Gray, 18-7 overall, has won his last six matches and 10 of his last 11 bouts.

Roberto Estrada, in his first season leading off the lineup at 125, enters the regional at 13-11 overall, and the region championship is expected to see the return of three-time All-American Patrick Allis, who has battled back from injury to re-take his place in the lineup at 133.

Brackets across the 10 weights begin on three mats at 9 a.m. and after approximately 110 matches, finals that are slated to begin at 5 p.m. will determine the three wrestlers from each weight class who punch tickets to the national championship in Kansas.