GUNNISON, Colo.  Friday night's non-conference wrestling dual against visiting San Francisco State University is a Camo-themed Pack the House Night at Paul Wright Gym for the 15th-ranked Mountaineers.

In 'honor' of the visiting Gators from SF State, match sponsor 5B's Barbecue will be providing 500 free Gator Bites (i.e. wings!) to the first 500 fans in attendance.

THE HISTORY

• The Gators joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as associate members in wrestling in 1997 but left the league to join the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation prior to the 2024-25 season.
• The first meeting between the programs was in December 1996 and won by SFSU, 32-7. The next season the teams tied, 16-16, before a long competition break ensued.
• Revived in January 2014, Western began a six-match win streak with a 31-6 victory, the string extending to last season's 23-21 Mountaineer win.
• The average score during the streak leans heavily in Western's favor, 30-13.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Mountaineers are coming off a pair of wins in the Western-hosted Tracy Borah Duals on Jan. 11. After an exhibition match win over Colorado Mesa between the 'B' teams (27-26), Western would go on to score a 37-9 win over Newberry (S.C.) College followed by a 48-6 RMAC romp over Simon Fraser (B.B.) University to end the day.
• In the match with SFU's Red Leafs, Mountaineer wrestlers notched four falls along with two other bonus-point wins.
• Seven Mountaineer wrestlers recorded wins in both of their matches against Newberry and Simon Fraser:
  • Roberto Estrada had a tech fall and a pin at 125 pounds
  • At 141, Eyan Chavez recorded a decision and a tech fall
  • 4th-ranked Dean Noble registered a tech fall and a pin at 149
  • Vincent Cabral scored a shutout decision and a major at 157
  • At 165, Walker Heckendorf earned a tech fall and a forfeiture win
  • Cole Gray scored a major and a decision at 184
  • Sage Harrison had a pair of second-period falls at 197
• Expected to hit that mat in the 174-pound bout against the Gators is third-ranked Cole Hernandez

SAN FRANCISCO STATE HEADING INTO THE MATCH

• The Gators wrestle host Adams State as well as Colorado State Pueblo the day before arriving in Paul Wright Gym. Heading into those two matches, SFSU is 2-3 with one of the losses coming against the RMAC's Colorado Mesa University by a 29-14 score.
• SF State opened the season by placing second of 12 teams at the Menlo (Calif.) Invitational.
• Most recently, the Gators were 13th of 37 teams at the Dec. 22 Reno (Nev.) Open.
• One wrestler, Kyle Botelho, is ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's individual rankings. Botelho is listed at No. 5 in the 165-pound national listing.

UP NEXT

• Mountaineer wrestling embarks on a three-match road trip beginning with an exhibition dual Jan. 23 at Northeastern Junior College.
• Western then squares off against Chadron State College on Jan. 24 and Colorado School of Mines on Jan. 25 in a pair of RMAC duals.