GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.  Not only a top-25 battle. Not only a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual. And not only a rivalry dual for Western Colorado with the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University.

This was THE Battle in Brownson. A setting in which the No. 13 Mountaineers had not won since December 2020. Close the book on that streak now, as Western celebrated a 29-16 victory against the 25th-ranked Mavs Thursday night.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Colorado Mesa, 29-16
Records: Western 8-4 overall (5-2 RMAC), CMU 9-2 (5-2)
Location: Brownson Arena, Grand Junction, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• CMU opened the dual with a technical fall victory at 125 pounds for a quick 5-0 advantage, but Western would take the next three weights and never again trail.
• Evan Gomez would turn a 4-3 deficit entering the third period into a 9-6 upset of 14th-ranked Oran Huff.
• Eyan Chavez would push Western in front in the team scoring with his hard-fought 4-1 decision at 141, and third-ranked Dean Noble would double Western's total with a pin at 149 that happened just eight seconds into the third period.
• Mesa would fight back with a decision at 157, but Walker Heckendorf's first-period pin at 165 was the first of three straight bonus-point wins by Mountaineer wrestlers.
• Top-ranked Cole Hernandez toyed with his opponent at 174, surrendering an easy escape each time after four first-period takedowns, the first of those adding in a four-point nearfall. His early takedown 11 seconds into the second period ended the match in a 19-4 tech fall.
• Wesley Dubois continued the bonus point streak at 184. He trailed 3-1 after the first, led 5-4 after the second, and was tied 7-7 in the third when his takedown evolved into a fall to elevate Western's advantage to 29-8.
• CMU would get a decision at 197 and a tech fall at 285 but that was too little, too late as the Mountaineers would claim the victory in The Battle in Brownson.

UP NEXT

• The victory over the Mavs concludes the varsity's regular season, with the NCAA Division II Region VI Championship up next on March 1 in the Mountaineer Field House.
• Mountaineer redshirts and reserves will participate in Sunday's Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo.