GUNNISON, Colo.  Mountaineer wrestling hosts its final home dual of the season Friday night, welcoming Adams State to Paul Wright Gym for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual on 13th-ranked Western Colorado's Senior Night.

The Mountaineers will honor Cole Gray, Lawson Hayman, Cole Hernandez, Dean Noble and Pratt Williams in a brief ceremony before the dual.

THE HISTORY
Since a 1995 meeting, won by the Grizzlies, Western has put together a 13-6 record in the series. Adams, however, broke an eight-match winning streak by the Mountaineers with a win in 2023 then made it two in a row with a home win in Alamosa, Colo., last season.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE DUAL

• The Mountaineers bounced back from a two-loss road trip the week before with a dominating 40-6 RMAC win on Feb. 1 against visiting Colorado State Pueblo, improving Western's season record to 6-4 overall and 3-2 within the RMAC.
• The ThunderWolves had halved Western's early lead with a decision at 133 pounds, but Eyan Chavez and third-ranked Dean Noble initiated a momentum swing with pins in their matches at 141 and 149, respectively.
• Momentum accelerated at 157 when Vincent Cabral earned a hard-fought 4-2 decision over CSUP's Cyruss Meeks, the 2024 NCAA Division II Super Region VI runner-up.
• Walker Heckendorf kept things rolling with a first-period pin at 165 followed by top-ranked Cole Hernandez' 18-4 major at 174 and Cole Gray's second-period pin at 184.
• The ThunderWolves at 197 picked up just their second decision of the night, but the Mountaineers got a 7-4 sudden victory from Riley Butt at 285 to close out the win.

ADAMS STATE HEADING INTO THE DUAL

• The Grizzlies are 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the RMAC, with their conference wins coming against Simon Fraser and New Mexico Highlands.
• A two-match win streak was ended with a narrow 20-18 loss to host Colorado Mesa, a defeat that was the first of three consecutive losses as Adams heads into its match at Western.
• The Grizzlies' Angel Flores on Tuesday was announced as the RMAC's wrestler of the week. Flores posted an 18-4 major at 141 in a dual against Chadron State, then two nights later recorded a 7-1 upset of fourth-ranked Grayston DiBlasi of Colorado Mines.
• Adams' Isaiah Gamez is ranked fifth at 125 pounds in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) latest individual rankings. Gamez won all three of his bouts in the team's recent losses.

UP NEXT

• Western closes out its regular season schedule on Feb. 13 with an RMAC trip to 25th-ranked Colorado Mesa.
• Mountaineer redshirts and reserves will participate in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open on Feb. 16.