COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES at WESTERN COLORADO
6 p.m., Sat., Jan. 17 | Paul Wright Gym | Gunnison, Colo.
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GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado continues its busy January with a Saturday evening Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual against visiting Colorado School of Mines on Community Night in Paul Wright Gym.

Local pee-wee wrestlers will take to the center mat beginning at 3:30 p.m. with the dual between the Mountaineers and Orediggers set to begin at 6:05 p.m.

THE HISTORY
Western has an overall record of 51-29 against the Orediggers, a winning figure that includes 18 consecutive victories from 2004 through 2018. But CSM ended the streak with one of its own, reeling off four straight in the series before Western earned a home win in 2024. Mines bounced back last season, winning on its home mat.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE DUAL | 2025-26 Stats

• Though with an identical 6-2 record with Colorado Mines, this will be Western's first RMAC dual of the season.
• The Mountaineers hosted the 35th Annual Tracy Borah duals on Jan. 10, posting a 3-1 record in their four duals, including earning a one-point tiebreak win in the dual against Menlo College that closed out the day.
• Both Devin Gomez at 125 pounds and 11th-ranked Vincent Cabral went unbeaten in their four matches at the Duals.
• Gomez added a forfeiture in the last dual against Menlo, but earlier had recorded a pair of tech fall wins and one decision, while Cabral posted one tech fall, two majors, and one decision.
• Jacob Blandford at 165 had a strong outing at the Duals, registering major decision wins in his first two matches followed by a dominating 17-0 tech fall.
• Also recording three wins on the day was Hunter Richardson at 184, earning a decision, a major, and a fall.
• An unsung hero on the day was Josiah Aldinger at 285. Stepping onto the mat only against Vanguard and Menlo in the third and fourth duals of the day, he dropped a decision in his Vanguard bout, but more than redeemed himself in the Menlo match, recording a fall just 64 seconds in to pull Western back from a six point deficit – and as the only fall of the dual, it proved to be the tiebreaker, earning the tiebreaker point for Western's 26-25 victory.
• Aldinger had taken over for Riley Butt, who had competed in the first two duals on the day. Butt was also one of the day's heroes as his pin at 285 in the Cal Poly Humboldt match broke a 21-21 tie and provided Western with its second win of the day.
• The Duals were just the second helping of the weekend in the Mountaineer Field House, as the Mountaineers hosted one day before the annual Western Colorado Open.
• It, too, provided a weekend highlight as Miles Harris earned the 157-pound bracket title for Western, recording three falls during his march to the top of the podium, including the championship match against Joshua Fish of the University of Northern Colorado.

COLORADO MINES HEADING INTO THE MATCH | 2025-26 Stats

• The Orediggers are 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC, with their conference win coming early in the season against visiting New Mexico Highlands.
• CSM is coming off a pair of losses to NWCA ranked squads, falling 31-15 to No. 13 Minnesota State just before the holiday break, and then 20-13 at No. 15 Chadron State on Jan. 9.
• The losses followed a 6-0 start to the season.
• Cody Thompson carries a perfect 8-0 duals mark at 149 pounds into Saturday, and is the NWCA NCAA Division II second ranked wrestler in the weight class. His wins include two majors, three tech falls, and one pin.
• Thompson at 149 has provided the Orediggers with its only unbeaten weight class through this point in the season.
• Cade Whish has been one of three heavyweights that have wrestled well for the Orediggers. Whish placed second in the 285 intermediate bracket at the Younes Hospitality Open on Nov. 22.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will be on the road next weekend, wresting in an exhibition match at Northeastern Junior College on Jan. 22, then moving on to Kearney, Neb., where on Jan. 24 Western will face host and 2nd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney before an afternoon neutral-site dual at Kearney against Ouachita Baptist University.