GUNNISON, Colo.  Jabyn Kemble set the tone on Senior Night with a third-period pin in the opening match as Western Colorado never trailed during its 26-18 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's wrestling victory Friday evening over visiting and 22nd-ranked Colorado Mesa University.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. CMU, 26-18
Records: Western 10-5 overall (4-2 RMAC), CMU 5-5 (2-4)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Suddenly. At first.
• Kemble trailed 10-5 in his bout at the opening 125-pound weight, but starting off on top to begin the third period he road Adonias Cantu flat and one minute into the period flipped him to his back for a quick slap of the mat by the referee to lift the Mountaineers to a quick 6-0 lead.
• Though the Mavs evened the score with a pin at 133, Tino Gonzales lifted the Mountaineers back in front for good at 141. In a high-scoring match, Gonzales recorded the only takedown of the third period and with the ride time point, earned an exciting 11-9 win that had the Senior Night crowd stomping and cheering during all seven minutes of the bout.
• Eyan Chavez didn't match the scoring in his bout at 149 but he, too, had the home crowd on its feet as his late takedown and riding point gave Western another decision, with Chavez' 7-5 win.
• The Mavs pushed back at 157 where seventh-ranked Owen Cline earned a decision over 11th-ranked Vincent Cabral, but Jacob Blandford at 165 got Western back in the win column with an 11-1 major decision to elevate the Mountaineers to a 16-9 lead in the dual.
• Hunter Richardson went the distance as well in his bout at 174, adding another major with an 11-0 shutout.
• Mesa isn't highly ranked for just any reason, though, as it rallied with a tech fall at 184 and a major at 197 from eighth-ranked Gabriel Carranza.
• The pushed the Mountaineers' Riley Butt – in his final match under the spotlight at Paul Wright Gym – into the circle against the Mavs' Ruben Samuelson.
• As Samuelson was pulling Butt toward the edge of the mat for an attempted takedown, the spinning pair ended up with Butt on top for the takedown instead, but Samuelson was injured in the process and had to exit the bout with a medical forfeit.

UP NEXT
Western's reserves and redshirts will get one more home event as the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open will take place Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. in the Mountaineer Field House.