#21 Mines at Western Colorado, Saturday, 6 p.m. [Live Results] [RMAC Network]
#21 Mines at #16 Colorado Mesa, Sunday, 3 p.m. [Live Results] [RMAC Network]

---

PIVOTAL RMAC DUAL WEEKEND AHEAD FOR #21 MINES
#21 Colorado School of Mines (5-1, 3-0 RMAC) heads across the Rockies for two pivotal RMAC duals this weekend, visiting Western Colorado (3-6, 1-0 RMAC) and #16 Colorado Mesa (7-2, 2-0 RMAC) in a weekend that could set up a frontrunner in the conference championship hunt. Both duals will stream live on the RMAC Network. 

THE RMAC HUNT
Midway through the season, four teams remain unbeaten in the RMAC - Mines and Chadron State at 3-0, Colorado Mesa at 2-0, and Western Colorado at 1-0. That number could be down to two at the end of the weekend. CMU narrowly defeated CSU Pueblo 23-21 Thursday night ahead of facing Mines on Sunday; Western has only Mines on the slate this weekend but will have five duals to wrestle after that. Mines and Chadron State won't meet until Feb. 6. Mines is the two-time defending conference champion (2019 and 2020) with no champion awarded in the pandemic-truncated 2021 season. 

IN THE POLLS
Mines sits at #21 in the latest NWCA Division II poll, with Colorado Mesa at #16 and Western Colorado receiving votes. Mines has two ranked individuals as Anderson Salisbury sits at #11 at 184 and Weston Hunt #5 at 285; Western has #9 Patrick Allis at 133 and #10 Dean Noble at 141, while Mesa has #5 Dawson Collins at 125, #7 Collin Metzgar at 133, and #8 Donnie Negus at 197.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines had a busy last weekend, going 3-1 in four duals. Mines throttled shorthanded San Francisco State 49-3 and beat Fort Hays State 28-12 on Jan. 20, then went 1-1 at the Midwest Duals with a 38-6 drubbing of Central Missouri before dropping a 38-3 dual to #3 Nebraska-Kearney. 

MINES CARRIES RMAC STREAK
After beating SFSU, the Orediggers enter this weekend with a 12-match RMAC winning streak that dates back to the 2018-19 season. It ranks as the longest conference winning streak in program history. 

THE MINES VS. WESTERN COLORADO SERIES
The Orediggers and Mountaineers are meeting for the 77th time since 1950, with Western owning a 50-26 series lead all-time. Mines has won the last two meetings, breaking a decade-plus stranglehold by WCU with a 25-16 win in Golden in 2018-19 and a 19-13 win in Gunnison in 2019-20, the last time they met. That was the Orediggers' first win in Gunnison since 2003 as current grapplers Anderson Salisbury and Weston Hunt both earned wins and Mines took six of 10 bouts overall. 

THE MINES VS. COLORADO MESA SERIES
Dating back to 1953, Mines and Colorado Mesa have met 31 times previously with CMU holding a 21-9-1 all-time series lead. Mines, however, has won three in a row including a 24-18 win in Golden last year as Weston Hunt's pin of Kash Anderson in the final bout broke an 18-18 tie. Zach Krause, Ryan Fidel, and Anderson Salisbury also picked up wins. 

LEADING THE WAY 
This year's team is led by KJ Kearns, Zach Krause, and Anderson Salisbury, who were voted captains in the preseason. Kearns is a returning captain as a junior, while Krause is a first-time captain in his second season as a graduate transfer after arriving from Brown before the 2019-20 season. Salisbury is also a first-time captain in his redshirt senior season.

LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend Mines will have two duals left, visiting Chadron State Feb. 6 and then hosting CSU Pueblo Feb. 12. The Orediggers will also host the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open on Feb. 13 at Steinhauer Fieldhouse. 
 

---

#21 Mines Projected Lineup vs. #RV Western Colorado/#16 Colorado Mesa

125 - Christian Lopez (9-7)
133 - Tyler Krause (5-4)
141 - Wes Rayburn (2-1) or Grayston DiBlasi (17-4)
149 - Cody Thompson (10-5)    
157 - Carter Noehre (9-7)
165 - Jack Damenti (7-5) or KJ Kearns (4-3)
174 - Ryan Fidel (7-5) or Levi Farris (3-3)
184 - #11 Anderson Salisbury (12-2)
197 - Perry Rodenbeck (5-5)
285 - #5 Weston Hunt (11-3)