Mines at the Western Colorado Open - Friday - 12 p.m. MT [Live Results]
Mines vs. Fort Hays State (at SFSU) - Friday - 3 p.m. PT [RMAC Network] [Live Results]
Mines at San Francisco State - Friday - 4:30 p.m. PT [RMAC Network] [Live Results]

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OREDIGGERS SPLIT UP TO START 2024
Colorado School of Mines starts the new year with a pair of events on the road this Friday, splitting up the squad to take on Fort Hays State and San Francisco State in a tri-dual, and wrestle in the Western Colorado Open in Gunnison. The Western Colorado Open will be the day's first action, starting at noon MT with live results available on TrackWrestling. Later in the day, the Orediggers will take on Fort Hays State at 3 p.m. PT in San Francisco, followed by their RMAC dual against the host San Francisco State at 4:30 p.m. PT. Those two duals will stream live on the RMAC Network with live results on TrackWrestling (see links above).

LAST TIME OUT
Mines hasn't wrestled since Dec. 16-17 when they turned in a 19th-place finish at the elite Midwest Classic in Indianapolis. Freshman 174-pounder Wyatt Reisz had a breakout performance at the tournament to place fifth, beating a pair of top-three-ranked opponents on the weekend. Grayston DiBlasi also came in seventh with a win over a ranked foe, while Christian Lopez advanced to Sunday at 125 pounds before bowing out in the consolation sixth round.

THE SERIES
Mines squares off with Fort Hays State, a former RMAC member, for the 38th time with the Tigers holding a 22-15 series lead going back to 1958. Mines, however, has won five straight dating back to 2017 including a 32-11 win in Golden last season. The Orediggers meet RMAC affiliate member San Francisco State for the 20th time going back to 1979, with the Gators leading 13-6 all-time. Like in the FHSU series, though, Mines has had success lately winning five in a row over SFSU including 30-9 last year at home. Mines enters the weekend 2-0 in duals this season and 1-0 in the RMAC; FHSU is 1-2 overall, and SFSU is 2-4 overall and 0-3 in RMAC competition.

IN THE POLLS
Mines appeared in fifth place in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll, with favorite Adams State topping the list ahead of Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado, and Chadron State. In the newest NWCA rankings out just before the new year, the Orediggers are receiving votes in the team ranking with three individuals ranked in Grayston DiBlasi (#8 at 141), Cody Thompson (#12 at 149), and Wyatt Reisz (#11 at 174). The latest OpenMat rankings out Thursday have those three ranked (DiBlasi at #9, Thompson at #19, and Reisz at #7) along with 125-pounder Christian Lopez at #16.

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Austin DeVoe is in his 11th season in charge of the Mines Wrestling program, having rebuilt the Orediggers into a national contender with a pair of RMAC titles, seven all-Americans, and seven Academic All-Americans in his tenure. With 70 dual wins under his belt, Mines has had six consecutive winning dual seasons including the only three double-digit win seasons in program history, and Mines tied the program record for wins last year at 11-2. On the national stage, Mines has had team success as well including an 11th-place finish in 2022 which was the program's best finish since the 1990s. 

LEADING THE WAY
Several Orediggers have been racking up wins in the first semester led by Cade Whish, who leads the team in wins at 13-5 this year. Grayston DiBlasi (11-4), Wyatt Reisz (11-4), and Cody Thompson (10-2) have also crossed into double-digit wins. Whish also leads Mines in pins with seven, and Mason Diel has four.

DIBLASI MOVING UP THE RANKS
Speaking of Grayston DiBlasi, the junior has been putting up wins at a historic pace in his two years in Golden, and he is already climbing up the Orediggers' all-time falls list. His 23 career pins already has him seventh all-time at Mines, and at 65-16 in less than three full seasons, DiBlasi is on pace to potentially be the first Oredigger in 30 years to challenge for 100 career wins.

WELL-TRAVELED
This weekend's trip to San Francisco will mark the Orediggers' first trip to the west coast since the 2014-15 season when they visited SFSU. It also is the first time since the 2010-11 season that Mines will have competed in all four time zones in the continental U.S., and they will do it all in four consecutive events: the Younes Hospitality Open in Kearney, Neb. (Central), a dual vs. New Mexico Highlands in Golden (Mountain), the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis (Eastern), and the tri-meet in San Francisco (Pacific). 

NEXT UP
Mines heads back to Gunnison for their RMAC dual against Western Colorado on Jan. 13, and stay on the road for duals at Chadron State (Jan. 19) and Colorado Mesa (Jan. 27) before returning home to host Adams State on Feb. 3.
 

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MINES PROJECTED LINEUP - vs. FORT HAYS STATE/SAN FRANCISCO STATE
125 - Christian Lopez (5-3) or Xander Sweeney (0-0)
133 - Trebor Moreno (7-1)
141 - #8 Grayston DiBlasi (11-4)
149 - #12 Cody Thompson (10-2)
157 - Jaron Mahler (8-3)
165 - Tristin David (7-4) or Jakob Smith (3-2)
174 - #11 Wyatt Reisz (11-4)
184 - Mason Diel (6-4) or Levi Farris (1-2)
197 - Nico Gagliardi (0-0)
285 - Laith Ibrahim (6-3) or Cade Whish (13-5)

MINES PROJECTED ENTRIES - WESTERN COLORADO OPEN
133 - Elliot Kim (0-2)
149 - Carson Dulitz (5-4)
157 - Daniel Caddy (2-4)
157 - Niko Mayo (2-4)
165 - Grant Crownhart (1-4)
174 - Avery Krippner (3-4)
184 - Garrett Bakarich (1-2)
197 - Ryan Cody (2-4)
197 - Jeffery Morosini (1-4)
197 - Deandre Rucker (2-3)
285 - Charlie Holub (0-4)