Mines vs. Adams State - Saturday - 1 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results]

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OREDIGGERS RETURN HOME TO HOST ADAMS STATE
For the first time in 65 days, Colorado School of Mines returns to Volk Gym as they host Adams State in a Saturday afternoon matinee. The Orediggers (5-2, 3-2 RMAC) are coming off a key road win at Colorado Mesa, while Adams State enters at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC. The dual will stream live on the RMAC Network with live results on Trackwrestling.com.

LAST TIME OUT
Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa couldn't have battled any closer as they went to the third tiebreak criteria to give the Orediggers a 19-18 win in Grand Junction last Saturday. Winning five bouts apiece, each side had three bonus points - CMU with three major decisions and Mines with a major and a tech fall - and it came down to total in-match points scored, with Wyatt Reisz's 20-2 tech fall win at 174 proving to be the difference as Mines went ahead 75-65. Christian Lopez, Grayston DiBlasi, Cody Thompson, and Tristin David also had wins for Mines.

THE SERIES
Mines and Adams State are meeting for the 63rd time in a series that goes back to 1953, and Adams State leads 41-21 although recent years have been owned by the Orediggers, who have won six of the last seven. ASU broke Mines' six-dual win streak last year with a 26-15 win in Alamosa. 

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 most recent NWCA rankings, Mines is receiving votes in the team tournament top-25 (as is Adams State), with Grayston DiBlasi ranked #8 at 141 pounds. This week's OpenMat rankings have DiBlasi #13 and Wyatt Reisz #14 at 174; Adams State has six wrestlers ranked by OpenMat but only one, 184-pounder Ben Tonnessen, in both sets of rankings as he's #12 in the NWCA's and #14 by OpenMat.

LEADING THE WAY
As the season hits its halfway point, Grayston DiBlasi and Cody Thompson lead the team in wins with 15 apiece, and Wyatt Reisz is at 14 in his rookie season. Thompson leads the team in dual points produced at 34 followed by DiBlasi at 28. Cade Whish leads the Orediggers with seven falls followed by Moreno, Bakarich, and Carson Dulitz at four, with Ryan Cody owning the season's fastest pin in 29 seconds. 

DIBLASI MOVING UP THE RANKS
Speaking of Grayston DiBlasi, the junior has been putting up wins at a historic pace in his two-plus years in Golden, and he is already climbing up the Orediggers' all-time falls list. His 24 career pins have him now tied for fifth all-time at Mines, and at 69-19 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.

PINNED DOWN
Speaking of falls, Garrett Bakarich's winning performance at the Western Colorado Open earlier this month also put him into the all-time top-20 of pins at Mines, vaulting him to 14th with 17 in his career. Impressively, Bakarich has produced those 17 pins out of 19 career wins, and all four of his wins this year have come via the pin. 

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 73 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. 

GET THAT SILVER
Mines Wrestling can count one more alumnus among its ranks, even though he's still on the team. Levi Farris earned his silver diploma with a B.S. in engineering physics during Mines' winter commencement on Dec. 15; the fifth-year senior from Palmer, Alaska is continuing his studies in his final year of eligibility with a master's in materials science. 

NEXT UP
The Orediggers stay at home to host CSU Pueblo on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.
 

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PROJECTED LINEUP: Mines vs. Adams State
125 - Christian Lopez (18-5) vs. Isaiah Games (6-0)
133 - Trebor Moreno (9-4) vs. DJ Van Matre (9-6)
141 - #8 Grayston DiBlasi (15-5) vs. Angel Flores (13-6) 
149 - Cody Thompson (15-2) vs. Travis Vialpando (6-7)/Dylan Pickering (8-8)
157 - Jaron Mahler (10-5)/Jakob Smith (5-4) vs. Nico Carrasco(15-6)/AJ Van Matre (8-5)
165 - Tristin David (11-5) vs. Aaden Valdez (16-2)
174 - Wyatt Reisz (14-6) vs. Sam Loera III (4-7)
184 - Mason Diel (8-7)/Nico Gagliardi (0-2) vs. Hunter Tobiasson (10-7)
197 - Ryan Cody (6-6) vs. #12 Ben Tønnessen (11-6)
285 - Laith Ibrahim (6-6) vs. Wil Aucoin (11-11)/Abraham Garcia (1-10)