#16 Mines vs. Cal Poly Humboldt - Friday, Jan. 17 - 6 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results]
Volk Gymnasium - Golden, Colo.

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MINES HOSTS CAL POLY HUMBOLDT IN NON-CONFERENCE FINALE
For the first time since 1979, #16 Colorado School of Mines takes on Cal Poly Humboldt as they host the Lumberjacks Friday night at Volk Gymnasium. The dual is slated for a 6 p.m. start time and will stream for free on the RMAC Network. It will be the Orediggers' final non-RMAC dual of the season.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines got its RMAC season off to a winning start, beating defending champion Chadron State 21-13 last Friday. The Orediggers (7-1, 1-0 RMAC) won six of the 10 weight classes keyed by Christian Lopez's win over #9 Hunter Jacobsen at 125 pounds, #4 Grayston DiBlasi's pin at 141, and a dual-sealing overtime victory at 197 by #14 Ryan Cody. #9 Marcus Caro, Jakob Smith, and #14 Wyatt Reisz added wins by decision as the Orediggers pulled ahead with three consecutive wins from 157 to 174.

IN THE POLLS
Mines is well-represented in the latest NWCA and OpenMat polls, with the Orediggers ranked #16 in the NWCA rankings and #24/20 in the OpenMat tournament/dual polls. Among individuals, Mines has seven of its 10 starters earning at least one ranking: Christian Lopez (OM #11), Grayston DiBlasi (NWCA & OM #4), Cody Thompson (NWCA #8), Marcus Caro (NWCA #9/OM #18), Wyatt Reisz (NWCA #14/OM #16), Ryan Cody (NWCA #14/OM #17), and Laith Ibrahim (OM #16). 

THE SERIES
Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State) has revived its wrestling program after a 33-year absence, and they will visit Golden for the first time tonight. The Orediggers and Lumberjacks have met only one time, a CPH win in 1979 in California.  

DIBLASI CLIMBS ALL-TIME WINS, FALLS LISTS
Grayston DiBlasi win by fall against Chadron State was the 89th victory of his career, which now has him tied for third all-time at Mines with Mike Osterfoss. Ahead of DiBlasi are the only two Orediggers to reach the century mark, Glen Frank (126) and Duane Maue (113), as DiBlasi is trying to be the first Oredigger to reach the century mark since Frank did it in 1993. DiBlasi also moved to fifth on the career falls list with 25.

BACK ON THE MAT
One of the highlights of the Rookie Open came when Yahir Chairez-Salazar made his return to the mat with a first-period win by fall at 149 pounds, marking another milestone in his incredible comeback story. A freshman who redshirted for both the wrestling and football teams in 2022-23, Chairez-Salazar was involved in a serious car accident in the summer of 2023 that caused an amputation of his left leg above the knee. Determined to keep wrestling, he got back on the mat earlier this year to train for his comeback - a journey that culminated barely 15 months after his accident with a return to the mat and a win. You can read more about Yahir's remarkable story here.  

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Austin DeVoe is in his 12th season in charge of the Mines Wrestling program, having rebuilt the Orediggers into a national contender with a pair of RMAC titles, eight all-Americans, and eight Academic All-Americans in his tenure. With 83 dual wins under his belt, Mines has had seven consecutive winning dual seasons including the only three double-digit win seasons in program history, including tying the program wins record in 2022-23 with an 11-2 record. 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. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will split next weekend, visiting CSU Pueblo on Friday, Jan. 24 before hosting Western Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m.
 

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PROJECTED BOUTS - #16 MINES vs. CAL POLY HUMBOLDT
125 - Xander Sweeney (11-4) vs. Caleb Tatad (5-5)/Isaiah Miller (7-5)
133 - Trebor Moreno (8-4) vs. Josh Neiwert (9-5)
141 - Cole O'Brien (5-4) vs. Nathan Aguilar (6-4)
149 - Carson Dulitz (0-3) vs. Jayson Victoria (7-6)
157 - Jaron Mahler (5-5) vs. Gil Mossburg (3-7)
165 - Jakob Smith (6-4)/Tristin David (4-4) vs. Cole Zoller (5-4)
174 - Garrett Bakarich (4-4) vs. Diego Robles (1-2)
184 - Mason Diel (5-6)/Avery Krippner (2-2) vs. Micaiah Montalbin (0-0)
197 - Jeffery Morosini (7-3) vs. Manman Garner (3-7)
285 - Trevor Thorn (4-4) vs. Carson Hatch (3-3)