#16 Mines vs. #25 Colorado Mesa - Saturday, Feb. 7 - 6 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Results] [Tickets]

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MINES, MESA SQUARE OFF WITH TITLE IMPLICATIONS
A share of the RMAC title is on the line Friday night as two top-25 teams meet at Volk Gym, with #16 Colorado School of Mines (11-2, 5-0 RMAC) hosting #25 Colorado Mesa (8-0, 4-0 RMAC)  at 6 p.m. The dual will stream for free on the RMAC Network, and fans can get advance tickets at tickets.minesathletics.com. 

BLASTER'S BRAWL
Friday night's dual will be the Blaster's Brawl event, featuring free food for Mines students from Pierogies Factory and prize and swag giveaways for all fans. The event is presented by Canvas Credit Union. 

FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The last two unbeaten teams in RMAC duals, Mines (5-0) and Mesa (4-0) square off for at least a share of the RMAC title Friday night. An Orediggers' win would ensure them of at least a share pending their final dual against Simon Fraser next Wednesday; Mesa needs to get by CSU Pueblo (2-2) on Thursday night first to give them the same opportunity. Mines is seeking its third RMAC regular-season title since 2019. 

LAST TIME OUT
Mines went 2-0 on the road last weekend, first rallying to beat Adams State 25-13 last Saturday. After trailing 12-3 through 157 pounds, the Orediggers' upperweights won the last five bouts - three with bonus points - to leave Alamosa with the W. Sunday at New Mexico Highlands, it was again the upperweights who starred as they beat the Cowboys 37-9 including three consecutive pins at 174, 184, and 197 pounds to punctuate the victory.

IN THE POLLS
Mines continues to be well-represented in the latest NWCA poll, with the Orediggers ranked #16 in the latest NWCA rankings. Five Orediggers hold individual rankings with #4 Grayston DiBlasi (141), #8 Cody Thompson (149), #11 Marcus Caro (157), #14 Wyatt Reisz (174), and #12 Ryan Cody (197). Friday's probable bouts feature nine total wrestlers ranked in the NWCA top 15 as #25 Colorado Mesa brings #7 Dayson Torgerson (125), #14 Oran Huff (133), #15 Jason Bynarowicz (184), #10 Gabe Carranza (197), and #13 Tyler Doyle (285). 

THE SERIES
Mines and Colorado Mesa are meeting for 35th time since 1953, with CMU holding a 23-10-1 series edge. It has been competitive in recent years with Mines winning four of their last six meetings, including a 19-18 thriller last year in Grand Junction that came down to the third tiebreaker after an 18-18 tie. 

DIBLASI CLIMBS ALL-TIME WINS, FALLS LISTS
Grayston DiBlasi now stands at 91-26 in his career which has him third all-time at Mines in victories. 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 is also tied for fifth on the career falls list with 25.

PINNED DOWN
Garrett Bakarich earned the 25th fall of his career against New Mexico Highlands, which now ties him for fifth all-time at Mines with teammate Grayston DiBlasi. Bakarich owns - by far - the highest proportion of falls among his wins in program history, having pinned his opponent in 25 of his 29 career victories including five of six this season. 

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 87 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 close its dual and RMAC schedule Wednesday, Feb. 12 hosting Simon Fraser at 6 p.m.
 

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PROJECTED LINEUP - #16 Colorado School of Mines vs. #25 Colorado Mesa
125 - #9 Christian Lopez (14-6) vs. #7 Dayson Torgerson (14-5)
133 - Trebor Moreno (9-6) vs. #14 Oran Huff (13-7)
141 - #4 Grayston DiBlasi (18-4) vs. Denim Torgerson (8-6)
149 - Carson Dulitz (0-5) or Ben Fanelli (1-0) vs. Alex Castaneda (12-4) or Keyton Young (9-5)
157 - #11 Marcus Caro (20-6) vs. Owen Cline (6-3)
165 - Jakob Smith (10-4) vs. Will Alvarado (2-11) or Wil Moneypenny (8-6)
174 - #14 Wyatt Reisz (18-3) vs. Gus Dalton (7-8)
184 - Mason Diel (7-7) or Ethan Kremer (2-3) vs. #15 Jason Bynarowicz (14-4) or Tanner Baumgartner (9-7)
197 - #12 Ryan Cody (12-6) vs. #10 Gabe Carranza (10-6)
285 - Cade Whish (10-6) vs. #13 Tyler Doyle (16-4)