The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) women’s wrestling team delivered big during their home opening dual night against Chadron State College (Chadron) and Texas Woman’s University (TWU). They continued to shine at the Maverick Open the next day at Brownson Arena.
The Mavericks totaled their second best team score over the last five seasons with a 41-3 win against Chadron during their first dual of the year on Nov. 4. The Eagles did not manage to win any weight class, while CMU accrued their point total via a minor decision victory, three technical falls and four pins.
Redshirt sophomore 101 pounder Jennesis Martinez proved the basis for her number three national ranking, as she closed the first match of the night with a technical fall in just 40 seconds.
Redshirt junior Marissa Gallegos is the current number one 123-pound wrestler in the country. She also closed her match in quick fashion with a 48-second pin in the first period.
True freshman Hailey Chapman wrestled her first match up a weight class at 136 pounds. Chapman started her collegiate career with a bang when she pinned sophomore Ryleigh Dye halfway through the first period.
Sophomore 191 pounder Jayleen Sekona continued the pattern of quick finishes when she scored 10 immediate points to tech-fall her opponent 10-0 in just one minute.
Next, they faced off against TWU. The Pioneers gave CMU more of a challenge, but the Mavericks ultimately came out on top and won the dual 34-14. The Mavericks won seven of the nine bouts by tech-fall or pin. The TWU Pioneers were making their women’s wrestling program debut.
Freshman Isabel Morales picked up her second win and the team’s fifth of nine total pins on the night. Morales pinned freshman Ashlee Rice 1:22 in the first period.
Gallegos might have had the best total performance of the night. The 121 pounder pulled off another prompt win and ended the match via tech-fall in 25 seconds. The top ranked wrestler had two wins in under a minute into the first period.
“I felt like tonight was the best we’ve ever wrestled as a team. I feel like the team energy and the team dynamics have been better than they ever were […] I was working on some new things, trying to wrestle to the outside, rather than inside, and it worked out really well,” Gallegos said.
Freshman Jada Llamido picked her second pin at 143 pounds against freshman Brooke Zejda in the second period.
“We got a little bit of first match jitters. We had a handful of freshmen competing tonight for the first time wrestling [with the] Brownson spotlights, [and the] smoke [and] curtains creating that environment that we will have at the national championships. But, I think our effort was fantastic. We brought the fight in every single match,” said head women’s wrestling coach Travis Mercado.
The team finished last season by taking 13 women to nationals last year, so there are high regular and postseason expectations for this year’s squad
“I think we will take all 15 girls that we qualify for [to nationals]. I feel really confident about this. I’ve been saying it publicly […] I believe that we’re gonna win a national championship this year as a team,” said Mercado.
The day after, CMU competed in their annual individual open tournament with over 112 wrestlers this year. The team took home seven weight titles with four of those coming from freshmen.
Freshman 101 pounder Isabella Morales, freshman 116 pounder Israel Resendez, Gallegos, Chapman, freshman 143 pounder Celina Cook, redshirt sophomore 170 pounder Melena Jones all won their weight classes. The Mavericks placed 17 wrestlers in their top-six weights.
The women’s wrestling team is mostly scomposed of ophomores and a couple of redshirt juniors, meaning that the third ranked national team could be even better in the near future. For now, however, the teams and fans have national championship aspirations.
The team’s next home dual will be on Dec. 8 against Snow College at 5:30 p.m.
