The men’s wrestling team gears up for another high-expectation season. The Mavericks are tied for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) pre-season with Colorado School of Mines with 40 points. The Mavericks are slated at 10 in the nation, while Mines sits at 24. Adams State University is the highest ranked RMAC school, at number eight.
Redshirt sophomore 125-pounder and Grand Junction product Dawson Collins is ranked third in the nation, after an outstanding freshman year. Collins was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year and placed fifth at the NCAA National Tournament.
Redshirt senior Collin Metzgar looks to assert himself as one of the nation’s best at 133 pounds. Metzgar is ranked fifth after a 28-5 season, where he became the first ever Maverick to outright win the Midwest Classic.
Metzgar was ranked second in the nation at one point last season, but could not quite finish on top after dropping two close matches and failing to place at the National Tournament.
“I had mixed emotions; I was really angry for a while. Going into this season, I just gotta keep my focus on enjoying my last season here with my teammates. I need to focus on enjoying myself firstly, and secondly just staying in position and wrestling well. The hard work and everything else will speak for itself,” Metzgar said.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Wheeler enters the year as the highest ranked Maverick, at second in the nation at 155 pounds. Wheeler took the tournament by storm last year when he finished third in the nation and was awarded the Gorriaran Award. This award is given to the wrestler with the most pins in the shortest span of time at the tournament.
Wheeler trails redshirt sophomore Josiah Rider of Adams State University at 155 pounds. Wheeler could easily jump to the best in the nation, especially because he gave Rider his only two losses last season.
The Mavericks lost a couple of program staples this offseason, including their “death row” at 174, 184 and 197 pounds.
These superstars were Seth Latham, Nolan Krone and Donnie Negus. Latham qualified for the National Tournament last year and was selected to an All-RMAC second team. Latham graduated following last season.
Last year’s 184 pounder Krone also graduated. Krone just barely missed qualifying for the national tournament and was honored with a second team All-RMAC selection.
Negus served as the team-captain last year at 197 pounds. Negus placed fifth during the 2021 national tournament and again qualified in 2022. Negus was a first team All-RMAC selection. Negus is now an assistant coach on the team.
However, the Mavericks most important loss was the retirement of 16-year head coach Chuck Pipher. Pipher has led the team to the most wins in program history. Pipher finished his career with a 129-112-1 dual record and coached the program’s first NCAA National Champions with 157 pounder James Martinez in 2015 and 165 pounder Fred Green in 2021
“[Pipher] was a really good coach that his athletes loved. He’s just a really caring guy. When athletes have a coach that helps them be successful in their wrestling, it’s great. But, when your coach really cares about you and thinks of the small things and giving the guys a good experience, it’s even better. He was excellent at that. I learned a lot there and that’s something I’ll carry forward as I coach,” assistant coach Mike Mendoza said.
Under Pipher’s guidance, the Mavericks have had an all-American in 12 straight seasons at the NCAA National Championships, the longest running streak of any school currently in the RMAC. Colorado Mesa University placed eighth at the National Championships as a team the last two years, the highest national placing in program history..
Mendoza has been with the team since 2019 and is slated to become the next Maverick head coach. Mendoza previously spent time at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado where he led the team to an 11 place finish at the national tournament.
The Mavericks will host their Intersquad dual on Thursday, Nov. 3 at Brownson Arena, before hitting the road for the first half of the season. Their first home dual will be against 8 ranked rival Adams State University on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. at Brownson Arena.
