After dropping six of their first seven matches Thursday night, the CMU wrestling squad (8-9, 3-3 RMAC) had catching up to do.

On Thursday night, the Mavericks hosted the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves. Even after winning the last three matches to decrease the Thunderwolves, two pins weren’t enough to bring CMU back in the contest as they fell to the Thunderwolves 23-18.

“We needed to execute earlier in the matches,” coach Chuck Pipher said. “It’s hard to get down 17-0 and come back.”

Jon Gappmaier increased his winning streak to 11 matches, leaving him undefeated in 157-pound RMAC competition. The final two matches of Thursday night resulted in back-to-back pins from CMU’s Jordan Passhel and Paco Retana.

Both pins were within the first two minutes of each match.

The Mavericks used the loss against the Thunderwolves as motivation as they rolled into the Adams State match on Friday, ending in a 22-17 victory for CMU.

This was the first Maverick victory over the Grizzlies since 2006.

“We had to come out and wrestle tough,” Pipher said. “Last night we didn’t have any fire and tonight we came out and wrestled with fire. It’s a huge win for us.”

CMU’s Zak Slotten put on a show for the crowd as he pushed his match against the Grizzlies’ Jarrod Purvis into three overtime rounds. With six seconds left in the third overtime, Slotten pinned Purvis for the win.

After Slotten’s victory, the fate of the dual was in Retana’s hands as the Mavericks led 18-17 in the final match of the night. Retana was able to seal the 22-17 win with a 12-4 victory in the 285-pound match.

“Always toward the end of the season it feels good to go out there and start what you hope becomes a streak,” Retana said. “It feels good to have the crowd behind you.”

The Mavericks hit the road next weekend as they take on Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.