After a tough non-conference schedule, the Maverick wrestlers began the RMAC portion of their schedule on Friday in Brownson Arena.

After their second place finish in the conference standings last year, the Mavs put themselves on the right track towards a championship finish by winning both duel meets against Chadron State and New Mexico Highlands. Head coach Chuck Pipher was happy with his team’s performance and their ability to overcome large deficits and injuries during the matches.

“We are sitting pretty good right now,” Pipher sad. “We got a little beat up from the meet Thursday night with a concussion and a busted foot in the heavyweight match, so it was good to come out and win every match wrestled on Friday and pick up two good wins.”

The Mavs began the weekend against an undefeated Chadron State squad, featuring a pair of Division II ranked wrestlers. The Eagles were in control after the first five bouts and jumped out to a 19-3 advantage in the match, but five straight wins by CMU swung the momentum in favor of the home team. The Mavericks’ ranked wrestlers, No. 2 James Martinez in the 149-pound weight class and No. 7 Chester Granard at 174 pounds led the way with a technical fall victory by Martinez and a 6-0 decision for Granard. Daniel Salazar, Trevor Donarski, and Jessie Hoffschneider also contributed during that stretch with wins in the 141, 157 and 165-pound classes respectively.

Although the Mavs picked up the win, they lost 125 pounder Eric Vargas to a concussion and Jordan Passehl at 285 to a foot injury. Those injuries cost them in their second match against New Mexico Highlands, giving the Cowboys all 18 team points off of forfeits. However, when it came down to performance on the mat, the Mavs were dominant. Donarski and Hoffschneider each earned major decision victories and Granard and Jonathon Stelling each picked up decision wins as well.

The clinching victory for CMU came in the final match of the duel. Paco Retana, who was originally in the 197 pound weight class, was moved up to the 285 pound class to fill the hole in the lineup, which forced him to face a much larger opponent. Retana held a one-point lead after the first period and fought off a potential pin by his opponent with a great reversal move. Retana went on to pin his opponent and came away with a team-leading eighth win of the season. According to Retana, the jump up in weight class was not uncomfortable since he had wrestled at that weight previously, which gave him plenty of confidence going up against a bigger opponent.

“The decision was made right at the last minute for me to go up to heavyweight,” Retana said. “We felt that it was the right move strategically for our team and I’m glad I was able to go out there and secure the win for us.”

The Mavs will continue their conference schedule on the road against California Baptist University on Friday and will also compete in the California Collegiate Open on Saturday.

mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu