by Matt Kennedy
Colorado Mesa University concluded their regular dual season schedule at home this past Friday against the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys; it did not go the way the Mavericks wanted to.
After riding a wave of momentum concluding their solid performance at RMAC’s and the most recent dual win against Western State. Chuck Pipher’s squad looked to vanquish a struggling Cowboys team, but the tables turned on the Mavericks on Friday.
Highlands won the first two bouts of the night in the form of decision victories over Channing Lewis and Juaquin Olivas. The first win of the night for the Mavericks came in the third bout when Brett Kaspryzk dominated and teched Patrick Vega 20-2.
Daniel Salazar, the RMAC Champion in the 141-weight division, wrestled up a weight class on Friday and ended taking a loss for his team in a heart-breaking 3-2 decision. This was only Salazar’s seventh loss of the season.
Both schools would split victories in the remaining six matches as John Daniel picked up a decision win over Reis Humphrey 3-1; however, Kellen Pelzel would not follow suit and lose by decision to Jesse Hoffschneider.
Bruno Nicoletti gave the Mavericks some much-needed momentum as he teched Kenneth Yara 19-2 which gave CMU a chance to win the meet with only three bouts left in the night.
The next two falls resulted in the Mavericks not scoring a single point in either match as both Adam Visconti and George Stagg lost by decision. At this point, the meet was in favor of the Cowboys picking up the victory and the upset against the Mavericks.
Freshman Clayton Voytilla did close out the night in winning fashion as he was defeated Gabe Escobedo by decision 5-1 in the heavyweight bout.
This was the second time in two weeks defeating Escobedo as Voytilla beat him last week to win fifth place honors at the RMAC Championships.
Head coach Chuck Pipher is still proud of his team’s dual accomplishments this season. Pipher said, “most people would consider us more of a tournament team.”
Despite the recent loss, CMU closed out their regular season with an impressive 10-4 record in duals. They went 4-2 in the RMAC as this past Friday was Colorado Mesa’s first loss at home this season.
This loss to a lesser-talented Highlands team could have an effect on the Maverick’s momentum heading into regionals, but coach Pipher knows his team fights well through adversity as he always praises his team’s perseverance.
The win for Highlands gives them a 3-8 dual season record; they recently defeated Colorado School of Mines as well.
CMU will now have their focus towards the NCAA Regionals which will take place in Golden, Colorado on Feb 24-25. The Mavericks came in fourth last year at regionals but have a significant chance of putting up better numbers this year.
