Two teams. Two red hot starts. One goal. A national championship. Both men’s and women’s wrestling have had great seasons to this point. The men’s squad is currently undefeated in RMAC play, with the women’s team being tabbed ninth nationally.

On the men’s side, the 23rd ranked Mavericks’ RMAC success has not come easily, with a recent two point victory coming against Chadron State College (CSC), 21-19.

“It means we’re tough. We’re not going to have dominant wins over every opponent. We were able to squeak out the tough ones. When things get tough, we’re still able to compete, we’re able to wrestle and still pull out a win when things might not be optimal,” said redshirt Junior Oran Huff.

While the close win against CSC was nerve racking, that hasn’t been the norm for Colorado Mesa University (CMU). In their two other RMAC contests, the Mavs have won by an average of 37 points, including a 31-12 victory over then-17th ranked Western Colorado University (WCU).

“It gets intense. We [go up to Gunnison] and we wrestle [WCU], and they don’t like to lose over there, and we really don’t like to lose [in Brownson Arena]. They definitely didn’t like losing that bad to us over there. They’re a competitive team, and they’re a lot like us. They expect to win, and they’re gonna wrestle tough,” said Huff.

Huff has had a great season for himself, going 12-7 overall and forcing three technical falls against opponents. Along with Huff, sophomore 125-pounder Dayson Torgenson has also been spectacular, going undefeated in duals. Dayson Torgeson has won all seven stand-alone contests this year,  and sits at 14-4 overall. He’s been on the right side of three pins, and has yet to be pinned himself. In the close win at CSC, both Dayson Torgenson and his brother, redshirt junior 141 pounder Denim Torgenson forced a pin, which ended up being the deciding factor in the match.

“I talked to [Head Coach Mike Mendoza] and he said, ‘If you can get bonus points we need them big tonight,’ so I just made more of an emphasis to get the pin and not the [technical fall],” said Dayson Torgenson.

Denim Torgenson has been great for the Mavericks this year as well, going 6-1 in duals. Out of his eight overall wins, five have come via pins, with one coming in a blazing 55 seconds. While it’s fun to talk about the close wins in the regular season, what truly matters still lies ahead: the postseason. In less than one month, on March 1, the Mavericks will head down to Gunnison for the Super Region VI regional.

“This is the time of year where you really have to lock in and focus, because it’s coming to an end fast… Right now it’s dual season, so you’re wrestling all of those guys you are going to see in the regional. For me, it’s just leaving a little note on them, [saying] you don’t want to wrestle me at regionals. That’s what I’m trying to do now,” said Denim Torgenson.

The Mavericks will now head to Colorado State University – Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines to wrestle back-to-back nights, Feb. 6 and 7. Before postseason play, they’ll return home for the Bank of Colorado Battle in Brownson for a rematch with WCU. The dual will get started at 6 P.M. on Feb. 13.

For the Maverick women’s squad, they’ve all but clinched second place in the RMAC regular season. The Simon Fraser (SF) Red Leafs won the regular season title, defeating the Mavericks by a single point, 23-22. This season’s loss to SF marks the second straight season the Red Leafs have bested CMU, and they remain the only team to have beaten the Mavs since RMAC play began last year.

Despite the conference loss, the Mavs have still bolstered a great season. With a record of 13-3, every one of their losses has come against top 10 opponents by a combined 22 points. In a dual on Jan. 17 at CSC, CMU grabbed an authoritative conference win, defeating the Eagles 28-18.

“It’s hard to wrestle on the road at Chadron, they do a really good job of creating an environment that’s a little bit hostile. It’s a little loud, a little rambunctious. I think it rattled us a little bit at the beginning of the dual, but then we were able to put up a lot of bonus point wins,” said head coach Travis Mercado.

Despite the high ranking, the Mavs fell behind 10-0. Rattling off back-to-back falls to tie the score, they were able to cruise to the large victory. The week didn’t end there for the Mavericks, however, as they then traveled six hours east to compete in the York Open the next day. The quick turnaround wasn’t a problem, as CMU saw 10 of their 16 competitors on the podium.

Despite the important conference dual win, the final score wasn’t the most important news for women’s wrestling fans that Friday night. On Jan. 17, the NCAA approved the creation of a women’s wrestling championship, making it the 91st championship the governing body will sponsor.

“It was such a blessing to even be here, let alone four years down the line and this huge milestone is happening. I just never would’ve thought I could be a part of something like that. It’s not about me, but it’s something I can look back on,” said senior 145 pounder Erica Smith.

The Mavericks will now look forward to the RMAC Championships on Feb. 1 in Colorado Springs before heading to Denton, Texas, for the NCWWC Region VI tournament on Feb. 26.