Preview of the RMAC Wrestling Championships, set for USOTC on Sunday
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by Zach Bond, RMAC
Championships Homepage
Live Video/Live Results
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships in 20 years are set for Sunday, Jan. 31 at the United States Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs.
The event, which will feature all nine RMAC wrestling schools, is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The second session is slated for 3:30 p.m., while the finals, which will be broadcast live on Comcast Entertainment Television (CET), are set for a 5 p.m. start.
The entire tournament will be live streamed, with a link to the video and live stats available on the RMAC Wrestling Championships homepage. Tickets can be purchased online until 5 p.m. Thursday on the Wrestling Championships homepage.
The RMAC is proud to partner with USA Wrestling, the Colorado Springs Spots Corporation and the U.S. Olympic Complex for the championships.
The last time the RMAC hosted its own wrestling championships was in 1996. Between 1997 and 2014, the RMAC wrestling championship was combined with the NCAA Division II regional tournament.
In 2015, the RMAC Dual Meet champion was recognized as the conference champion.
Below is a quick preview of each team as they enter this weekend's action.
Adams State
The Grizzlies enter the weekend with a 1-5 overall dual record and a 0-4 RMAC dual mark. Their dual win came against Northern State (28-25) at the Midwest Duals on Jan. 16th.
Adams State will be led by senior Martin Ramirez, currently ranked No. 3 at 133 pounds by D2wrestle.com. Ramirez holds a 16-5 record on the year, tallying five pins and four tech falls. He earned an RMAC Wrestler of the Week honor this season after winning the Midwest Duals, collecting five wins during the tournament.
Ramirez will have plenty of help on Sunday. Teammates Dakota Bencomo (197) and Tuli Laulu (285) tied for the team lead with 17 wins this season.
California Baptist
The Lancers will come into the RMAC Championships with a 6-3 mark in duals. They are 3-1 in RMAC duals, with their most recent dual being a 35-3 win over San Francisco State last Saturday. They've won their last three duals, with all three being RMAC schools. Their only loss to an RMAC opponent came at the hands of Western State in a tight 24-22 affair at the Nebraska Kearney Duals.
CBU will be led by Joe Fagiano, an RMAC Wrestler of the Week this year, who is ranked No. 6 in the D2wrestle.com rankings (285). Teammate Jacob Waste is ranked No. 5 in the D2wrestle.com rankings at 184 pounds. The Lancers are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Division II Power Rankings.
Chadron State
The Eagles are off to their best start in dual competition since the 1971-72 season. They currently boast an 11-1 dual mark, a fact made all the more impressive considering there is just one senior on the roster. They are a perfect 3-0 in RMAC duals, notching wins over Colorado Mines, CSU-Pueblo and Adams State.
The win against CSU-Pueblo, which was ranked No. 20 at the time, was Eagles head coach Brett Hunter's first-ever win against a ranked Division II opponent on their home mat.
Terrance McKinney was the first RMAC Wrestler of the Week this season and is currently the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country at 149 pounds. He is 16-6 on the season with nine wins by fall.
Several other Chadron State grapplers are ranked regionally in Super Region 4. In addition to McKinney's No. 1 regional ranking, junior Taylor Summers is third at 133 pounds, as is junior Caleb Copeland at 174. True freshman Shane Rodenburg has pushed through an early-season MCL tear to earn the fifth spot in the region at 184.
Colorado Mesa
The Mavericks will be looking to defend last year's RMAC title on Sunday. They boast plenty of returning talent, including three NCAA Qualifiers. Two of those returners (Daniel Salazar and Drew Schumann) will be wrestling on Sunday.
The Mavs are 6-1 in duals this season and 4-0 in RMAC duals. They are currently No. 11 in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings.
Salazar is currently the No. 2-ranked wrester at 141 pounds, while Schumann is ranked No. 7 at 149 pounds. Teamate Jessie Hoffschneider is No. 2 at 165 pounds.
Colorado Mines
The Orediggers enter Sunday with a 6-3 mark in duals. They are 0-3 in RMAC duals, with the losses coming all on the road against Chadron State, Western State and Colorado Mesa.
They are led by Paul Wilson, an RMAC Wrestler of the Week. The senior from Stillwater, Okla. Is ranked No. 6 at 197 pounds according the D2wrestle.com. During the week he won RMAC Wrestler of the Week, Wilson went 4-0, including a win over No. 7 Joe Gomez of Northern State.
CSU-Pueblo
The ThunderWolves come into Sunday's action at the No. 20-ranked team in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings. They own a 1-7 overall duals record, with an 0-2 mark in RMAC duals. They have one more dual against Adams State scheduled before the RMAC Championships.
The ThunderWolves are led by JaCobi Jones, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb. who is ranked No. 4 at 157 pounds. He was also a Preseason All-RMAC selection after earning last year's RMAC Freshman of the Year award.
New Mexico Highlands
The Cowboys will come to the RMAC Championships with a 1-6 mark in duals, including an 0-2 mark in RMAC duals. Their two RMAC losses came at the hands of Colorado Mesa and California Baptist.
New Mexico Highlands is led by Preseason All-RMAC selection Reis Humphrey. Last season, Humphrey earned All-RMAC First Team honors after a second-place finish at the NCAA West Super Regional.
San Francisco State
The Gators own a 4-6 record in duals and are 1-1 in RMAC duals. They are 3-2 in duals against NCAA Division II opponents and have wrestled nationally-ranked Division I opponents Old Dominion and Stanford.
Individually, the Gators are led by Sam Alnassiri (285) and Tavis Ino (157). Alnassiri is 14-8 this season, while Ino is 12-13, including 7-8 at 157. Those two are joined by teammates Fern Giron (133), winner of a Super Region IV Wrestler of the Week award, and Johnny Costa (184), an RMAC Wrestler of the Week.
Western State
Western State comes into the RMAC Championships ranked No. 16 in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings. The Mountaineers are 6-3 in duals overall and 3-1 in the RMAC. They boast RMAC wins over CSU-Pueblo, California Baptist and Colorado Mines, and lost to Colorado Mesa.
Plenty of eyes will be on the Preseason RMAC Wrestler of the Year Corbin Bennetts, currently the seventh-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. Last season Bennetts earned All-American honors as the 141-pound National Runner-Up.
Live Video/Live Results
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships in 20 years are set for Sunday, Jan. 31 at the United States Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs.
The event, which will feature all nine RMAC wrestling schools, is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The second session is slated for 3:30 p.m., while the finals, which will be broadcast live on Comcast Entertainment Television (CET), are set for a 5 p.m. start.
The entire tournament will be live streamed, with a link to the video and live stats available on the RMAC Wrestling Championships homepage. Tickets can be purchased online until 5 p.m. Thursday on the Wrestling Championships homepage.
The RMAC is proud to partner with USA Wrestling, the Colorado Springs Spots Corporation and the U.S. Olympic Complex for the championships.
The last time the RMAC hosted its own wrestling championships was in 1996. Between 1997 and 2014, the RMAC wrestling championship was combined with the NCAA Division II regional tournament.
In 2015, the RMAC Dual Meet champion was recognized as the conference champion.
Below is a quick preview of each team as they enter this weekend's action.
Adams State
The Grizzlies enter the weekend with a 1-5 overall dual record and a 0-4 RMAC dual mark. Their dual win came against Northern State (28-25) at the Midwest Duals on Jan. 16th.
Adams State will be led by senior Martin Ramirez, currently ranked No. 3 at 133 pounds by D2wrestle.com. Ramirez holds a 16-5 record on the year, tallying five pins and four tech falls. He earned an RMAC Wrestler of the Week honor this season after winning the Midwest Duals, collecting five wins during the tournament.
Ramirez will have plenty of help on Sunday. Teammates Dakota Bencomo (197) and Tuli Laulu (285) tied for the team lead with 17 wins this season.
California Baptist
The Lancers will come into the RMAC Championships with a 6-3 mark in duals. They are 3-1 in RMAC duals, with their most recent dual being a 35-3 win over San Francisco State last Saturday. They've won their last three duals, with all three being RMAC schools. Their only loss to an RMAC opponent came at the hands of Western State in a tight 24-22 affair at the Nebraska Kearney Duals.
CBU will be led by Joe Fagiano, an RMAC Wrestler of the Week this year, who is ranked No. 6 in the D2wrestle.com rankings (285). Teammate Jacob Waste is ranked No. 5 in the D2wrestle.com rankings at 184 pounds. The Lancers are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Division II Power Rankings.
Chadron State
The Eagles are off to their best start in dual competition since the 1971-72 season. They currently boast an 11-1 dual mark, a fact made all the more impressive considering there is just one senior on the roster. They are a perfect 3-0 in RMAC duals, notching wins over Colorado Mines, CSU-Pueblo and Adams State.
The win against CSU-Pueblo, which was ranked No. 20 at the time, was Eagles head coach Brett Hunter's first-ever win against a ranked Division II opponent on their home mat.
Terrance McKinney was the first RMAC Wrestler of the Week this season and is currently the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country at 149 pounds. He is 16-6 on the season with nine wins by fall.
Several other Chadron State grapplers are ranked regionally in Super Region 4. In addition to McKinney's No. 1 regional ranking, junior Taylor Summers is third at 133 pounds, as is junior Caleb Copeland at 174. True freshman Shane Rodenburg has pushed through an early-season MCL tear to earn the fifth spot in the region at 184.
Colorado Mesa
The Mavericks will be looking to defend last year's RMAC title on Sunday. They boast plenty of returning talent, including three NCAA Qualifiers. Two of those returners (Daniel Salazar and Drew Schumann) will be wrestling on Sunday.
The Mavs are 6-1 in duals this season and 4-0 in RMAC duals. They are currently No. 11 in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings.
Salazar is currently the No. 2-ranked wrester at 141 pounds, while Schumann is ranked No. 7 at 149 pounds. Teamate Jessie Hoffschneider is No. 2 at 165 pounds.
Colorado Mines
The Orediggers enter Sunday with a 6-3 mark in duals. They are 0-3 in RMAC duals, with the losses coming all on the road against Chadron State, Western State and Colorado Mesa.
They are led by Paul Wilson, an RMAC Wrestler of the Week. The senior from Stillwater, Okla. Is ranked No. 6 at 197 pounds according the D2wrestle.com. During the week he won RMAC Wrestler of the Week, Wilson went 4-0, including a win over No. 7 Joe Gomez of Northern State.
CSU-Pueblo
The ThunderWolves come into Sunday's action at the No. 20-ranked team in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings. They own a 1-7 overall duals record, with an 0-2 mark in RMAC duals. They have one more dual against Adams State scheduled before the RMAC Championships.
The ThunderWolves are led by JaCobi Jones, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb. who is ranked No. 4 at 157 pounds. He was also a Preseason All-RMAC selection after earning last year's RMAC Freshman of the Year award.
New Mexico Highlands
The Cowboys will come to the RMAC Championships with a 1-6 mark in duals, including an 0-2 mark in RMAC duals. Their two RMAC losses came at the hands of Colorado Mesa and California Baptist.
New Mexico Highlands is led by Preseason All-RMAC selection Reis Humphrey. Last season, Humphrey earned All-RMAC First Team honors after a second-place finish at the NCAA West Super Regional.
San Francisco State
The Gators own a 4-6 record in duals and are 1-1 in RMAC duals. They are 3-2 in duals against NCAA Division II opponents and have wrestled nationally-ranked Division I opponents Old Dominion and Stanford.
Individually, the Gators are led by Sam Alnassiri (285) and Tavis Ino (157). Alnassiri is 14-8 this season, while Ino is 12-13, including 7-8 at 157. Those two are joined by teammates Fern Giron (133), winner of a Super Region IV Wrestler of the Week award, and Johnny Costa (184), an RMAC Wrestler of the Week.
Western State
Western State comes into the RMAC Championships ranked No. 16 in the latest D2wrestle.com rankings. The Mountaineers are 6-3 in duals overall and 3-1 in the RMAC. They boast RMAC wins over CSU-Pueblo, California Baptist and Colorado Mines, and lost to Colorado Mesa.
Plenty of eyes will be on the Preseason RMAC Wrestler of the Year Corbin Bennetts, currently the seventh-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. Last season Bennetts earned All-American honors as the 141-pound National Runner-Up.
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