NCAA College Preview Series: #6 Colorado Mesa
Red shirt junior Marissa Gallegos, returning national finalist, had a big offseason, making the Senior National Team in September at World Team Trials. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com
2-time All-American Anja Tschohl returns for her senior season. Photo courtesy of Austin Kaiser / Colorado Mesa Athletics
by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek
Ranked #6 in the NWCA preseason coaches’ poll, fourth-year program Colorado Mesa is coming into the 2021-2022 season with a maturing roster looking to close the gap with recent years’ top programs like McKendree, King, and Simon Fraser. The Mavericks are a legitimate threat to take home a team trophy at nationals this year as they’re returning eight All-Americans, including 2-time All-Americans Jennesis Martinez, Anja Tschohl, Marissa Gallegos—also a 2021 national finalist—and 2020 national finalist Dalia Garibay. They also had a solid recruiting class that includes 2021 Junior world teamer Claire DiCugno. On top of all that, they added 2011 Pan Am Championships silver medalist Amanda Hendey to the coaching staff.
Here’s an interview with Maverick head coach Travis Mercado.
1. What are your reflections on last season?
Last year was another great year for our young program. We have continuously shown that we are a contender amongst the top programs and not afraid to step up to compete against them. Our schedule in my opinion was one of the toughest in the nation last year with duals against King, Emmanuel, McKendree, Schreiner, Lindenwood, and Limestone, going to McKendree University for the Bearcat Open, and being in the same regional as McKendree. While we may not have had as many individual matches as we have in the past, we definitely set ourselves up to be successful at the national tournament by traveling as much as we could. Finishing 4th in the nation at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships with 8 All-Americans was a fantastic achievement especially given the circumstances and limited competition available to us.
2. Talk about your returning class. Who are some of the women you have high expectations for this year?
7 of our 8 All-Americans are returning and even some young women that didn’t get the opportunity to compete due to health protocols. They are leading the charge in our training and being leaders for our incoming class. They have set the standard for what being a wrestler at Colorado Mesa University really means.
-Jennesis Martinez (JR), a 2-time All-American at 101 pounds: She has been on the cusp of being in the national finals twice now and she has been putting in a lot of work this offseason to hopefully get over that hump.
-Anja Tschohl (SR), a 2x All-American at 116 pounds: Anja would like to move up in her placings, finishing 7th and 8th respectively the past two seasons. She will need to open up her arsenal to help get her higher on the podium this coming year.
-Dalia Garibay (JR), 2020 National Finalist: An injury stopped her run to a repeat national finals appearance, but she is back and looking sharp. I expect to see Dalia pick up right where she left off and have a stellar season.
-Marissa Gallegos (RsJR), a 2x All-American at 123 pounds: A national finalist last year along with an Olympic Trials Qualifier and making the Senior National Team this past September has really put Marissa’s trajectory at a whole new level. I have no doubt that she’ll find herself at the top of the podium this year.
-Elizabeth “Lizzie” Miller, 2021 All-American at 123 pounds: Coming off a great freshmen campaign, Lizzie knows that she can compete with the best in the nation. Her poise and eagerness to compete are unmatched right now.
-Isabeau Shalack, 2021 All-American at 191 pounds: This young lady is a blast to be around and she knows the areas that she needs to improve on. She spent the summer in Grand Junction training and prepping for this upcoming season.
-Zoe Gress, 2021 All-American at 155 pounds: Zoe’s freshmen season was tough as she wrestled some of the top girls at every competition we had, but she showed that she can compete with the best of them. Placing 5th at U23 World Team Trials in May really sparked her competitiveness and showed her that she is doing the right things to compete at the collegiate level.
-Holly Beaudoin: An injury stopped Holly’s season short where she saw herself ranked in the top 8 at 130 pounds last year. Holly has made a huge commitment to her strength training and is looking dominate in her wrestling.
3. Talk about your incoming freshmen class. Who are you excited about and what are some of the names that you expect an immediate contribution from?
Our incoming class, although young in their wrestling age, has some great talent in it. They have all come into our program eager to learn and compete with the utmost attention to details in their training. I’m excited to see them compete and make the transition from high school wrestling to college wrestling.
-Maya Cortes, Chicago, IL: This 2021 State champion from Illinois has really impressed both myself and Coach Hendey this preseason. Her work ethic is amazing and she is ever so efficient with her training. I feel confident that she’ll find her way to the podium in March.
-Claire Dicugno, Lake Tapps, WA: A 2021 Junior World Team member has come into our program with so much to bring to the table as a young leader. She has already shown that she can compete with some of the nation’s best and we are excited to have her in a Maverick singlet!
-Alex Brulotte, Ferndale, WA: Alex placed at Fargo this summer and we have been making some tremendous gains in her wrestling. She’s been coming in and doing individual workouts on top of our normal training which has only accelerated her growth and development.
-Tatum Heikkila, Aberdeen, WA and Jayleen Sekona, Anchorage, AK: Tatum and Jayleen are both multiple-time high school All-Americans. The addition of these two to our upper weights has been amazing for our training especially with returning All-American Isabeau Shalack.
-Lillian Broadrick, Katy, TX: A Texas State runner-up in 2021, she is a fierce competitor that has really emerged as a competitor in our room.
4. How do you feel about your preseason?
Preseason has been very productive to say the least. We have been very strategic in the training that we’ve been doing not only in the wrestling room, but also in the weight room. Our strength coach Carson Pipher has really mapped out our preseason to help us prepare for the longevity of the college wrestling season. There are always moments that catch my attention, but the main theme for our preseason training was “COMPETE.” Amanda and I have really been highlighting that we can compete in everything that we do (wrestling, conditioning, strength training, academics, etc.) and the team has really started to buy into this idea that we are coming into training ready to compete.
5. Talk about some of your team's goals this season. Are there any specific events you're excited about?
The main goal is always to win a national championship! But for us it’s about performing at our best every time we step on the mat. We really try to deemphasize winning and losing, all natural outcomes in the sport of wrestling, and focus on the opportunities placed in front of us and learning from the challenges, success, and setbacks.
We’d like to improve on our finish from last year’s national tournament we had 8 girls All-American and of those 8 we only won three of those medal matches. We’ve talked a lot about not being satisfied and not taking our foot off the gas when we are competing.
Outside of the college season we want girls to make the USA national teams whether it be Junior, U23, or Senior teams. We have shown that we can do that here at Mesa so we are going to continuously give our team those opportunities.
National Duals! It’s one of my favorite events every year. This year our men’s team was also invited so we get to be together and cheer each other on through the weekend. I’m also looking forward to all of our home events this year (5). Being one of the farthest west teams in the NCAA, it has been a struggle and frustrating to have other NCAA opponents come out to compete at home. With the addition of Chadron State and Limestone University making the return trip this year it’ll be nice to compete at home and show our campus community and local community why we’re a top program in the nation.
6. What are some things you've built into your program that you credit for the success you've had so far?
Culture is important for me, and has always been a value when it comes to the recruiting process. Having student athletes that want to be here at Mesa and believe in what we are doing—and want to do—has been a tremendous credit to our success. When you have student athletes that buy into the vision of the program, especially a new one, it makes it that much easier. Also teaching the ladies that the focus should be on performance, not outcome, has been an important theme. We really preach that it’s about being competitive and the giving best version of themselves in everything that they do.
7. Who are some of the personalities in the room that are providing leadership and shaping your culture?
Marissa Gallegos, Dalia Garibay, and Jennesis Martinez are all silent leaders. They let their work do the talking. Then you have girls like Holly Beaudoin, Lizzie Miller, and Claire DiCugno who have outgoing personalities that draw the team in and get our energy up. Every girl on the team brings something unique to the table and that is what makes us great as a team and has developed our culture. The girls on the team all have high expectations of themselves and have really come together as a team this year thus far.
8. Anything else you'd like to mention?
The addition of Amanda Hendey to our coaching staff has been a tremendous addition for the program. Having a full-time assistant that has as much experience and accolades as she does is amazing. She’s connected to the ladies on the team and the ladies have found someone that they can see themselves becoming. I’ve seen tremendous growth in all of our athletes since Amanda arrived on campus. It has already made an impact with Marissa making the Senior National Team and Claire’s performance at World Team Trials in September after she worked with them individually for three weeks prior to that event. We may not have had the best recruiting class, but I know that I got the best new addition to a program with Amanda Hendey.