Cole Hernandez Claims Season’s Final RMAC Wrestler of the Week Honor
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Western Colorado’s Cole Hernandez is the Week 12 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.
Hernandez took his No. 9 national ranking into Brownson Arena, in Grand Junction, Colo., last week and pulled off a 22-5 technical fall in the 174-pound match against Colorado Mesa. The redshirt junior holds a 12-3 record on the year after securing his latest victory at the 5:20 mark last weekend in a narrow 21-17 loss to the Mavericks.
Up next, the Mountaineers will enter the 2023 NCAA Division II Super Region VI Championships in Chadron, Neb. The regional event will be hosted by Chadron State at Chicoine Center/Loy Young Court, beginning at 9 a.m. MT on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Wrestler of the Week: Cole Hernandez, Western Colorado – R-Jr. – 174 – Pueblo, Colo.
Hernandez, ranked No. 9 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), dropped in four takedowns in the opening period of their match last week. With momentum riding high, he then added in three more takedowns and a four-point near fall in the second period before closing the match with an escape and a takedown, along with a ride point, for a 22-5 technical fall at 5:20 against his CMU foe.
Honorable Mention: Jason Bynarowicz, Colorado Mesa.
2022-23 RMAC Wrestlers of the Week
| Date |
Wrestlers of the Week |
| Week 1 – Nov. 8 |
Grayston DiBlasi, Colorado School of Mines |
| Week 2 – Nov. 15 |
Quentrevion Campbell, Chadron State |
| Week 3 – Nov. 22 |
Noah Hermosillo, Adams State |
| Week 4 – Dec. 6 |
Joshua Fuentes Norikiyo, San Francisco State |
| Week 5 – Dec. 13 |
Kyle Botelho, San Francisco State |
| Week 6 – Dec. 20 |
Noah Hermosillo, Adams State |
| Week 7 – Jan. 10 |
Dawson Collins, Colorado Mesa |
| Week 8 – Jan. 17 |
Noah Hermosillo, Adams State |
| Week 9 – Jan. 24 |
Hunter Mullin, Western Colorado |
| Week 10 – Jan. 31 |
Josiah Rider, Adams State |
| Week 11 – Feb. 7 |
Kash Anderson, Colorado Mesa |
| Week 12 – Feb. 14 |
Cole Hernandez, Western Colorado |