Wrestling | 10/25/2023 5:21:00 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 25, 2023) – In their second season in program history, the Texas Woman's wrestling team was voted to finish second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll for the 2023-2024 season.

The RMAC Women's Wrestling Preseason Coaches' Poll is voted on by the conference's head coaches, and coaches are not allowed to cast a vote for their own programs. 

The five teams in the conference will wrestle and compete for the first time under the RMAC this season, as they were recently added as a conference-sponsored sport. The RMAC is the first NCAA Division II conference to solely sponsor the women's realm of the sport. 

TWU had a memorable first season in program history last year that ended in qualifying five Pioneers to the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Texas Woman's was voted to finish in second place right behind Colorado Mesa with ten and 14 points respectively. Adam State and Simon Fraser tied for third place with nine points each, and Chadron State closed the standings in fifth place with eight points. 

Colorado Mesa, who received the majority of the votes for first place (3), defeated the Pioneers both times those  teams wrestled against each other in the 2022-23 season. 

At the Maverick open in Grand Junction, Colo. on Saturday Nov. 4, the Pioneers and the Mavericks will face each other for the first time this season. They will cross paths again later this year in Alamosa, Colo. on Dec 7. 

TWU Head Coach Randi Miller and the Pioneers added 21 wrestlers to this year's roster and now have wrestlers in all weight classes. They also have three of the five who qualified to last year's NCWW Championship returning this year, Mackenzie Peterson, Brooke Zejada and Poorna Babu. Mercedes Nerios, who was also in attendance at the Regionals, is now part of the squad as a graduate assistant. 

A week from today, the Pioneers open their season with a Maroon and Black Intersquad at Kitty Magee Arena on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. Quickly after that, they split forces and will be attending the Simon Fraser tournament on Nov. 3 and 4 and the Maverick Open on Nov. 4. 

The Pioneers will be hosting the NCWWC regional event on Saturday Feb. 24 and Sunday Feb. 25. 

The full 2023-24 RMAC Preseason Poll is included below:
 

2023-24 RMAC Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll