CHADRON, Neb. -- November 4, 2022 -- The Chadron State College cross country team enters the postseason on Saturday, hoping to improve upon its 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship results of 13th place for the men's team and 14th for the women.

The runners will compete at Hill Crest Golf Course in Durango, Colorado. The men's eight-kilometer race starts at noon, with the women's six-kilometer competition slated for 12:50 p.m.

The event is possibly the biggest conference challenge anywhere in NCAA Division II, with five of the top 25 men's teams in the country represented, and six of the top 25 women's squads. Colorado School of Mines leads the men's poll at No. 1, while Adams State is the top-ranked women's platoon.

Several RMAC runners have been named the USTFCCCA national Runners of the Week this season.

The course in Durango should be a challenge. At a race earlier in the season, on the same course, both winners from Westminster College turned in their longest runs of the season.

CSC has not competed head to head with any of the top teams so far this season. The Eagles went up against Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines in their first two races of the season. At the Trojan Invite in Colby Kansas, they saw members of the No. 12 Colorado Christian women's team, the No. 10 CCU men's, and the No. 1 Mines men's, but none of those teams sent their top runners to the meet.

How the Eagles runners stack up against the rest of the conference remains to be seen, however a few on the team ran their collegiate best times at the Kansas meet in mid-October. The women have only run 5Ks so far this season, and many will be entering their first career 6K this weekend.

An open race will also be held for extra runners beyond each team's top seven.

The 2022 RMAC Cross Country Championships will conclude with the awards ceremony, which is scheduled to begin upon the conclusion of the women's race. RMAC Runner of the Year awards will be presented to the first-place finisher of each race, while the Freshman of the Year honors will be presented to each event's top-finishing freshman. RMAC All-Conference teams will also be determined by the finishing results with the top 14 finishers earning first-team honors and the 15th through 28th-place finishers earning second-team distinctions.

Live results and course maps can be found on the RMAC Championships page at RMACSports.org.

Hardockers claim five-set win in Chadron

CHADRON, Neb. – November 4, 2022 – The Chadron State College volleyball team lost in five sets Friday night to South Dakota Mines (25-20, 15-25, 25-17, 18-25, 8-15). The Eagles fell to 7-19 overall, and 5-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in a very streaky match for both teams.

The Eagles started off hot, scoring the first seven points of the match, led by three Allie Ferguson kills. They extended and held the lead they created before the Hardrockers were able to cut it to two at 13-11. CSC would respond by scoring the next six points to extend the lead to 19-13 from a Lexi Hurtado kill. SDSM cut the lead down to three, but once again the Eagles stole momentum and go on a 4-1 run to put the set out of reach. An Aiyana Fujiyama kill ended any chance of a comeback and gave the Eagles the first set victory.

The second set saw the Hardrockers start off hot, jumping out to a 9-3 lead. A 5-3 run from the Eagles cut the lead down to 8-12, but the Hardrockers scored three straight points to capture the momentum needed to carry them to a set victory. The Eagles scored seven more points, but an attack error from CSC gave SDSM the point needed to end the set.

The third set opened with both teams clicking, and they were tied at 3-3. There was a total of six ties and lead changes before a Mayson Fago kill sparked an 8-1 run from the Eagles to put their lead at 15-9. The Hardrockers cut the lead down to four, but another 4-1 run from the Eagles put the set out of reach. CSC squashed the idea of any comeback SDSM had with a 3-0 run and another Hurtado kill to end the set.

The Eagles jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth, but a 9-2 run from the Hardrockers enabled them to take the lead at 10-8 over the Eagles. There were five ties and three lead changes throughout the set, but SDSM went on a 5-1 run to end it. A Dejah Behrend kill gave the fourth set to the Hardrockers.

The momentum SDSM created in the fourth set carried over to the fifth set as it quickly ran out to a 7-2 lead. The Eagles fought back to cut the lead down to four at 8-12, but it was not enough to get the set in CSC's advantage. The Hardrockers ended the set on a 3-0 run to take the match.

The Eagles hit .182 on the night led by Fujiyama who hit .400. Bella Adams hit .235 to help the attack. The Eagles totaled 9.4 kills per set on the night, with Fujiyama and Ferguson leading the way with 10 each. Adams added nine, while Fago added eight.

Rylee Greiman, playing libero in all five sets, led the team in digs with 15, and Hurtado added 14, which contributed to the 57 CSC totaled.

At the net the Eagles totaled nine blocks, with Fujiyama leading the way with six.

With the loss, as well as wins by Fort Lewis and SDSM, CSC falls out of mathematical contention for the RMAC Tournament at 5-12 in league play. Mines, at 11-14 (8-9 RMAC), sets itself up to tie for at least seventh, with potential tiebreakers between the Hardrockers, UCCS, and Fort Lewis pending.

CSC will host Black Hills State on Saturday November 5, at the Chicoine Center at 6 p.m. It is Senior Night and the season finale for the Eagles volleyball team.

CSC women's wrestling faces tough opponent in Colorado

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – November 4, 2022 – The No. 21 Chadron State College women's wrestling team took on the No. 3 Colorado Mesa Mavericks, in a dual match on Friday, in Grand Junction, Colorado. Mesa won 41-3, in the Eagles' first tussle this season against a nationally ranked NCAA opponent.
 
The CMU Mavericks received their program's highest ever national ranking in the preseason, getting tabbed third in NCAA women's wrestling in the latest poll. They had previously finished in the top five at the national championship multiple times.
 
Four ranked CMU wrestlers were on the varsity roster Friday evening.
 
Sophomore Jennesis Martinez of Colorado Mesa, at 101 pounds, is ranked third in the preseason after a former All-American showing. She earned a tech fall, 10-0 over CSC freshman Britley Lopez.
 
The Mavericks' Junior Marrisa Gallegos, at 123, was the preseason No. 1, after a third-place showing at last year's national championships. She was a winner by fall over CSC freshman Ana Rojas Zamora.
 
CMU's Dalia Garibay is ranked No. 2 at 155 pounds. She dispatched CSC's Leila Martin with a pin at 4:29 into the match.
 
Finally, top-ranked Jayleen Sekona, at 191 pounds, scored a 10-0 technical fall over Sofia Rubio, the defending junior college national champion at that weight class.
 
Chadron State earned three team points in matches by Heavynne Robles-Wright, at 109 pounds, Isabell Ortiz, at 116, and Kamila Montenegro at 170, by virtue of an individual bout score greater than zero. All three matches were simple decisions and only earned three team points apiece for Mesa.
 
CSC will remain in Grand Junction to compete in an open meet Saturday.