Chadron State wrestling teams to dual York Bulldogs
The members of both Chadron State College wrestling teams returned to the campus before the New Year arrived and have been getting ready to visit York College for duals on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Besides the duals, both CSC teams also will enter the Hastings College Open Tournaments this weekend. Coach Brett Hunter will be forced to split his squad since both the dual and the men's tournament are on Saturday. But the women's open at Hastings will take place on Sunday, giving Lady Eagles' mentor Jeff Alijah the option of entering some of his team members in both events.
As far as can be determined, the Eagles have never wrestled the York Bulldogs, which is affiliated with the NAIA. The school is serious about the sport. There are 25 names on the men's roster, hailing from nine states.
Both Chadron State teams also have about 25 members. The Lady Eagles posted a 5-1 dual record during the 2022 portion of their schedule while the CSC men were 2-4 after tangling with some of the best teams in the nation such as Nebraska-Kearney and St. Cloud State.
Hunter said the Eagles have both good and bad news concerning the health of his grapplers. He said both junior Brody Lamb and senior Preston Renner are about to return to action after being during the first semester. Lamb is expected to compete at 149 pounds and Renner at 165.
However, senior Eli Hinojosa, who suffered a knee injury in his first match of the season at Kearney, is due to have surgery in the near future and will miss the remainder of the schedule. He's the Eagles' only experienced 197-pound entry, and is planning to return for another senior season next year, Hunter said.
In addition, one of the CSC team leaders, Quen Campbell, the 133-pounder who has a 6-1 record, is recovering from an injury, but is still questionable for the early matches in 2023, according to Hunter.
Eagles to play at Mesa, Westminster this weekend
After playing makeup games against the Regis Rangers in Denver on Monday and at Colorado-Colorado Springs on Tuesday, the Chadron State College basketball teams headed west to Colorado Mesa at Grand Junction and Westminster College at Salt Lake City for games this weekend.
The Eagles will meet the Mesa Mavericks on Friday night and play the Westminster Griffins on Saturday night.
The big question for Chadron State will be: Can the Eagles' men bounce back from their only poor performance of the season--a 91-63 loss to the Colorado Springs Mountain Lions on Tuesday night—their third game in four days. The Eagles were weary and shot just 26% in the first half and 32% overall.
Afterwards, Coach Shane Paben said his team has to "recharge the battery and regroup." The Eagles had won eight of nine games prior to the disaster. They are now 8-5 overall and 5-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Mesa men also are 5-2 in the RMAC. They ended 2022 with five straight conference wins after losing the first two to Colorado Mines and Metro State. Overall, they are 10-3 for the season.
A pair of sophomores are the Mavericks' top guns. Blaise Threatt, who is 6-foot-3, is averaging 16.5 points and 6-9 Trevor Baskin is averaging 15.2. Both are shooting more than 50% from the field and are averaging at least seven rebounds.
The Westminster men have four players averaging in double figures, but have just a 3-11 record overall and are 2-5 against RMAC rivals. Their conference wins have been over Metro State and Fort Lewis.
The latter outcome was a shocker. It was by a 93-79 score and remains the Skyhawks' only loss during their 11-1 season. So far this winter, Westminster's top scorer is 6-9 Trey Farrer with a 17.4-point average while shooting 55% from the field.
The Chadron State women won their second game of the season—77-70—over Metro State on New Year's Eve, when Shay Powers scored 26 points and Samiyah Worrell 19 and both grabbed eight rebounds. However, they did not win either of the road games this week and expect to have their hands full again at Mesa and Westminster.
The Mesa women are not as potent as usual. During the past 10 years when Taylor Wagner has been the Lady Mavs' head coach, they compiled a 231-61 record while going 174-44 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They have won at least 14 games each season and won 21 or more seven times.
