Eagles notes: Chadron State gets big baskets late, win 88-86 over Yellow Jackets
CHADRON, Neb. -- There were nine lead changes and 21 ties during the Chadron State and Black Hills State nail-biter Thursday night, when the homestanding Eagles pulled off an 88-86 upset of the No. 10 ranked Yellow Jackets in the final regular season game for both teams.
Back-to-back to field goals by center Porter Anderson put the Eagles ahead 87-84 with 20 seconds remaining. The first was a dunk after he'd taken a handoff from teammate Josh Robinson as they converged beneath the basket. The second came after Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound and tapped his shot off the glass.
Black Hills All-American Joel Scott answered with a layup 10 seconds later to make it a one-point game for the umpteenth time.
When the ball was put back in play, the Yellow Jackets immediately fouled CSC's Marcus Jefferson. He made the first free shot, but uncharacteristically missed the second. That meant the visitors still had a chance. Matt Ragsdale took the shot from deep in the left corner, but it went over the net and hit off the back side of the rim as time expired.
It was Chadron State's first win over a nationally ranked team since the Eagles defeated Metro State 90-77 on Jan. 8, 2000, when the Roadrunners were No. 3 in the NCAA Division II poll and went on to win the national championship.
CSC Coach Shane Paben said the game "elite" and called the play "high class."
The Eagles finished the regular season at 19-9 overall and 16-6 in the RMAC while Black Hills is 24-4 and 18-4. Both will be among the eight teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs that begin Tuesday, Feb. 28. As probably the No. 2 or 3 seed, the Yellow Jackets will open the playoffs at home while the Eagles are set as the No. 5 seed and it's expected their first-round game will be at Colorado School of Mines in Golden.
Scott was the game's top scorer with 29 points while shooting 11 of 16 from the field and seven of nine at the free throw line. Ragsdale sank four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 18 points, while Adam Moussa added 16 for Black Hills.
Five players scored in double digits for the Eagles, led by Robinson's 26 points on 10 of 18 from the field and six of eight at the line. Both Anderson and Isaiah Wyatt scored 19 points, Bryce Latimer had 12 and Jefferson 11.
The Eagles shot 53.5% (29-54) from the field and Black Hills 52.1% (36-68). As has been the situation most of the season, the quick and aggressive Eagles outscored their opponent significantly from the free throw line. They were 25 of 29 and Black Hills was nine of 11.
The coach was not happy with some of the Eagles play in the first half. He said they had transition problems while the Yellow Jackets went on a 12-0 run that included three fast break baskets and had a 29-18 lead midway in the half.
About five minutes later, the Eagles went on an 11-3 spurt that included 3-pointers by Wyatt and Jefferson to help cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to 44-41 at halftime.
Neither team ever led by more than four points in the second half when six of the ties and 13 of the lead changes occurred.
"It was a good night for Chadron State," Paben said. "The crowd was amazing, we had a great environment. Black Hills has a terrific team, and our team has gotten better as we've kept working."
Black Hills State—Joel Scott 11-16 7-9 29, Matt Ragsdale 7-14 0-0 18, Adam Moussa 7-15 0-0 16, Ryker Cisarik 3-4 2-2 8, PJ Hayes 3-8 0-0 7, Sindou Cisse 3-6 0-0 6, Caelin Hearne 1-5 0-9 2. Totals: 35-67 (7-27) 9-11 86 points, 29 rebounds, 9 turnovers.
Chadron State—Josh Robinson 10-18 6-8 26, Porter Anderson 7-9 5-5 19, Isaiah Wyatt 5-10 6-6 19, Bryce Latimer 4-11 4-4 12, Marcus Jefferson 3-4 3-4 11. Totals: 29-54 (5-10) 88 points, 31 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
Black Hills State 44 42 ----86
Chadron State 41 47 ----88
3-pointers: BHSU—Ragsdale 4-10, Moussa 2-5, Hayes 1-6. CSC—Wyatt 3-6, Jefferson 2-2.
Softball games pushed back to Sunday and Monday
Sunday's double header will be played at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., while Monday's will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
CSC is 2-9 on the season and 0-4 in the conference. Last week, the Eagles were swept by Colorado Christian in Lakewood, Colorado. The Cougars are 14-2 on the season and were receiving votes in the last coach's poll.
This week's opponent, the Regis Rangers, are 6-8 overall and 3-1 in RMAC play. Last week, they dropped their first game against CSU-Pueblo before winning the next three.
The Rangers have four different players batting .333 or higher on the season. Rachel Williams leads the group at .349. In 43 at bats, she has 15 hits, two being home runs and one double.
Vanessa Candito and Kylie Harpman are Regis's two starting pitchers. Candito has a 4.03 ERA and is 1-2 as a starter. She has started seven games this season. Harpman has started six games. Her record on the season is 3-3 with an ERA of 3.61.
Abby Covington has appeared in eight games and leads the Rangers with an ERA of 3.27 in 15 innings.
After this weekends game, CSC will have their home opener on March 4.
Chadron State entries win weight throw at conference championships
February 25, 2023 -- ALAMOSA, Colo. - -Both of Chadron State College's outstanding weight throwers remained undefeated so far this season while winning the event Friday during the first day of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships being held at Adams State in Alamosa, Colo.
Senior Kyla Sawvell of Wall, S.D., won women's weight throw for the fourth year in a row with a mark of 20.06 meters, or 65 feet, 9 ¾ inches. The throw was Sawvell's best ever at an RMAC Meet and is just an inch and three-quarters shy of her career best.
The Eagles' Daniel Reynolds of Granby, Colo., won the men's weight throw for the second consecutive year with a mark of 19.31 meters, or 63 feet, 4 ¼ inches. His throw was about 17 inches shorter than his toss of year ago when he set the RMAC record that had stood since 2005.
Both Sawvell and Reynolds broke the previous field house record at Adams State and won this year's competition by more than five and two feet, respectively.
Two other Chadron State entries also placed in the weight throw at the conference meet with career-best marks.
Senior Courtney Smith of Rock Springs, Wyo., was fifth in the women's event with an her all-time best of 57 feet, 7 ½ inches, and sophomore Christopher Jennings of O'Neill was seventh in the men's competition at 57-10 ½, his career-best by 3 ½ feet.
The weight throw was one of the few events in which there were finals on Friday. The others will take place Saturday. During preliminaries on the track, Chadron State's Carlie Collier of Dunning qualified for the finals in both the 60- and 200-meter finals, and in the men's competition, Creighton Trembly of Longmont, Colo., qualified 60-meter hurdles and Osvaldo Cano of Oshkosh will be a finalist in the 200-dash.
Trembly's time in the hurdles was a career-best 8.06 seconds.
Campbell wins region championship; Eagles send three to nationals
CHADRON, Neb. --February 25, 2023 -- Quentrevion Campbell led the Chadron State wrestling team at the NCAA Super Region VI Championships with a first place finish, while Keegan Gehlhausen and Mason Watt placed second.
The event, which was held in Chadron at the Chicoine Center, sends the top three placers in each weight class to the NCAA Championships. The championship will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 10 & 11.
"We had a great day," CSC Head Wrestling Coach Brett Hunter said. "This regional is arguably the toughest in the nation. Anytime you get guys qualified to the NCAA tournament is a success."
Campbell, the 133 pound champion and #2 ranked wrestler in the nation, started his day off with a 10-1 major decision over Andres Jiron from New Mexico Highlands in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he defeated Weston Diblasi of Colorado School of Mines with a 5-4 decision.
The win over Diblasi paired him with Collin Metzgar of Colorado Mesa in the finals. Metzgar, the #9 ranked 133 pounder in the nation, fell to Campbell 4-3 on a last second takedown two weeks earlier.
The regional championship was just as exciting as the matchup two weeks ago. In the final seconds of the third round, Campbell scored an escape and takedown to send the championship match to overtime.
In overtime, the junior from Tifton, Georgia, scored a takedown to earn the regional championship. Campbell is the first region champion for CSC since Wade French won back to back in 2019.
"Late in it, I got an escape and a takedown all in one motion and tied it up," Campbell said. "I kept pushing him in overtime and ended up taking him down on a shot that I couldn't finish earlier."
Gehlhausen, the 184 pound runner up, opened his day up with a 5-4 decision in the quarterfinals over Hunter Tobiasson of Adams State. In the semis, he defeated Jason Bynarowicz of Colorado Mesa 5-3.
The redshirt freshman earned a matchup against the #1 ranked 184 pounder in the nation, Billy Higgins of University of Nebraska Kearney in the finals. Higgins, the 2022 third place finisher at the NCAA Championships, defeated Gehlhausen with a 19-2 tech fall.
Watt, a senior from Broomfield, Colorado, made it to the finals after a decision and two pins. In the first round, Zach Schraeder of Western Colorado suffered a 4-0 decision to Watt. Watt pinned Adam Alvarenga of Adams State in 1:08 in the quarterfinals and pinned Anthony Caldwell of Fort Hays in 2:05 in the semis.
Like Gehlhausen, Watt's opponent in the finals was from Nebraska Kearney and the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation in their respective weight class. Lee Herrington, the 2022 NCAA Championships fifth place finisher, defeated Watt with a 3-2 decision.
"Getting three guys through is a big step in the right direction," Hunter said. "I am so proud of my guys and our entire program.
The three national qualifiers for Chadron State weren't the only Eagle wrestlers to find the podium.
Quade Smith, CSC's 125 pound wrestler, defeated Rhys Sellers from New Mexico Highlands with a pin in 1:20 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Smith fell to the eventual champion, Brendon Garcia of Adams State, a 5-3 decision. Garcia is the #3 ranked 125 pounder in the nation.
Smith, a sophomore from Layton Utah, answered the defeat with a 12-7 decision over Zach Wright of San Francisco State. The victory earned him a matchup with Dawson Collins of Colorado Mesa in the heartbreak round.
Collins, the #6 ranked wrestler in the nation, defeated Smith with a 12-7 decision, earning Smith a fourth-place finish.
CSC's lone national qualifier in 2022, Ethan Leake, finished fifth in the 141-pound bracket. Leake defeated Randy McDonald of Simon Fraser with a 7-5 decision in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Colorado School of Mine's Grayston DiBlasi scored a late escape and defeated Leake with a 7-6 decision.
The senior from Clovis, California was defeated by Nick James of Nebraska Kearney in the third-round consolation match. James, the #5 ranked 141 pounder in the nation, won with a 9-5 decision. Leake finished his day with an 8-1 decision over Alex Castaneda from Colorado Mesa.
Brandon Paredes at 149 pounds, Brody Lamb at 157, Preston Renner at 165 and Bryan Zutavern at 197 pounds all won one match on the day, helping CSC earn a sixth-place team finish with 72 points.
Adams State, the #8 ranked team in the nation, won the title with 114 points. The #3 ranked team in the nation, Nebraska Kearney, was second with 110 team points and Colorado Mesa, the 12th ranked team in the nation, was third with 101.
Chadron State teams have same point totals at RMAC Meet
February 25, 2023 -- ALAMOSA, Colo. -- Both Chadron State College track and field teams scored 32 points during the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Indoor Championships at Adams State in Alamosa, Colo., on Friday and Saturday, and they weren't easy to come by.
In numerous instances it took the best marks of the Eagles' career to earn them, but they were up to the challenge.
The 32 points put the CSC women seventh and the men eighth in the team standings. There were a dozen teams in both competitions.
The Eagles were led by weight throwers Kyla Sawvell and Daniel Reynolds, both of whom repeated as conference champions.
Sawvell, a senior from Wall, S.D., won the women's weight throw for the fourth year in a row with a mark of 20.06 meters, or 65 feet, 9 ¾ inches. The throw was Sawvell's best at the RMAC Meets and was more than five feet farther than any of the other contestants reached.
Reynolds, a junior from Granby, Co, won the men's weight throw for the second consecutive year with a mark of 19.31 meters, or 63 feet, 4 ¼ inches. Although his throw was about 17 inches shy of his toss of a year ago when he set the RMAC record that had stood since 2005, he won this year's event by more than two feet.
Both Sawvell and Reynolds broke the Adams State field house weight throw records and neither has been beaten in the event so far this season. Both will advance to the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships at Virginia Beach, Va., March 10 and 11.
Sawvell also placed second in the shot put and Reynolds finished seventh in the shot at the conference meet.
Sawvell, who transferred to Chadron State last fall after attending Black Hills State the previous four years, also was going for her fourth straight RMAC shot put championship. Her mark of 15.49 meters, or 50 feet, 10 inches, was her all-time best at the conference meets and it exceeded the RMAC record.
However, sophomore Katherine Higgins of Colorado State-Pueblo hit 15.56 meters, or 51- ¾, to edge Sawvell for the victory and thus claim the RMAC record.
The old record, incidentally, had belonged to another former Black Hills State standout, Madison McLaughlin, who shoved the shot 15.34 meters, or 50-4, in 2016. McLaughlin also is a native of Wall, S.D., like Sawvell.
Reynolds was disappointed with his shot put experience Saturday. He fouled on his final four attempts and had to accept 51-7 ¼ as his best after he'd posted a career-best of 54-11 ½ a week ago. That mark would have been good for fourth at the RMAC showdown.
The Eagles picked up more points in the weight throw besides the 10 that both Sawvell and Reynolds earned, since senior Courtney Smith of Rock Springs, Wyo., and sophomore Christopher Jennings of O'Neill each placed while hitting career-best marks. Smith threw 57-7 ½ to claim fifth and Jennings threw 57-10 ½ to finish seventh.
Three other Chadron State men also placed in the rugged competition with career-best marks. Osvaldo Cano of Oshkosh was third in the men's 400 in 49.12 seconds, Creighton Trembly of Longmont, Colo., was fourth in the high hurdles in 8.05 seconds and Harley Rhoades of Douglas, Wyo., took fifth in the heptathlon with 4,712 points. That's 230 more than he scored in the grueling event at last year's meet.
Cano and Trembley also ran on the Eagles' 4x400 relay team that was sixth in 3:22.3, CSC's best time of the season in the event. Osiel Cano and Logan Peila were the other relay members.
A couple of stalwarts on the CSC women's team also fared well Saturday. Jordaine Cerenil of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., was third in the high jump with a season-best leap of 5-6 ½ and Carlie Collier of Dunning, Neb. placed in two springs, taking sixth in the 200 meters and eighth in the 60.
Colorado Mines won the women's team championship with 139.50 points, 10.5 more than runner-up University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. UCCS was the men's team titlist with 143 points. Adams State was second with 105.
CSC's placings follow:
Women's Events
60—8, Carlie Collier, 7,87 seconds.
200—6, Carlie Collier, 25.73
Shot put—2, Kyla Sawvell, 50-1
Weight throw—1, Kyla Sawvell, 65-9 ¾; 5, Courtney Smith, 57-7 ½.
High jump—3, Jordaine Cerenil, 5-6 ½
Men's Events
400—3, Osvaldo Cano, 49.12
60 hurdles—4, Creighton Trembly, 8.05.
4x400 relay—6, Chadron State. 3:22.3.
Shot put—7, Daniel Reynolds, 51-7 ¼.
Weight throw—1, Daniel Reynold, 63-4 ¼; 7, Christopher Jennings, 57-10 ¼.
Heptathlon—5, Harley Rhoades, 4,712 points.
