CHADRON, Neb. -- Danny Woodhead, a Chadron State Football running back from 2004-07, has been selected as a member of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class, The National Football Foundation and ESPN announced on Monday.

Woodhead is undoubtedly the most successful and well-known football player that Nebraska has produced in the 21st Century.  Now he's the first Chadron State College football player going into the College Football Hall of Fame
 
Although just 5-8, 185 pounds when he arrived at Chadron State in the fall of 2004, he had already come up big in everything he had done athletically.  As a senior at North Platte High School when he rushed for 2,037 yards and 31 touchdowns, he was the Nebraska Gatorade Football Player of the Year, offensive captain of both the Omaha World-Herald's and Lincoln Journal Star's all-class, all-state football teams and was Huskerland Report's Player of the Year. 
 
Since both of Woodhead's parents, Mark and Annette, were Chadron State graduates and older brother Ben was a senior wide receiver on the CSC team, the Eagles had an inside track in landing him. 
 
Danny didn't start the first game his freshman year, but he clinched the starting job in the third game when he rushed for a school-record 306 yards and scored five touchdowns. It launched a fantastic career. He would rush for 300-plus yards three more times, set the NCAA II record for most 200-yard or more games (19), score touchdowns in 38 consecutive games and romp at least 50 yards to the end zone 21 times.
 
He became college football's all-time leading rusher with 7,962 yards, rolled up 9,480 all-purpose yards and scored 109 touchdowns (tying him for the most in college football annals), helping him win two Harlon Hill Trophies, which go to Division II's outstanding player.
 
In addition, Woodhead was NCAA Division II's National Scholar-Athlete as a senior in 2007 and graduated with a 3.72 GPA as a health and physical education and math major. Two years later, he was voted the RMAC's All-Time Outstanding Offensive Player when its All-Century Team was selected.  He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
He was not drafted by an NFL team in the spring of 2008, but ended up enjoying a 10-year career in the National Football League.
 
After playing in 11 games for the New York Jets before being released, the Patriots quickly nabbed him and he played for them the next three years, rushing for 547 yards and five touchdowns in 2010 and catching a TD pass from Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
 
The next four years he was an all-purpose back for the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers.  He also was an invaluable piece of Philip Rivers' arsenal.  He caught 76 passes for 605 yards and six touchdowns his first year there in 2013.
 
After missing most of the 2014 season, he returned in 2015 for another excellent season, grabbing 80 passes for 755 yards and 6 TDs and also rushing for 336 yards and three more scores. Another ACL injury in the second game ended his 2016 season.
 
The following winter, he signed a three-year contract with Baltimore, but injuries allowed him to play only eight games for the Ravens and he retired in early 2018. During his NFL career, he played in 101 games, rushed 517 times for 2,238 yards, caught 300 passes for 2,698 yards and scored 32 touchdowns.
 
During his farewell message, the media reported that the ever-gracious Woodhead thanked God, his family, his agent, his former coaches, singling them out by name, his former high school, college and NFL teammates and the medical personnel who had helped him along the way.
 
Woodhead, who was inducted into CSC's Hall of Fame this year, will officially be inducted into the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at the 66^th National Football Foundation Annual Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
A total of 5.7 million people has played or coached college football and only 1,304 (0.02%) of them can claim the honor of being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame like Danny Woodhead can.

Five Eagles compete at Hastings Open

HASTINGS, Neb. -- Ana Rojas-Zamora placed second while Britney Lopez and Mana Chanthasone placed third and fourth, respectively, at the Hastings Open in Hastings,Nebraska on Sunday. 

Only five Eagles wrestled at the open event. 

Rojas-Zamora, a sophomore from Sweeny, Texas, went 4-1 with a loss in the championship at 123 pounds. 

Rojas-Zamora recorded a fall in the first round and later in the quarterfinals. Her other two victories were by tech fall in the quarterfinals and a decision by criteria in the semifinals. Brooke Zejada from Texas Women's University won the 123 pound title by pinning Rojas-Zamora. 

At 101 pounds, Lopez, a sophomore from Berger, Texas defeated Chanthasone, a freshman from Liberal, Kansas for third place. 

After receiving a first round bye, Lopez won by fall in the quarterfinals. After suffering a defeat in the semifinals, she pinned her opponent in 56 seconds in the consolation semifinals before winning with a 10-0 tech fall over her teammate. 

Chanthasone won by tech fall in the quarterfinals before also suffering a defeat by tech fall in the semis. Her victory in the consolation semifinals was a 15-6 decision. 

Karstin Hollen placed 7th at 143 pounds with a record of 4-2. Holden, a junior from Mesa, Arizona, was defeated in the opening round before winning three straight matches. After suffering her second defeat, Hollen won her seventh place match by no contest. 

At 170 pounds, Maria Arellano, a sophomore from Fresno, California, finished with a record of 2-3. Arellano won with a 10-0 TF in round one before suffering her first defeat. After winning with another tech fall in the consolation bracket, she injury forfeited her remaining two matches. 

The team will be back in action in a week when they enter the York Open in York, Nebraska. 

Karamitros resigns as Head Cross Country Coach

CHADRON, Neb. -- Luke Karamitros, CSC's Head Cross Country coach, has resigned of his duties to become the next head cross country and track & field coach at Drury University, Associate Athletic Director Ted Tewahade announced on Monday.
 
"I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to help guide and sculpt the cross country program here at Chadron State College," Karamitros said. "I am blessed to have such a phenomenal group of athletes who accepted the challenge of not only making a mark within the historic CSC program, but also to make a strong impact within the conference and region. Their fearlessness, tenacity, and grit is something that will take shape and build a strong foundation for the future"
 
Karamitros, who was hired in 2019, led CSC to its best season under his helm in 2023.
 
The men's cross-country team placed 12th and the women placed 16th at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional held in Lubbock, Texas.
 
Compared to last season, the men jumped 10 spots in the team's standings and the women jumped eight. In 2023, there were a total of 26 teams and 173 runners on the women's side. The men's side had 168 runners and 25 teams.
 
At MSU-Billings this season, all five men's scorers earned a spot in the CSC 8k Top10 and two women runners earned spots in the CSC Women's 6k Top 10 list.
 
Since 2019, 22 women's runners and 15 men's runners have been named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll. This year, Kyle Shirley was named a first team selection.
 
A national search for Karamitros's replacement will begin immediately.