CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron State College football team added 40 incoming freshmen to its roster on Wednesday, the official National Signing Day for Division II football.
 
Of the 40 signees, 11 hail from Nebraska, 11 are from Colorado, seven call Wyoming home and the other 11 currently live in Montana, Utah, Illinois, Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and South Dakota, including walk-ons.  
 
"Our focus this year was on improving the size of our team," Head Coach Jay Long said. "We recruited 24 student athletes over 6'2.
 
The group contains five defensive linemen and linebackers, six safeties and one corner defensively. On offense, four wide receivers, three tight ends and running backs, one quarterback and 13 offensive linemen join the Eagles.
 
"It takes a ton of time, people and effort to recruit one student-athlete," Long said. "I would like to thank our campus, professors, admission staff, our team, coaches and athletic department for providing the effort of showing these young men how special of a place Chadron State College is."
 
The lone South Dakota signee is a 6-1, 220-pound linebacker, Gideon Waldrop. Waldrop was named 1^st Team All-State and the Rapid City Journal Best of the West LB while playing at Rapid City Central High School.
 
State runner-up and Nebraska 6-Man Football Offensive Player of the Year, Gage Mintken, will travel the 21 miles west from Hay Springs to continue his football career at CSC at safety. Two more local signees from Nebraska are Grady Robbins from Gering and Theron Miller form Hemingford. Miller, who signed with with CSC Track and Field and will walk on with football, is listed as a 6-2 215-pound defensive end while Robbins is a 6-1 225-pound linebacker.  
 
Other signees from Nebraska include Wyatt Anderson from Amherst, Garrett O'Hare from Kearney, Rio Redmund from Arnold, Quincy Ryker from Sargent, and Brady Dahlberg from Thedford.
 
Signees from Wyoming include Logan Ortega (Douglas), Fletcher Black (Mountain View), Keaton Mills (Upton-Sundance), Colter Hanft (Tounge River), and Ty Sheets (Riverton).
 
Joining from the state of Colorado are Bryson Driks (Holyoke), Tristan Randall (Pine Creek), Cameron Meyer (Arvada West), AJ Dickens (Strasburg), Eli Martinez (Cherry Creek), Wyatt Sprague (Holyoke), Matthew Jennings (Colorado Springs), Riley Suarez (Loveland) and Brady Varney (Severance).
 
The remaining signees will come to Chadron from across the country. The list includes Stuart Oberg (Naples, Fla.), Alexander Vargas (Miami, Fla.), DeAndre Berry (Palmetto, Fla.), Isaac Jean-Pierre (Mesa, Arizona), Jaxon Harris (West Jordan, Utah), Corben Holler (Sidney, Mont.), Gerardo Vasquez Jr. (Odessa, Texas), Parker Schwarting (Joliet, Ill.), and Alijah Bruce (San Bernardino, Calif.).
 
"This group has a ton of potential. We had a great class last year and I am excited to see how this class develops," Long said.

Colorado Christian edges Eagles 63-60

LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- The Chadron State College men's basketball team led 38-28 at halftime, but managed only 22 points in the second half and was edged 63-60 Wednesday night by Colorado Christian in Lakewood.
             
Apparently because he was ill, the Eagles played without guard Bryce Latimer, their floor leader and top scorer at 18.8 points a game. Several other regulars scored below their averages and the visitors came up short.
             
With five seconds on the clock, the officials studied the video for several minutes to determine which team should have possession after the ball was knocked out of bounds, the Eagles had a chance to send the game into overtime. But a 3-point volley at the buzzer did not connect.
             
Chadron State got a boost from 6-9 John Jenkins, who had missed the last three games because of a knee injury.  He was in the starting lineup, played 26 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points.  Guard Jalen Patterson replaced Latimer as the primary point guard and made five of his eight field goal attempts while scoring 13 points. He also had four assists and just two turnovers.
             
But no other CSC player had more than seven points. Overall, the Eagles shot just 38.6% (22-57) from the field.
             
Although never ahead by more than six points, Colorado Christian led the first 10 minutes of the game.  The Eagles outscored the hosts 12-6 during the last five minutes of the half to build their 10-point halftime lead.
             
The Cougars took the lead for keeps at 56-54 on a pair of free throws by freshman Bradley Land with 6:45 left on the clock.  Christian's biggest margin was five points. Patterson's jumper with 1:55remaining cut the Cougars' lead to 61-60.  Forty-three seconds later, Christian's junior guard Noah Kon drove for a layup that provided the final three-point margin.

Senior guard Jacob Everson led the Cougars with 17 points, Kon finished with 13 and Land 12. The hosts shot 41.7% (25-60) from the field. They are now 9-12 overall and 5-10 in the RMAC.
              
The Eagles are 11-10 for the season and 8-7 in the conference. They will play Western Colorado in Gunnison on Friday night.      
             
Chadron State—John Jenkins 16, Jalen Patterson 12, Josh Robinson 7, Raul Nunez 6, Julio Phipps 4, Porter Anderson 4, Martin Poznanovic 4, Jarrett Taylor 3, Dalton Peterson 3. Totals: 22-57 (4-19) 12-15 60 points, 34 rebounds, 10 turnovers, 8 assists.  
             
Colorado Christian—Jacob Eversen 17, Noah Kon 13, Brad Land 12, Schafer Retchart 6, Nic Zeil 4, Robert McWard 4, Chris Barnes 4, Shay Woodberry 3. Totals: 25-60 (5-23) 8-12 63 points, 41 rebounds, 12 turnovers, 8 assists
              
Chadron State                38           22          ----60
             
Colorado Christian        28           35          ----63
              3-pointers: CSC--Jenkins 2, Patterson 1, Peterson 1. CCU—Everson 3, McWard 1, Woodberry 1

Trio leads Cougars past CSC women

Maggie Hutka, the leading scorer among women in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 20-point average, poured in 30 and two teammates combined for 39 more as the homestanding Colorado Christian Cougars outscored Chadron State 89-76 in Lakewood on Wednesday night.

Each team made 28 field goals, but Christian had nine 3-pointers, two more than the Eagles, and sank 24 of 26 free throws while the visitors were 13-of-19 at the line. Despite the free throw differential, each team was called for 20 fouls.

The Cougars jumped out to a 28-13 first quarter lead, but Chadron State tallied a season-high 33 points in the second frame to hold a 46-44 halftime lead. Christian went ahead with six minutes left in the third period and led the rest of the way.

The Eagles continued to battle and were within six points at 82-76 with 1:35 to play, but did not score again.

Hutka, a 6-1 sophomore, got her 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and by going 12-of-13 at the line. She also was the game's high rebounder with 11.

Another sophomore, 5-6 Nicole Bowlin, scored 21 points that included going 5-of-6 on 3-pointers, and senior Regan Loconte added 18 for Christian, now 12-9 for the season and 8-7 in the RMAC. Daiiya Jones also had 11 points for the winners.

Despite the loss, things are looking up for the Eagles.  Veterans Shay Powers and Olivia Waufle returned to action after both had missed several games because of injuries.
Powers finished with 14 points and Waufle with eight points and six rebounds.

Three Eagles besides Powers scored in double figures. Megan Counts had 15 points as well as a team-best seven rebounds. Kylie Krise contributed 11 points and Liberty Line 10.

The CSC women, now 6-14 overall and 4-11 in the conference, will play at Western Colorado in Gunnison on Friday night. 

              Chadron State—Megan Counts 15, Shay Powers 14, Kylie Krise 11, Liberty Line 19, Olivia Line 8, Awoti Akoi 7, Allison Olsen 6, Camren Morrison 3, Kadyn Comer 2. Totals: 28-57 (7-14) 13-19 76 points, 37 rebounds, 22 turnovers. 18 assists.
              Colorado Christian—Maggie Hutka 30, Nicole Bowlin 21, Regan Loconte 18, Dasiya Jones 11, Vicki Perez 7, Agnes Paul 2. Totals: 28-65, (9-22) 24-36 80 points, 33 rebounds, 9 turnovers, 18 assists.
              Chadron State               13          33         14         16       ---76
              Colorado Christian        28          16         24         21      ---89
              3-pointers: CSC—Counts 3, Krise 2, Line 1, Olsen 1. CCU—Bowlin 5, Loconte 3, Perez 1.   

Eagles improve in losses at Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Despite going 0-2 against Eckerd College, the Chadron State College softball showed improvement during the half way point of their Florida trip in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday.
 
CSC fell 7-1 in game one and was defeated 5-2 in the second game of the double header.
 
In game one, the Tritons struck early in the bottom of the first with a leadoff double. After a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runner to third, a single to center field scored the first run of the game. The Chadron State defense responded by forcing two outs with the bases loaded to end the threat.
 
It didn't take long for the Eagles to add a run. In the top of the second inning with two outs, Jessie Henchenski, a senior from Fort Collins, Colorado, snuck a ball over the center field fence to tie the game at one a piece.
 
Henchenski's solo homer was the Eagles only run of the game. Offensively, CSC recorded four hits and left five runners on base over the remaining five innings.
 
Eckerd scored one run in the bottom of the third inning off of a CSC error before scoring five more in the fifth inning. In the fifth, the hosts manufactured a two-out rally. The Tritons hit three singles that drove in their remaining five funs.
 
CSC's starting pitcher, Kenzi Garner, was relieved by Tori Haug in the inning. Garner, a junior from Broomfield, Colorado, received the loss in her first start of the season.
 
In 4.2 innings of work, she allowed seven hits and runs, all being earned, while striking out three batters and walking two. Haug, a senior from Commerce City, Colorado, allowed two hits with no runs in 1.1 innings of work. She struck out and walked one batter each.
 
The Eagles finished game one with five hits and one error.
 
In game two, the Tritons led 4-0 entering the fourth inning after scoring two runs in the second and third inning.
 
Chadron State slowly started chipping away at its opponents lead in the top of the fourth. Mackenzi Kroll began the inning with a single to right field. Henchenski then hit a grounder to shortstop but a fielding error allowed her to reach first and for pinch runner Jolynn Niegocki to reach second.
 
After a fielder's choice that recorded Henchenski out but advanced Niegocki to third, Sophie Brennan, a freshman from Wahoo, Nebraska, receiver her first career at bat. The Yutan-Mead High School graduate did exactly what she was asked to do, hitting a deep RBI sacrifice fly to right field that scored Niegocki.
 
The Eagles added another run in the top of the fifth inning to lower their deficit to 4-2. J'Lyssa Martinez drew a walk as the lead off hitter and advanced to second on a fielder's choice.
 
The Eckerd defense got CSC's next batter out at first but Martinez was able to advance to third. Ashland Baca, a senior from Pueblo West, Colorado, hit a two out single up the middle, bringing Martinez home.
 
Eckerd responded by hitting a two out single in the top of the fifth that brought their fifth run of the game home.
 
CSC had a base runner in both the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to get a run across, falling 5-2.
 
Brooklyn Levin, a freshman from Littleton, Colorado, received the loss to drop to 0-3. The true freshman pitched all six innings and responded to adversity multiple times, allowing eight hits and five runs, four being earned. She struck out five and didn't walk a single batter.
 
The Eagles play in Florida resumes on Friday, February 9, at the Florida Tech Tournament in Longwood. CSC will play Barry University and Bentley University on Friday, before playing host Florida Tech and Saint Anselm College on Saturday.