CHADRON, Neb. -- There's good news for the Chadron State College wrestling team. 
             
Eagles' Coach Brett Hunter said graduate student Ethan Leake will be able to compete when the NCAA Division II National Tournament gets underway Friday morning in Wichita, Kan.  
             
There were some doubts about his availability after Leake suffered a hamstring problem in the 141-pound championship match on Saturday, March 2 at the Super Region 6 Tournament at Pueblo, Colo.  The incident forced Leake to medically forfeit to Nick James of Nebraska-Kearney and settle for the silver medal.

Fortunately, Leake had already qualified for nationals by winning his first two matches.  
             
Chadron State also will be represented at nationals by senior Quen Campbell, who has won 41 of his 44 matches since joining the Eagles two years ago.  He was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Wrestler of the Year for the 2023-24 season last week.
             
The Tifton, Ga., native was the 133-pound runner-up at nationals a year ago, when he finished with a 20-2 record and returns this year with a 21-1 mark.  He's the weight class's No. 2 seed. His first foe will be Jerry Echevarria of Gannon University at Erie, Pa., with a 26-6 record. 
             
The top-seeded 133-pounder is Gabe Hixenbaugh of Montevallo University in Alabama. He has a 27-0 record this season, including a 9-2 win over Campbell at the Midwest Classic in mid-December in Indianapolis.  
 
The bracket also includes Gavin Quiocho of Glenville State in West Virginia, the reigning weight class national champion. Quiocho edged Campbell 4-3 on riding time during the 133 finals a year ago.  He is the third seed this year with a 35-2 record.  One of his losses this season was to Hixenbaugh at the Midwest Classic.      
             
Leake, a native of Clovis, Calif., went to Wichita with a 17-5 record.  He'll be one of the first wrestlers to take the mat Friday morning.  He's been assigned to one of the two "pigtail" matches in the 141-pound weight class. His opponent will be Omar Armengol of Coker College of Hartville, S.C., who has a 20-5 record.
             
The winner will take on Tate Murty of Upper Iowa.
             
Leake also qualified for nationals two years ago, where in the opening round he had misfortune of being matched against the grappler who went on to become the 141-pound national champion. 
             
His foe was Zeth Brower from Lander University at Greenwood, S.C. Leake gave him a good tussle, but Brower won 5-2.  Getting points against Brower was something of a moral victory.  Brower had breezed through the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 Tournament by outscoring his three opponents 36-0.
             
Leake's second opponent in 2022 was the same one he'll meet if he wins his pigtail match at this year's tournament.  That's Upper Iowa's Murty.  He pinned Leake just as the first period was ending two years ago

Hunter, a two-time national champion while competing for the Eagles, said a contingent of CSC wrestlers is planning to attend this year's tournament to cheer for their teammates.