LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Chadron State dominated from start to finish, winning nine matches and earning bonus points in eight during a decisive 41-3 dual victory over New Mexico Highlands at the John A. Wilson Complex in Las Vegas, New Mexico. 

The Eagles earned one pin, one forfeit, two tech falls, and four major decisions in the dual victory. New Mexico Highlands failed to score a point in five of the nine contested bouts, while CSC's only loss was by a single point, 6-5 decision at 165 pounds. 

The win makes the Eagle men 2-0 in duals on the weekend and 3-2 overall in RMAC with two RMAC competitions left. New Mexico Highlands falls to 2-5 overall and 0-5 in conference. 

Nationally-ranked Hunter Jacobsen returned to the winner's column with a 14-4 major decision to kick things off, outscoring NMHU opponent Naythan Galbiso 10-0 in the third period to seal the victory. James Davis followed with a 13-4 MD, recording two takedowns and a near fall in the final period. 

After Cyrus Wells controlled the 141-pound match with a 4-0 decision win, Chadron State really kicked into gear. Torry Early pinned his opponent at 149 pounds in 2:08 before Brandon Paredes earned an 11-0 win at 157. 

New Mexico Highlands got on the board when Ivan Smith, Jr. earned a hard-fought 6-5 win over CSC's Tayten Gillette, but Chadron State was in a completely different league from the Cowboys for the rest of the dual. 

Logan Berger sealed four points for CSC with a 15-1 major decision victory at 174 before Keegan Gehlhausen (184 pounds) and Mason Villwok (197) each racked up tech fall victories by 15-0 and 17-0 margins prior to the end of the first period. 

Gehlhausen scored three near falls during his victory while Villwok had four to continue the impressive start to his career since joining the Eagles' dual lineup this week. Cody Pinkerton received a forfeit at 285 to close out the matchup. 

Chadron State's final two RMAC duals are in two weeks on the road against Simon Fraser on February 12 and CSU Pueblo on February 14. 

Bout-by-Bout Results
125:  #10/14 Hunter Jacobsen maj. dec. Naythan Galbiso, 14-4
133: #19 James Davis maj. dec. Samuel Eveland, 13-4
141: Cyrus Wells dec. Joseph Misitano, 4-0
149: #17 Torry Early pins John Baker, 2:08
157: Brandon Paredes maj. dec. Deklyn Miller, 11-0
165: Ivan Smith, Jr. dec. Tayten Gillette, 6-5
174: Logan Berger maj. dec. Angelo Maechtlen, 15-1
184: #4/6 Keegan Gehlhausen tech falls Michael Santos, 15-0
197: Mason Villwok tech falls Saul De Leon, 17-0.
285: Cody Pinkerton wins by forfeit

Eagles Place Third At RMAC Women's Wrestling Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chadron State women's wrestling bookended the meet with runner-up finishes and placed third in the first-ever team scoring at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Wrestling Championships, held in Colorado Springs on Saturday. 

Sophomore Mana Chanthasone earned a runner-up finish at the RMAC Championships for the second consecutive year, placing second at 103 pounds, while freshman Esther Peters also made the championship match, finishing second at 207 pounds. 

The Eagles had two other podium finishes, with junior Brianna Vollendroff placing third at 103 and freshman Sicily Frates placing third at 180 pounds. 

Chadron State women's wrestling also earned a big win off the mat when junior Shania Wear won her second consecutive RMAC Summit Award, the conference's highest individual academic honor presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each sport's championship site. 

A total of 12 Eagle student-athletes earned a top six placing. Beyond the four podium finishes, Chadron State had three fourth-place finishers in Wear (117), Regan Rosseter (138) and Ella Shevlin (180), and one fifth-place finisher in Rylee Balcazar (110). 

Four Eagle wrestlers finished sixth to snag a spot on the placement list: Maddox Gehlhausen (124), Karstin Hollen (145), Maria Arellano (160) and Estrella Vasquez Gutierrez (207). 

While grapplers from each of the RMAC's five women's wrestling schools competed for individual titles at the conference championships, a team title was on the line and team scores were kept for the first time, with Chadron State placing third among five competing teams. 

Colorado Mesa won the team title with 149.5 team points, followed closely by British Columbia university Simon Fraser with 129. The Eagles followed in third with 82.5 team points, finishing ahead of Adams State (73.5) and Texas Woman's (68.5). 

In terms of individual championships, wrestlers from Colorado Mesa won at five of the 10 contested weight classes while Simon Fraser won three and Adams State two. 

Chanthasone had a strong RMAC meet for the second consecutive year, storming into the final based off a 10-0 tech fall win over Texas Woman's wrestler Sloan Stewart. Chanthasone battled with four-time All-American Jennesis Martinez in the final, dropping a 6-2 decision. 

Vollendroff found herself on the other end of the semifinal bracket at 103 and got pinned by Martinez before earning a pin over Stewart in the third-place match to get on the podium. 

Peters, who has excelled in tournaments and taken home titles at the Chadron State Women's Open and York Open so far this season, also stormed into the finals by repeating one of her signature wins over All-American Isabeau Shalack of Colorado Mesa via 5-1 decision in the semifinal, then lost to top 10 nationally-ranked wrestler Julia Richey on Simon Fraser in the final. 

Frates and Shevlin, two freshmen who have gone back and forth in CSC's dual lineup at 180 all season long, stayed neck-and-neck to finish third and fourth, respectively, at 180 pounds. Both wrestlers defeated Adams State's Abigail Wold and Texas Woman's Pauline Grace Heimuli while losing to one of the two eventual finalists at the weight. 

That set up an all-CSC third place match between Frates and Shevlin, with Frates taking control in the middle of the match to earn a 9-3 decision win and the podium spot. 

Rylee Balcazar went 2-2 to finish fifth in a deep 110-pound bracket, with both of her wins coming by tech fall against Victoria Pena of Texas Woman's (10-0) and Gina Bolognese of Simon Fraser (14-2). 

Freshman Regan Rosseter, the four-time Nebraska high school state champion who missed much of the season but has clawed her way into becoming CSC's top option at 138 pounds, placed fourth and went 2-2 in her first taste of a college postseason. Rosseter beat Laisha Rios of Texas Woman's via 12-1 tech fall in the opening round and also knocked off Colorado Mesa's Valerie Glenn, 6-0. 

Adams State's Austria Holland was named the Wrestler of the Meet in addition to winning the 110-pound championship. At the time of her win, Holland became the first Adams State RMAC champion in program history, a feat matched by her teammate Corrie Williams at 138 later in the meet. 

The Eagles have a couple more competitions before the NCWWC Regionals take place on February 22, with the Midland Warrior Open on Saturday, February 8 and a pair of duals against Hastings College and Fort Hays State on Wednesday, February 12. 

Jumpers Win Again At SDSU Open

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Two Chadron State College jumpers, sophomore Chayton Bynes and freshman Camila Salvucci, continued to excel Saturday, each winning an event to highlight Eagle performances at the South Dakota State Open Indoor Track and Field Meet on Saturday.

After going 24 feet, 1¼ inches in the long jump for a career-best a week ago, Bynes, a sophomore from Chadron, went 24 feet, 7 inches (7.49 meters) on Saturday to win the event by six inches at Brookings. The leap is tied for the eighth-longest in NCAA Division II nationally this season.

This weekend, Bynes did not enter his other primary event, the triple jump, where he has a best of 50-9¼ (15.47 meters) which is the second-longest leap in Division II.

Salvucci, a freshman from Argentina, was the women's triple jump winner Saturday with a mark of 38-4 ¼. That's less than an inch shy of her career-best and a foot farther than the nearest contestant went at the SDSU meet, which drew teams from about 20 schools.  

Chadron State placed three in the top six of the women's triple jump. Two South Dakota natives, junior Megan Baloun of Rapid City and freshman Mataya Ward of Belle Fourche, placed fifth and sixth in the triple jump behind Salvucci with marks of 34-5 ½ and 34-4, respectively.

Other Eagles placing among the top six were senior Christopher Jennings of O'Neill, Nebraska, who was fourth in the weight throw at 57 feet even, and hurdler Creighton Trembly, who placed sixth in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.33 that is a tenth of a second off his season best.

Two Eagle sprinters had a pair of top-10 finishes. Freshman Christopher Cormier of Sparks, Nevada was fifth out of 60 entries in the 400 meters in 49.20 seconds, his career-best, while also placing ninth in the 200 meters. Kingston, Jamaica native Nicquaine Henry placed seventh in the 400 and eighth in the 200.

Chadron State is scheduled to compete next weekend at a meet at Wayne State College this Saturday, February 8. They are then scheduled to return to Brookings for the SDSU Indoor Classic on February 14-15.

CSC's top-10 placings follow: 
Men's Results
        200 meters – 8, Nicquaine Henry, 22.24; 9, Christopher Cormier, 22.26. 
        400 meters – 5, Christopher Cormier, 49.20; 7, Nicquaine Henry, 49.34
        60 hurdles – 6, Creighton Trembly, 8.33.
        Long jump – 1, Chayton Bynes, 24-7.
        Weight throw – 4, Christopher Jennings, 57-0; 7, Parker Gonser, 53-1 ¾.
 
Women's Results
                  400 meters – 8, Eva Nitschke, 1:00.14.
                  300 hurdles – 10, Makinley Fuller, 52:38.
                  Triple Jump – 1, Camila Salvucii, 38-4 ¼; 5, Megan Baloun, 34-5 ½; 6, Mataya Ward, 34-4.