SPEARFISH, S.D. – Chadron State came up short in its first of two midweek matches this season, losing to conference rivals Black Hills State in straight sets – 25-22, 25-19, 25-21. 

It is the second loss to Black Hills State that the Eagles have had this season, but this loss comes in an RMAC match to drop CSC to 4-15 overall and 1-8 in the RMAC. Black Hills State, which snapped a three-game losing streak, is 6-13 and 2-7. 

Mataya Ward had 13 kills to lead the Eagles, who finished with two more kills than BHSU over the course of the match (44-42). Bella Adams added 10 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. 

Chadron State racked up 76 digs, tied for the second-most by the Eagles in a match this season and the most in a three-set match. Four Eagles finished with double-digit digs, led by Avery Lacy with a team-high 19. Gibson Beckler added 13, Josie Loosvelt had 11, and Jillian Donovan had 10 to go with 39 assists. 

Lacy, Loosvelt and senior Rylee Ward all spent time in the libero jersey throughout the match, with Loosvelt and Ward splitting duties in the first two sets before Lacy took it over in the third. Donovan finished with 39 assists (her fourth-highest total of the season). 

Chadron State matched up with Black Hills statistically except for two key areas. Aside from finishing with more kills, the Eagles had the edge in aces (5-4) while the two teams finished dead-even in assists (41-41) and digs (76-76). 

The two biggest discrepancies that swung points the Yellow Jackets' way were hitting errors and blocks. The Eagles finished with 23, their third-highest total in a match this season, while BHSU had only nine, the third fewest by a CSC opponent. Also, the Yellow Jackets more than doubled up the Eagles on total blocks (11-5), including seven from Izabel Abril and six from Peyton McLeod. 

Black Hills took control of the first set, opening a 7-2 lead, but the Eagles rallied to tie it at 18-18 after a 5-1 run. The Eagles competed offensively, tallying eight of their last nine points of the set via kill along with a service ace. In that same span, however, the Yellow Jackets recorded five of eight points from CSC errors (mostly Yellow Jacket blocks) to take the set 25-22. 

The Yellow Jackets wrestled control of the second set with a 6-0 scoring run in the middle of the set to turn an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 lead. Although a Shelby Harding ace pulled the Eagles within two points at 17-15, another 4-0 Yellow Jackets run pushed it back up to six and BHSU closed out the second margin by that margin. 

Chadron State struck first for the first time in the third set, with a Lacy ace giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead and a Beckler ace stretching it to 14-10 before the Yellow Jackets took the lead for the first time at 16-15, punctuating a 4-0 run with an ace of their own. The Yellow Jackets won six of the final eight points, with BHSU's final five points being kills, winning the third set 25-21. 

The Eagles have a three-day rest before a Saturday night showdown with South Dakota Mines (5-13, 3-5 RMAC) at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center. 

Gehlhausen No. 1, Eagles No. 24 in Men's Wrestling

MANHEIM, Pa. – Led by a No. 1 overall ranking for Keegan Gehlhausen, Chadron State men's wrestling placed three individual wrestlers on the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) preseason rankings, as well as a spot in the team poll. 

Fresh off a national runner-up finish and with three-time national champion Ty McGeary out of collegiate eligibility, Gehlhausen will enter the 2025-26 season as the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds while returner Quade Smith and transfer Caleb Chaves were each ranked No. 14 at 125 pounds and 141 pounds, respectively. 

On the strength of those three individuals, the Eagles received 22 team points and are ranked 24^th overall in the NWCA Preseason Team Rankings. The rankings are a tournament power index ranking, not based on a team's dual strength. Individuals receive points on a scale (1ST=20PTS, 2ND=16PTS, 3RD=13PTS, 4TH=12PTS, 5TH=10PTS, 6TH=9PTS, 7TH=7PTS, 8TH=6PTS, 9TH=4PTS, 10TH=3PTS., 11th=2.5 pts, 12th=2 pts, 13th=1.5 pts, 14th=1 pt, 15th=0.5 p) and those ranking points are added to determine the team score. 

Chadron State is one of three ranked RMAC teams in the top 25, along with No. 17 Adams State and No. 18 Colorado Mesa. Colorado School of Mines and New Mexico Highlands are receiving votes.

Gehlhausen, a redshirt senior out of Pinedale, Wyoming, was recently named a Preseason All-RMAC selection after his march to the national championship bout last spring. Along with his runner-up finish, Gehlhausen was First Team All-RMAC after going 7-0 in conference dual bouts and took home the Super Region 6 title. Gehlhausen also won the 184-pound weight class at the UNK Open and placed fifth in it at the Midwest Classic. 

Quade Smith returns to the Eagles lineup after a redshirt year last season. Smith finished in fourth place at regionals at 125 pounds in 2023-24, one win away from a berth at nationals, and spent time ranked within the top 10 nationally. Smith took a 15-6 record into the regional tournament.

Caleb Chaves finds himself in the rankings in his debut season at Chadron State after graduate transferring from Gannon University. Chaves was a 141-pound national qualifier last season for the Golden Knights, finishing third in Super Regional One and going 1-2 at the national tournament. He is a two-time Second Team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) selection.

Chadron State opens its season on November 8 at the Dakota Wesleyan University Open in Mitchell, South Dakota. CSC's first set of duals will be against Otero JC and Fort Hays State, both on November 15, while the Eagles' home and RMAC dual opener will be January 9 against Colorado School of Mines.

Women's Basketball 14th in Preseason Poll

CHADRON, Neb. – With new program leadership and a primarily new team, the Chadron State women's basketball program has been ranked 14^th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 

The prediction is mostly in line with the Eagles' finish last season, when CSC went 5-15 in RMAC play (6-20 overall) to finish in a three-way tie for 12^th through 14^th place in the league standings. Little, a former Chadron State men's basketball assistant and recent CSU Pueblo women's basketball assistant, was named the program's 12^th-ever head coach on June 24. 

The preseason poll is based on a vote of the league's 15 head coaches, who each rank the conference's opposing programs without ranking their own team.

Defending regular season champions Colorado Mesa were the preseason pick to win the league, receiving nine first-place votes plus five second-place votes for 191 total points. The other six first-place votes went to defending tournament champions UCCS, who also had four second-place votes and three third-place votes for 181 total points. 

Behind the top two, Adams State (four 2nds, three 3rds, 159 points), Western Colorado (two 2nds, four 3rds, 150 points) and Colorado School of Mines (four 3rds, 141 points) rounded out the top five. The remainder of the RMAC Tournament places are occupied by Black Hills State (127 points), CSU Pueblo (121) and New Mexico Highlands (117). All those programs except for Colorado School of Mines qualified for the RMAC playoffs last season. 

MSU Denver is picked ninth with 89 points, followed by Colorado Christian (75), South Dakota Mines (56) and Fort Lewis (54) in the top 12. Westminster placed 13^th with 47 points in the poll, just one point ahead of the Eagles, who had 46. Regis rounded out the poll and was picked 15^th, receiving 21 points. 

Along with the preseason poll, the RMAC released a 10-player Preseason All-RMAC team, made up of the top 10 returning vote-getters from last season's All-Conference selections. Nine schools were represented on the 10-player team, with Adams State the only school to have multiple selections. Colorado Mesa's Olivia Reed Thyne, last season's RMAC Player of the Year and a former Chadron High School athlete, returns to lead the Mavericks in 2025-26. 

The Eagles will have a mostly new look this season, with three returners in redshirt junior Camren Morris, senior McKenzi Petersen and junior Jordyn Stokes. Chadron State's 16-player roster features student-athletes from 10 different states, along with one international player. 

Chadron State will open the season on November 15 on the road against Oklahoma Christian. CSC's first home game will be against South Dakota Mines on Saturday, December 6.
 

Three Women's Wrestlers, Eagle Program Earn NWCA Rankings

CHADRON, Neb. – Three Chadron State women's wrestlers have earned spots in the preseason national rankings, released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), while the Eagles have cracked the top 10 of the preseason national team rankings for the first time.

Rylee Balcazar (ranked No. 9 at 110 pounds), Piper Cadden (No. 6 at 131 pounds) and returning All-American Esther Peters (No. 5 at 207 pounds) were all mentioned in the preseason rankings, which list the top 10 athletes nationally at each of the sport's 10 weight classes.

Based on their rankings, Balcazar, Cadden and Peters earn two, six and seven points respectively towards CSC's team total, which determines the team rankings order. With 15 points, the Eagles are in a four-way tie for the No. 10 spot. 

The rankings come at a historic moment for women's wrestling, which officially became the NCAA's 91^stchampionship sport last winter. The inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships are set to take place March 6–7 in Coralville, Iowa, at Xtream Arena.

The poll is a Tournament Power Index (TPI) ranking and not based on a team's dual-meet strength. TPI point totals are determined by individual rankings directly correlated to placement points. The poll does not include bonus or advancement points. [1st = 16, 2nd = 12, 3rd = 10, 4th = 9, 5th = 7, 6th = 6, 7th = 4, 8th = 3, 9th = 2, 10th = 1]

Rylee Balcazar enters her sophomore season as a nationally ranked wrestler after an impressive freshman season that saw her raise her competition level according to the stakes. The Fort Lupton, Colorado native was a tournament winner at the Midland Warrior Open and came second in the Bob Smith Open last season. Balcazar placed only fifth at the RMAC Championships but improved to third place at the regional tournament to qualify for nationals, where she placed in the top 12 and went 3-2 overall. 

Piper Cadden is new to Chadron State, but not to the NWCA rankings. The Gilbert, Arizona native spent two seasons with the Fort Hays State program, where she won an NCWWC regional championship and went 2-2 at nationals in the 131-pound bracket before transferring to Chadron State this fall. Cadden accumulated a 36-12 overall record during her time at FHSU. 

Esther Peters made program history last spring as Chadron State women's wrestling's first ever All-American by finishing in seventh place at nationals as a true freshman in 2024-25, and is rewarded with a top five ranking at 207 pounds entering her sophomore season. Peters, one of only two returning 2024-25 All-Americans across all weights in the RMAC this year, went 4-2 at the national tournament and took down tournament wins at the home Chadron State Open as well as the York Open. 

In addition to the national top 10 rankings, the NWCA released regional rankings, comprised of the top five wrestlers at each weight class from each of the country's six regions. 

Chadron State has six wrestlers who appear in the NWCA Region 6 rankings – senior Brianna Vollendroff (No. 3 at 103 pounds), Balcazar (No. 3 at 110), redshirt junior Ana Rojas-Zamora (No. 4 at 124), Cadden (No. 2 at 131), Ella May Shevlin (No. 4 at 180) and Peters (No. 3 at 207).

Vollendroff and Shevlin were each national tournament qualifiers for the Eagles last year (with Vollendroff going 1-2 in the national tournament and Shevlin 0-2). Rojas-Zamora finished second in the RMAC Championships and competed at nationals during the 2023-24 season, but redshirted in 2024-25.

The Eagles will take to the mats for the first time this Friday, in an open to the public intrasquad dual at the Chicoine Center this Friday night at 7 p.m. CSC's first regular season competition will be the Battle of the Rockies Open at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana on November 8.

NWCA Preseason Team Rankings