COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- November 10, 2015 -- Chadron State College's
Terrance McKinney, a 149-pound sophomore from Spokane, Washington, was named the first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week for the 2015-16 season, as announced today by the conference on Twitter.com (@rmacsports).
McKinney is the first Eagle to be selected as the top weekly wrestler in the conference since current junior
Jacob Anderson was given the nod back on December 24, 2013. Current assistant coach
Dustin Stodola also grabbed weekly honors as a student-athlete on November 19, 2013.
After transferring from North Idaho College and redshirting last year, McKinney announced his arrival on the NCAA Division II scene on Saturday, winning the prestigious University of Wyoming Cowboy Open "Elite" Division. He is the first RMAC wrestler to do so since Jesse Hillhouse and Tyrell Fortune in 2012. Hillhouse (CSU-Pueblo) and Fortune (Grand Canyon) would go on to win individual national titles at the NCAA Division II Championships later that season.
McKinney went 5-0 through a bracket of the region's top wrestlers from NCAA Division I and II and NAIA.
He earned a major decision (14-3) over Nick Alspaugh of Division I Northern Colorado in the first round of the tournament, and pinned Adams State's Adam Ortivez (4:34) in the second column of the bracket.
His quarterfinal win was a first-period fall in 1:23 over Utah Valley's Matt Ontiveros, who finished fourth at the 2015 NCAA DI Regionals.
In the semifinals, McKinney faced Western State's Tyler Adams, who had just completed a victory by fall against No. 1-ranked Destin McCauley of Nebraska-Kearney. McKinney scored a first period pin (2:29) against Adams, advancing to the tourney finals against Air Force's Gerald McGinty, who took third at last year's DI regional.
McKinney recorded a victory by forfeit to claim the Open title. He had three pins, one major decision, and a forfeit among his five wins.
Terrance and the rest of the Eagle wrestling squad can be seen in home action Friday night, as Chadron State hosts the intersquad Cardinal and Black Classic at 6 p.m. in Nelson Physical Activity Center.
