CHADRON, Neb. -- January 20, 2016 -- For the first time in head coach Brett Hunter's tenure, the Chadron State College wrestling team went on the road and defeated a ranked opponent on their home mat, winning 16-15 tonight at No. 20 Colorado State University-Pueblo.

"Pueblo is a good team that really pushed the pace on us," said Hunter. "It was a war and we found a way to come out of Pueblo with a win."

Taylor Summers at 133 pounds scored the bonus point for the Eagles which put them over the top. Summers beat the ThunderWolves' Ruben Lucero (9-4) in a 14-0 major decision, in the third bout of the evening.

Both sides won five weight classes apiece. Each team had four wins by decision, and a single major decision. Tipping the scale in favor of the Eagles, a penalty point was assessed on the ThunderWolves' Kyle Fantin following the 9-7 win by Joshua Miller at 141 pounds.

Besides the win by Summers, there was plenty of praise to go around in the Eagles' highly competitive victory.

"Joshua Miller did a good job of bumping up a weight and winning," said Hunter. "Stuart (Hircock) knew what was at stake and did what he needed to do to win the match and dual. Summers, Helmick, and Copeland - all staples in the lineup - came through and won for us as well."

Chadron State had to muster a team effort to dig out of an early hole.

Starting at the heavyweight match, Chadron native Cooper Cogdill, an undersized redshirt freshman, had his hands full, facing a former national runner-up in senior Jacob Mitchell. Though he was defeated 4-3, Cogdill prevented the ThunderWolves' stud, ranked No. 4 nationally, from scoring more than the minimum three team points.

Hunter said Cogdill could have won his match against Mitchell, a transfer from California Baptist University, who in 2014 lost only one match. That lone defeat was a 5-4 decision in the national championship final against Ziad Haddad, who would be named National Wrestler of the Year for Division II.

CSC found itself down 11-7 halfway into the evening. Despite Summers' domination, and a 9-7 win by Josh Miller at 141, the Eagles trailed four matches to two, with No. 2-ranked Terrance McKinney falling by a 11-9 margin.

It took decisions by 165-pounder Chance Helmick (10-4 over Kyle Bateman), 174-pounder Caleb Copeland (6-3 over Joshua Castellano), and the clincher by 197-pounder Stuart Hircock (9-2 over Jakob Lund) in the last match of the evening, before the Eagles could breathe a sigh of relief.

Chadron State advances to 10-1, its best dual record to start the season in 44 years.

The last time an Eagle wrestling team defeated a ranked opponent was two years ago, nearly to date, when CSC wrestlers downed No. 19 San Francisco State. That dual occurred at a neutral site - the Kearney Midwest Duals - on January 18, 2014, by a score of 18-13. 

No rest for the weary, as CSC will wrestle its seventh dual in nine days, with two road trips in between, when it hosts Adams State University in Nelson Physical Activity Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, January 22.

Chadron State 16, CSU-Pueblo 15
285 - Jacob Mitchell (CSUP) dec. Cooper Cogdill, Dec 4-3.
125 - Adellmo Salazar (CSUP) dec. Brandon Kile, 6-1.
133 - Taylor Summers (CSC) MD Ruben Lucero, 14-0.
141 - Joshua Miller (CSC) dec. Kyle Fantin, 9-7
149 - Tim Urenda (CSUP) dec. #2 Terrance McKinney, 11-9.
157 - Nathaniel McKimson (CSUP) dec. Johnny Porter, 6-1.
165 - Chance Helmick (CSC) dec. Kyle Bateman, 10-4.
174 - Caleb Copeland (CSC) dec. Joshua Castellano, 6-3.
184 - Tarrence Williams (CSUP) MD Shane Rodenburg, 14-5.
197 - Stuart Hircock (CSC) dec. Jakob Lund, 9-2.