CHADRON, Neb. -- November 13, 2018 -- The Chadron State College wrestling team will take on the best when it duals St. Cloud State on at 7 p.m. CST Thursday during a trip to Minnesota.  The Eagles also will enter the Finn Grinaker Cobber Open Tournament hosted by Concordia College at Moorhead on Saturday.

St. Cloud has won three of the last four NCAA Division II National Tournament championships, and is the preseason favorite to win another title this year.  CSC coach Brett Hunter said most of the Huskies' national qualifiers from a year ago have returned, including three silver medalists.

The Huskies are expected to be among the teams at the Grinaker Open on Saturday. Tourney host Concordia is an NCAA Division III wrestling power.  Last year's tournament drew 10 teams including Division I's North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

Hunter said the Eagles are excited for the opportunity to wrestle the best team in the country and meet contestants from other parts of the country. Twenty-four CSC grapplers will make the trip.

The varsity lineup for the Eagles in their dual is expected to include: 125-Clay Eagle; 133-Brandon Kile; 141-Chance Karst; 149-Chase Clasen; 157-Jake Otuafi OR Steven Lahnert; 165-Johnny Porter; 174-Matt Hebel; 184-Heber Shepherd; 197-Aspen Naylor; 285-No. 12 Rulon Taylor.

The St. Cloud lineup is as follows: 125-No. 2 Brett Velasquez; 133-Garrett Vos; 141-Travis Swanson; 149-No. 1 James Pleski; 157-Jake Barzowski; 165-No. 10 Devin Fitzpatrick; 174-No. 3 Kolton Eischens; 184-Riley Vanik; 197-No. 1 Vince Dietz; 285-Zach Muller.

Eight of the Huskies' 10 varsity wrestlers went undefeated in their first week of competition, wrestling at an open meet at Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, South Dakota.

The Eagles drew a large crowd of fans during their annual Black and Cardinal intrasquad competition last Thursday night. The results follow:
133- Brandon Kile over Jeff Phillips (19-1)
141- Chance Karst over Joe Ritzen (Fall 3:25)
141- Colton Adams over Joe Ritzen ( MD 16-4)
149- Chase Clasen over Caleb Haskell (8-4)
157- Steven Lahnert over Jake Otuafi (3-2)
165- John Porter over Tate Allison (3-2)
165- Javen Palmer over Kodiak French (12-2)
174- Matt Hebel over Preston Renner (Fall 0:43)
174- Preston Renner over Tucker Allison (5-3)
184- Heber Shepherd over Terry Winstead (3-1)
184- Gavin Eason over Jay Westcott (9-5)
197- Wade French over Aspen Naylor (6-4)
285- Rulon Taylor over Mason Watt (Fall 2:50)