CHADRON, Neb. -- November 14, 2019 -- Chadron State College wrestling opens the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual season on Thursday evening at 7 p.m., when the Eagles take on Western Colorado in Gunnison. The following evening at 5 p.m., they head northwest to Grand Junction for a clash with Colorado Mesa.

CSC is 1-1 in non-conference duals, after a valiant effort in a 37-3 loss to NCAA Division I No. 3 Nebraska and a 45-3 trouncing of NAIA's Hastings College. Both matches were held in Lincoln's Bob DeVaney Center.

The Eagles enter the league rotation with confidence, but they are still looking to put to the test a lineup at least half comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

The veterans in the lineup mostly held their own against the Huskers, giving up only two bonus points in five matches. Senior Tate Allison, this week's RMAC Wrestler of the Week, scored three points for CSC with a 3-1 decision.

However two of the underclassmen were pinned and another succumbed to a tech fall. Bucking the trend, freshman Terry Winstead took his opponent to a sudden victory overtime period and sophomore Joe Ritzen allowed his Nebraska opponent only three points in a 12-7 decision.

Against, Hastings, not many Eagles were pushed to their limits, as only four matches went the full seven minutes and two of those were major decisions of nine and 12 points.

Eagles' Head Coach Brettt Hunter has yet to settle on who will wrestle at four weights, but at minimum, the 125, 174, 184, and 285 pound classes will be staffed by a freshman.

At 125 weight class, Tate Stoddard will likely participate Thursday. The 184-pounder will be Winstead. At 174, either Gavin Eason or Preston Renner could represent the Eagles, and at heavyweight Mason Watt or Eli Hinojosa are the options.

At 141 the choice is between sophomores Ritzen and Clay Eagle.

Western Colorado brings just one ranked wrestler, No. 6 Jason Hanenberg at 141, into Thursday's matchup. Another team leader is Ruger Wyneken, the RMAC Wrestler of the Week for his third place finish in the 184-pound Elite Bracket at the Wyoming Open.

Like CSC, the Mountaineers are young. They will start at least four freshmen and two sophomores Thursday, with their 133-pound entry undecided between a freshman and a junior.

The Wyoming tournament is the Mountaineers' only outside competition thus far. There, they entered 13 wrestlers, including several freshmen, into the Elite brackets. Eight of those who entered did not win a match, and only Wyneken won more than one.

For Colorado Mesa, many of the same things can be said, although instead of having freshmen in the lineup, six weights are bound to be wrestled by sophomores.

The Mavericks' lone ranked wrestler, at 157 pounds, is No. 10 Payton Tawater. Two years ago, he was undefeated entering the NCAA regional before losing his first two matches. Last year he bested, by a 16-11 margin, Nebraska-Kearney's Matt Malcom, who was then - and is now - the top-ranked 157-pounder in Division II.

Most of the CMU wrestlers listed in the lineup for Friday have not competed so far this season, either at the Wyoming Open or the one at Northern Colorado last weekend.

Both matches are to be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Results will also update live at Trackwrestling.com. Both can be accessed from the CSC Wrestling schedule page at chadroneagles.com/sports/wrestling/schedule.