CHADRON, Neb. -- February 26, 2020 -- Chadron State College wrestlers will be striving to keep one of the school's most cherished athletic streaks alive Saturday when they participate in the NCAA Super Region 6 Championships in Kearney. 

For 51 consecutive years, the Eagles have had at least one grappler advance to the national tournament. It's something to be proud of.  Can they extend it to 52 years?  It takes a top three placing in a weight class at regionals to make it happen.

Last year, two Eagles--Chase Clasen of Moses Lake, Wash., at 149 pounds and Wade French of Herriman, Utah, at 197--pumped some pride into the CSC wrestling program and won those weight classes at the regional showdown.  That sent them to nationals in Cleveland.

Both are seniors this year and will be striving to repeat.  Because of their success and experience, they are probably considered the most likely team members to claim berth at nationals again. This year's grand finale will be March 13 and 14 in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Coach Brett Hunter is hoping other Eagles also will extend their seasons. He'd like to take a van load to Sioux Falls because that's where he and CSC classmate and fellow national champion Josh Majerus will be inducted into the DII Wrestling Hall of Fame that weekend.

Three CSC entries, including Clasen, have shed weight recently and will compete in a class lower than where they wrestled most of the season. Clasen was at 157 and has dropped back to 149, junior Tate Allison of Moorcroft, Wyo., has been at 165 and is now at 157 and redshirt freshman Terry Winstead of Harrah, Okla has been at 184 and is down to 174.

Because of the shuffling, two Eagles who have been in and out of the lineup, will fill a vacated weight class Saturday.  Freshman Preston Renner of Westminster, Colo., will be at 165 and senior Jay Westcott of Grand Junction, Colo., at 184.

At 20-3, French has the team's best record this winter. Redshirt freshman Mason Watt of Broomfield, Colo., CSC heavyweight, has a stellar 17-7 mark. Both Allison and senior Brandon Kile of Hastings at 131 have 15 victories and Clasen 14.

The remaining weight classes will be filled by freshman Tate Stoddard of Glenrock, Wyo., at 125 and sophomore Joe Ritzen of Chadron at 141.

The Super Region 6 field will be made up of the seven RMAC wrestling teams along with affiliate member San Francisco State plus Nebraska-Kearney and Simon Fraser of British Columbia.

Kearney is the defending regional champion after scoring 121.5 points a year ago. Western Colorado was the runner-up with 110 and Adams State third with 102.5. 

UNK is sixth in the current Division II rankings. Also among the top 25 are Colorado Mines, 12th; San Francisco State, 13th; Adams State, 16th; and Colorado Mesa, 21st.