CHADRON, Neb. – After kicking off the RMAC dual season last Friday, Chadron State men's wrestling will compete at home for the first time this season against another nationally-ranked opponent.

The Eagles will wrestle against Colorado Mesa (No. 23 NWCA, No. 10 OpenMat) on Friday night in the Chicoine Center, with the match due to start at 6 p.m. or after the conclusion of the preceding women's dual between the Eagles and Mavericks. 

The dual will be streamed live for free on the RMAC Network with results on Trackwrestling.

Looking Back
Chadron State opened its RMAC schedule and overall dual schedule with a 21-13 loss to No. 16/20 Colorado School of Mines.

RECAP: Colorado School of Mines

James Davis (133 pounds), Torry Early (149), No. 7 Keegan Gehlhausen (184) and Cody Pinkerton (285) were all victorious during the dual, with Gehlhausen earning a major decision victory. 

Dominic Joyce nearly tipped the dual in CSC's favor by pushing No. 14 Ryan Cody to overtime at 197 pounds, but the Oredigger was able to win in extra time to clinch the dual for Mines.

National Rankings
The Eagles feature two "consensus" ranked wrestlers with a third cracking The Open Mat's national rankings. 

Hunter Jacobsen is ranked No. 9 at 125 pounds by the NWCA, whose most recent rankings came out December 23. The Open Mat, which updated their rankings on January 15 after the Colorado School of Mines dual, has Jacobsen at No. 15. 

Keegan Gehlhausen is ranked No. 7 in the nation at 184 pounds by both the NWCA and The Open Mat. 

James Davis sneaks in The Open Mat's rankings at 133 pounds, coming in at No. 20 overall. Davis does not appear in the NWCA rankings, which list 15 wrestlers at each weight.

Chadron State is receiving votes in the NWCA's team tournament rankings, tallying 11 points in the voting for the top 25 poll. Three RMAC teams appear in the poll – Western Colorado at No. 15, Colorado School of Mines at No. 16 and Colorado Mesa at No. 23, while Adams State is receiving votes alongside CSC. 

Adams State and Chadron State have the second and fourth-most votes, respectively, of teams outside the top 25. 

Home Cooking
This will be the first home appearance for the Chadron State program this season, as the Eagles exclusively competed at open tournaments during the fall semester and opened the RMAC season on the road last week. 

As part of their RMAC championship-winning season in 2023-24, the Eagles' home dominance was key. Chadron State went 4-0 in RMAC duals at home last season and 6-1 overall, with the only loss coming to then-No. 1 overall Nebraska-Kearney. 

Last season's home dominance was a stark contrast to 2022-23, when the Eagles were 0-4 in duals held in Chadron. 

Action Weights
Friday should feature a couple of nationally ranked matchups as part of the lineup. 

Lots of eyes will be on the matchup at 184 between No. 7 Keegan Gehlhausen and No. 15 Jason Bynarowicz. The two wrestlers have faced off five times over the past two years, with Bynarowicz holding a 3-2 edge overall but Gehlhausen boasting the win in their most recent meeting at December's Midwest Classic in the quarterfinals. 

The matchup at 133 pounds will feature No. 15/18 Oren Huff against James Davis, ranked No. 20 in the Open Mat rankings. The final bout of the night is set to be contested between No. 11 Tyler Doyle and former RMAC Wrestler of the Week Cody Pinkerton.

Scouting the Mavericks
Colorado Mesa currently has a perfect 6-0 dual record entering the clash with Chadron State. The Mavericks have two RMAC wins as part of that total, defeating New Mexico Highlands 47-7 and Simon Fraser 55-0. Colorado Mesa also defeated rival Western Colorado 31-12 in a nonconference dual. Those two schools will meet again in an RMAC contest on February 13. 

The Mavericks finished in 10^th place at the Midwest Classic on December 14-15, with four placers, including 125-pounder Dayson Torgerson, who placed fifth by defeating CSC's Hunter Jacobsen.

The Mavericks feature six NWCA-ranked wrestlers, with five in the projected lineup for Friday's dual. 

Projected Lineups
Here is a look at the projected lineups for Thursday's match. 

Both schools could potentially be down a nationally-ranked wrestler. Ryan Wheeler, ranked No. 8 at 157 pounds, hasn't competed since the Midwest Classic and is not on the probables sheet. 

For Chadron State, No. 9-ranked Hunter Jacobsen suffered an injury during the dual against Colorado School of Mines and will be a game-time decision.
 

Weight Class	Chadron State		Colorado Mesa
125	#9 Hunter Jacobsen (Fr., 13-6) OR Yusef Nelson (R-Sr., 5-5)	vs.	#7 Dayson Torgerson (So., 13-4)
133	James Davis (Gr., 5-4)	vs.	#15 Oran Huff (R-Jr., 12-6)
141	Cyrus Wells (R-So, 10-7)	vs.	Denim Torgerson (R-Jr., 7-5)
149	Torry Early (Gr., 8-5) OR Hunter Gilmore (R-Jr., 4-4)	vs.	Alex Castaneda (R-So., 11-4) OR Owen Cline (So., 5-2)
157	Brandon Paredes (R-So., 7-6) OR Grady Fox (R-Fr., 9-3)	vs.	Sammy Mobly (R-Fr., 5-6) OR Tommy Thomas (R-Fr., 7-9)
165	Tayten Gillette (R-So., 9-7)	vs.	Will Alvarado (R-Fr., 2-9) OR Wil Moneypenny (R-Fr., 8-6)
174	Logan Berger (R-So., 11-6)	vs.	Gus Dalton (R-Jr., 6-7)
184	#7 Keegan Gehlhausen (R-Jr., 9-2)	vs.	#15 Jason Bynarowicz (14-4)
197	Dominic Joyce (So., 6-7)	vs.	#13 Gabe Carranza (R-Sr., 8-6)
285	Cody Pinkerton (R-Jr., 10-4)	vs.	#11 Tyler Doyle (Jr., 14-4)

 
Coach's Corner
Chadron State coach Brett Hunter is entering his 14^th season as the head coach at his alma mater. Hunter is the reigning RMAC Coach of the Year and NWCA Region VI Coach of the Year.

Hunter and the Eagles are coming off a landmark 2024 season that saw the Eagles win their first RMAC wrestling title since 1995. The Eagles finished with a 10-1 overall dual record, including an undefeated 8-0 mark in RMAC duals, with two national tournament qualifiers. At CSC, Hunter has coached five All-American wrestlers and three individual regional champions. 

As a Chadron State student-athlete, Hunter holds the program record for most wins, finishing with a career record of 133-32. He is the school's only repeat national champion, winning NCAA titles at 165 pounds in 2007 and 174 pounds in 2009. Hunter was inducted into the Chadron State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.