CHADRON, Neb. – After its home opener against a nationally-ranked opponent came down to the final bout, Chadron State men's wrestling has its final opportunity to earn an RMAC win in front of the home crowd this Friday.
The Eagles (0-2 RMAC) will take on No. 13-ranked Western Colorado (5-2, 2-0 RMAC) this Friday at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center. A Senior Night ceremony will precede the dual, in between the men's dual and the completed women's dual.
The dual will be live streamed for free on the RMAC Network with live results available on Trackwrestling.
Looking Back
Chadron State went down to the wire with the team picked to win the RMAC this season, falling 21-19 to Colorado Mesa last Friday night in Chicoine.
RECAP:
Colorado Mesa
James Davis (133 pounds),
Brandon Paredes (157),
Tayten Gillette (165),
Logan Berger (174) and
Keegan Gehlhausen (184) all won matches during the dual. Gillette earned a major decision victory while Gehlhausen earned the full six points with a forfeit victory.
Chadron State trailed 15-3 early in the dual, then won four consecutive matches to take a 19-15 lead, but CMU won the final two matches of the night by decision to edge out the Eagles.
National Rankings
Chadron State is just out of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)'s top 25 rankings. The Eagles are quite literally the 26
th team, as they have the most points of any team in the "receiving votes" category.
Three RMAC programs are ranked, led by Western Colorado at No. 13. Colorado School of Mines (No. 16) and Colorado Mesa (No. 25), the two teams to defeat Chadron State in duals this season, are also nationally ranked.
In individual rankings, the Eagles feature two "consensus" ranked wrestlers with a third cracking The Open Mat's national rankings.
Hunter Jacobsen is ranked No. 10 at 125 pounds by the NWCA, whose most recent rankings came out January 20. The Open Mat, which updated their rankings on January 22, has Jacobsen at No. 14.
Keegan Gehlhausen is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 184 pounds by the NWCA and slots in at No. 7 in The Open Mat rankings. Gehlhausen has several marquee tournament performances on his resume, including a win at the UNK Open and a fifth-place finish at the Midwest Classic.
James Davis is ranked No. 19 overall by The Open Mat at 133 pounds. Davis does not appear in the NWCA rankings, which list 15 wrestlers at each weight.
Pitching Shutouts
Davis, a first-year Eagle who transferred to CSC from Upper Iowa, has impressed in the Eagles' lineup at 133 pounds.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Davis has been victorious in both of Chadron State's duals so far this season and has yet to be scored on in those two victories.
Against Colorado School of Mines, Davis grinded out a 2-0 decision win against the Orediggers' Trebor Moreno. He continued the streak last Friday against the Mavericks, taking down nationally ranked wrestler Oran Huff via a 4-0 decision.
Huff entered that bout as the No. 15-ranked wrestler in the nation by the NWCA and No. 18 by The Open Mat. After the loss to Davis, who was ranked No. 20 by The Open Mat, Huff himself fell to No. 20 and Davis bumped up to No. 19.
Senior Night
Chadron State men's wrestling will honor five departing student-athletes in a pre-dual ceremony for Senior Night –
Yusef Nelson,
James Davis,
Torry Early,
Hunter Gilmore and
Jaziah Whaley.
Nelson, Davis and Early have all wrestled in dual matchups for Chadron State this season while all five have competed for the Eagles in 2024-25.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Western Colorado has a 5-2 overall dual record, with a 2-0 mark in RMAC play. Among conference opponents, the Mountaineers have defeated New Mexico Highlands 47-3 and Simon Fraser 48-6.
Western Colorado was picked to finish second in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll behind Colorado Mesa. The Mountaineers fell to Mesa 31-12 in a nonconference dual back on December 4, the two teams will meet again for an RMAC dual on February 13. Western Colorado's other dual loss is to nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
The Mountaineers feature two wrestlers ranked in the national top three in their respective weight classes. Redshirt senior Cole Hernandez is ranked No. 1 in the country at 174 pounds. He is the first top-ranked WCU wrestler since the 2018-19 season. Dean Noble is the No. 3-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds.
Western Colorado finished tied for eighth as a team in the Midwest Classic, led by top individual performances by Noble, who finished second, and Hernandez, who finished third.
Action Weights
There may not be a true marquee matchup on Friday's schedule, as Chadron State's and Western Colorado's nationally ranked wrestlers do not match up with one another, but several bouts could prove intriguing as they are rematches from last season or earlier this year.
Three Eagles can avenge losses from last season's CSC/WCU dual against the same probable opponents.
Torry Early could have a chance to punctuate a decorated career on his Senior Night with what would be a significant win against the No. 3-ranked Noble at 149, while 174-pounder
Logan Berger is set to tangle with No. 1-ranked Hernandez after falling via 13-9 decision last season.
Keegan Gehlhausen, now ranked within the top five nationally, is set to face an opponent that defeated him last year in WCU's Cole Gray, who defeated Gehlhausen via an 11-3 major decision when these two met last year.
At 197,
Dominic Joyce competed in his first collegiate match last season against Sage Harrison, who opposes him in the probables sheet for Friday. Joyce defeated Harrison last season with the dual score tied 16-16, which helped Chadron State seal a 22-16 win.
This season,
Brandon Paredes also previously beat WCU 157-pounder Vincent Cabral at the UNK Open in the second round of the championship bracket.
Projected Lineups
Here is a look at the projected lineups for Friday's match.
| Weight Class |
Chadron State |
|
Western Colorado |
| 125 |
#10 Hunter Jacobsen (Fr., 13-6)
OR
Yusef Nelson (R-Sr., 5-6) |
vs. |
Roberto Estrada (Jr., 9-7) |
| 133 |
James Davis (Gr., 6-4) |
vs. |
Devin Gomez (Jr., 9-8) |
| 141 |
Cyrus Wells (R-So, 10-8)
OR
Kyle Lewis (Jr., 4-6)
OR
Skyler Geier-Dodson (R-So., 4-4) |
vs. |
Eyan Chavez (R-So., 10-7) |
| 149 |
Torry Early (Gr., 8-6)
OR
Hunter Gilmore (R-Jr., 4-5) |
vs. |
#3 Dean Noble (Gr., 12-1) |
| 157 |
Brandon Paredes (R-So., 8-6)
OR
Grady Fox (R-Fr., 9-4) |
vs. |
Vincent Cabral (So., 10-6) |
| 165 |
Tayten Gillette (R-So., 10-7)
OR
Jaziah Whaley (R-Jr., 4-4) |
vs. |
Ryan Dirksen (R-So., 4-3)
OR
Walker Heckendorf (Sr., 9-6) |
| 174 |
Logan Berger (R-So., 12-6) |
vs. |
#1 Cole Hernandez (R-Sr., 12-1) |
| 184 |
#4 Keegan Gehlhausen (R-Jr., 10-2) |
vs. |
Cole Gray (Gr., 5-2) |
| 197 |
Dominic Joyce (So., 6-8) |
vs. |
Sage Harrison (Sr., 12-6) |
| 285 |
Cody Pinkerton (R-Jr., 10-5)
OR
Mason Villwok (Fr., 0-0 attached) |
vs. |
Riley Butt (Jr., 8-9) |
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.
