CHADRON, Neb. – Cody Pinkerton decided the match with a thunderous pin at heavyweight, Torry Early knocked off the No. 3-ranked wrestler in the nation to put the Eagles in position and Chadron State men's wrestling defeated No. 13-ranked Western Colorado 23-17 in a raucous Chicoine Center on Friday night. 

With the score tied at 17-17 entering the 10^th and final bout of the night, Chadron State just needed Pinkerton to come out ahead by any means to clinch the dual, but the redshirt junior did that and then some. 

After a scoreless first period, Pinkerton chose bottom, then escaped and recorded a takedown to take a lightning-fast 4-0 lead. With control, Pinkerton gradually worked Mountaineer 285-pounder Riley Dean-Butt to a prone position as the home crowd rose to a fever pitch, sealing the fall at 4:14 to clinch the upset.

The win is CSC's first dual victory of the season, with the Eagles improving to 1-2 both in the RMAC and overall in duals. Western Colorado suffered its first RMAC defeat of the year and fell to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in conference. 

While Pinkerton's pin clinched it, the signature win of the night likely goes to veteran 149-pounder Torry Early, who defeated No. 3-ranked counterpart Dean Noble via an 11-3 major decision. The match was scoreless through two periods before Early opened the floodgates in the third, handing Noble just his second loss of the season. 

Early's win capped a decorated home career for the Illinois native, who was one of five Chadron State athletes honored in a pre-dual Senior Night ceremony. Of the five Senior Night honorees (Yusef Nelson, James Davis, Early, Hunter Gilmore, Jaziah Whaley), four competed (three in the dual, one in an exhibition) and three won.

Western Colorado won the first match with a tech fall at 125, but Chadron State stormed back to win the next three, with James Davis and Cyrus Wells earning decision wins at 133 and 141 and Early's win staking the Eagles to a 10-5 lead. 

Western bounced back with a hard-fought 4-1 win at 157 before Tayten Gillette earned a major decision victory at 165. Crucially, Gillette earned a takedown in the final seconds that pushed his margin of victory into major decision territory and earned CSC an extra point.

The two schools traded decision victories from Western's No. 1-ranked Cole Hernandez at 174 and CSC's No. 4-ranked Keegan Gehlhausen at 184 before the Mountaineers came up with a pin at 197 pounds to tie the score at 17-all and make the heavyweight match a winner-take-all contest. Thanks to Pinkerton's pin, the Eagles clinched the dual and beat Western for just the third time in the last eight meetings.

Chadron State continues its RMAC season on the road next week, with the Eagles battling Adams State on Thursday, January 30 and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, February 1.

Bout-by-Bout Results
125: Roberto Estrada (WCU) tech falls Yusef Nelson (CSC), 19-3
133: James Davis (CSC) dec. Devin Gomez (WCU), 8-4
141: Cyrus Wells (CSC) dec. Eyan Chavez (WCU), 5-3
149: Torry Early (CSC) maj. dec. #3 Dean Noble (WCU), 11-3
157: Vincent Cabral (WCU) dec. Brandon Paredes (CSC), 4-1
165: Tayten Gillette (CSC) maj. dec. Walker Heckendorf (WCU), 11-2
174: #1 Cole Hernandez (WCU) dec. Logan Berger (CSC), 14-8
184: #4 Keegan Gehlhausen (CSC) dec. Cole Gray (WCU), 8-2
197: Sage Harrison (WCU) pins Dominic Joyce (CSC), 6:43
285: Cody Pinkerton (CSC) pins Riley Dean-Butt (WCU), 4:14

Exhibition Matches:
141: Zack Flowers (WCU) dec. Kyle Lewis (CSC), 16-14
149: Hunter Gilmore (CSC) tech falls Peyton Harris (WCU), 19-2