CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's wrestling's top-tier lineup of 10 wrestlers will compete against many of the nation's best at the 46^th Midwest Classic in Indianapolis this Saturday and Sunday. 

The lineup for the Midwest Classic includes 21 nationally ranked teams among the 47 competing institutions, who are all limited to one wrestler per weight class, the same format as NCAA regionals.

Five RMAC schools (Chadron State, Adams State, Colorado Mesa, CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado) are among the competing institutions. So are seven of the top 10 schools in the NWCA's most recent team rankings (No. 2 Lander, No. 3 Tiffin, No. 4 UW-Parkside, No. 5 Gannon, No. 7 Central Oklahoma, No. 8 Pitt-Johnstown, No. 10 Glenville State). 

The Eagles have three former Midwest Classic placers on the roster. Chadron State had two placers at the prestigious event last season, and both return to CSC in 2025-26, although one will be competing at a different weight. 

133-pounder Hunter Jacobsen made a national statement by placing seventh in the 125-pound bracket as a true freshman last season, becoming the first freshman placer in Chadron State history, while Keegan Gehlhausen was fifth in the 184-pound bracket on his way to last year's national championship runner-up finish. 

Additionally, Quade Smith was fourth at the Midwest Classic in 2023-24 before sitting out in 2024-25. Smith has impressed in his return to the mat after a year-long competitive layoff, winning a tournament title as well as the RMAC Wrestler of the Week award after CSC's first competition of the year.

The tournament will be streamed live on FloWrestling with live stats available on Trackwrestling. The tournament is scheduled to start at 9:30 ET (7:30 MT) on both Saturday and Sunday.

Looking Back
Last Friday, Chadron State matched up in a dual with No. 1-ranked defending national champions Nebraska-Kearney. While the Lopers got the win, the Eagles were extremely competitive, winning 4 of 10 matches and falling 22-13.

RECAP: Nebraska-Kearney

The Eagles received victories from Quade Smith at 125 pounds, Caleb Chaves at 141, Aidan Callahan at 149 pounds and Keegan Gehlhausen at 184. Callahan's victory served as one of the highlights, as the true freshman upset Brady Collins, ranked No. 18 in The Open Mat's national rankings, to win a 4-3 decision. 

Callahan, a true freshman, was the only unranked wrestler from either team to win one of the 10 contested bouts in the CSC/UNK dual.

National Rankings
Chadron State has two consensus nationally ranked wrestlers on its roster and another two who appear in one of the sport's two major rankings. 

Keegan Gehlhausen remains the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 184 pounds, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and The Open Mat. Gehlhausen recorded a win over the No. 17-ranked wrestler, UNK's Kaden Hart, last Friday. Gehlhausen is also No. 6 in The Open Mat's pound-for-pound rankings. 

125-pounder Quade Smith, who won the RMAC Wrestler of the Week award after a bracket-winning performance at the DWU Open, is ranked No. 13 by the NWCA and No. 11 by The Open Mat. 

Caleb Chaves, a 141-pound transfer from Gannon, is ranked No. 15 in the NWCA's most recent rankings from November 20 but does not appear in The Open Mat's top 20. Conversely, sophomore 197-pounder Mason Villwok is No. 18 in The Open Mat's rankings, but is not ranked by the NWCA, who only rank 15 wrestlers per weight.

In the team rankings, Chadron State is tied for 25^th in the NWCA's team rankings, which are based on adding up individual ranking points from Gehlhausen, Smith and Chaves's NWCA rankings.

The Open Mat has Chadron State at No. 22 in their team tournament rankings and No. 24 in their team dual rankings.

Seeding List
The Midwest Classic pre-seeds the top part of each of the 10 brackets, and an impressive eight of CSC's 10 wrestlers will go in tournament seeds. 

Gehlhausen will be the 184-pound top seed while Caleb Chaves will be seeded No. 6 at 141 pounds. The two single-digit seeds for the Eagles are two more than last year, when all four of CSC's seeded wrestlers were Nos. 10-13. 

Also cracking the top 20 in seed lines in each of their respective brackets are Quade Smith (No. 11), Mason Villwok (No. 13), Eli Reese (No. 14), Tayten Gillette (No. 17), Hunter Jacobsen (No. 20) and Aidan Callahan (No. 20). Jacobsen was unseeded when he placed seventh in the 125-pound bracket last season.

Projected Lineup
(rankings are NWCA/The Open Mat, seed line in parentheses)

125: #13/#11 (No. 11 seed) Quade Smith (R-Sr., Layton, Utah)
133: (No. 20 seed) Hunter Jacobsen (So., Lincoln, Neb.)
141: #15/NR (No. 6 seed) Caleb Chaves (Gr., Odenton, Md.)
149: (No. 20 seed) Aidan Callahan (Fr., Rapid City, S.D.)
157: Brandon Paredes (R-Jr., Tucson, Ariz.)
165: (No. 17 seed) Tayten Gillette (R-Jr., Gooding, Idaho)
174: Logan Berger (R-Jr., Hartsville, S.C.)
184: #1/#1 (No. 1 seed) Keegan Gehlhausen (R-Sr., Pinedale, Wyo.)
197: NR/#18 (No. 13 seed) Mason Villwok (So., Elkhorn, Neb.)
285: (No. 14 seed) Eli Reese (Gr., Sarver, Pa.)

Coach's Corner
Chadron State coach Brett Hunter is entering his 15^th season as the head coach at his alma mater. Hunter led the Eagles to its first RMAC championship in nearly 20 years in 2023-24, which earned him the RMAC Coach of the Year and NWCA Region VI Coach of the Year honors.

In that landmark 2024 season, 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 six All-American wrestlers and four 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.