CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's wrestling will compete in the second of four consecutive home duals on Sunday afternoon when they face New Mexico Highlands at 12 p.m. inside the Chicoine Center.

The Eagles (3-1, 1-0 RMAC) will try to stay unbeaten in league duals against the Cowboys (6-2, 0-2 RMAC). Chadron State will be seeking its seventh consecutive win over New Mexico Highlands as the Eagles have won 11 of 13 dual matchups overall since the 2011-12 season.

Looking Back
Chadron State made an early statement of intent as the 15^th-ranked Eagles beat 21^st-ranked Colorado School of Mines, knocking off an Oredigger squad that won the RMAC last season and carried a 12-dual RMAC win streak into the dual before CSC snapped it.

RECAP: Colorado School of Mines

Chadron State won six of 10 bouts, with Quade Smith (125), Hunter Jacobsen (133), Caleb Chaves (141), Tayten Gillette (165), Mason Villwok (197) and Eli Reese (285) earning wins. Reese had the standout moment as the CSC heavyweight defeated No. 19-ranked Laith Ibrahim to seal a 20-13 win for Chadron State.

RMAC Network Reminder
As a reminder, RMAC Network games this season now require a pay-per-view subscription to watch. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their broadcast systems and programs.
 
NEWS: RMAC Network Moves To Pay-Per-View Model
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all live and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network, including both home and away RMAC contests for Chadron State. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription (for all sports) costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants the viewer access to a single event for 24 hours. Subscriptions can be purchased through Hudl at rmacnetwork.com. 
 
RMAC Network subscriptions apply to any event that is hosted by an RMAC institution, regardless of whether Chadron State is participating. 
 
Fans will technical support issues can contact Hudl, visit the RMAC email the RMAC Network FAQ page, or directly email the RMAC at rmac@rmacsports.org.

National Rankings
Chadron State has three top 10 nationally ranked wrestlers on its roster with the release of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)'s newest rankings on December 18.

Midwest Classic runner-up and reigning national runner-up Keegan Gehlhausen remains CSC's top-ranked wrestler at No. 3 in the NWCA at 184 pounds. 125-pounder Quade Smith rose to No. 6 in the rankings while Caleb Chaves checked in at No. 8 in the 141-pound rankings.

In The Open Mat's most recent rankings (Top 20), Gehlhausen is No. 2 overall while Smith is No. 5. The Open Mat has Chaves down at No. 14 for 141 pounds, while 197-pounder Mason Villwok makes an appearance at No. 19.

In the team rankings, Chadron State is No. 15 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. 17 in their team tournament rankings and unranked in their team dual rankings.

Action Weights
New Mexico Highlands has a stud in 165-pounder Ivan Smith, Jr., who is ranked in the top seven nationally in his weight class by both major polls. Smith is the reigning regional champion at 165 and qualified for NCAA nationals last season. 

In last year's dual, Smith was pushed by CSC's Tayten Gillette, with Smith winning a narrow 6-5 decision. That was the only points New Mexico Highlands would muster in a 41-3 dual loss. The Cowboys have a completely overhauled lineup, however, as Smith is the only wrestler who started in last year's matchup for NMHU that is listed among this year's probables.

Trinidad State transfer and 149-pounder Sebastien Freeman has a win over then-No. 13 Alex Castaneda of Colorado Mesa and made the quarterfinals of the UNK Open. He is slated to face CSC's Aidan Callahan, who won the "Amateur" Division at 149 at the same event in Kearney.

Scouting the Cowboys
New Mexico Highlands is 6-2 overall in duals, but 0-2 in the RMAC with losses to Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa.

Highlands started their season on a high with a 23-20 dual win over then-No. 9 ranked Embry-Riddle (now no longer ranked). They have two nonconference common opponents with Chadron State, defeating Otero 39-4 and Fort Hays State 29-13 (the Eagles beat those opponents 54-0 and 40-0, respectively). 

New Mexico Highlands's other wins are lopsided victories over Trinidad State (46-6), Schreiner (42-0) and Simon Fraser (47-11). In RMAC contests, the Cowboys have come up short against Mines 20-14 and Mesa 24-13.

A highlight from NMHU's tournament schedule is the Bob Smith Open, where Ivan Smith won at 165 and freshman Devin Kinlicheenie won at 197, topping a field that featured wrestlers from Fort Hays, Western Colorado, Ouachita Baptist and Nebraska-Kearney, among other programs.

Projected Lineup
(rankings are NWCA/The Open Mat)
 

Weight Class	#15 Chadron State		#RV New Mexico Highlands
125	#6/#5 Quade Smith (R-Sr., 16-2)	vs.	Diego Camarillo (So.)
133	Hunter Jacobsen (So., 8-5)	vs.	James Montoya (So.)
141	#8/#14 Caleb Chaves (Gr., 12-3)	vs.	Terrell Kinlicheenie (Jr.)
149	Aidan Callahan (Fr., 13-4)	vs.	Sebastian Freeman (Jr.)
157	Brandon Paredes (R-Jr., 8-6)	vs.	Reed McCarty (So.)
165	Tayten Gillette (R-Jr., 10-5)	vs.	#7/#6 Ivan Smith Jr. (Jr.)
174	Logan Berger (R-Jr., 8-6)	vs.	OPEN
184	Brooks Loosvelt (Fr., 8-3)	vs.	Rylan Taylor (Fr.)
197	NR/#19 Mason Villwok (So., 10-3)	vs.	Devin Kinlicheenie (Fr.)
285	Eli Reese (Gr., 7-5)	vs.	Phil Chobot (R-So.)

 
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.