CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's wrestling led from wire-to-wire and earned a statement win over the defending league champions, as the No. 15-ranked Eagles defeated No. 21 Colorado School of Mines 20-13 in a Friday night dual at the Chicoine Center. 

The Eagles (3-1, 1-0 RMAC) won 6 of 10 bouts against the Orediggers (6-2, 1-1 RMAC), who saw a 12-dual RMAC win streak snapped with the loss. With the win, Chadron State avenges one of their two dual losses from last season.

Hunter Jacobsen and Caleb Chaves collected bonus point wins for the Eagles and Mason Villwok (197 pounds) and Eli Reese (heavyweight) sealed the dual with decision victories in the final two bouts of the evening. 

The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead. No. 5-ranked Quade Smith took his time against Mines freshman Jake Goodin but earned a takedown to grind out a 4-2 decision win. Chadron State then earned four-pointers from Jacobsen at 133 (15-5 major decision) and No. 8-ranked Chaves at 141 (9-0 major decision). 

But the Orediggers won four of the next five matches to trim that 11-0 cushion into just a 14-13 advantage. Mines's Cody Thompson, the No. 2-ranked 149-pounder, scored eight mat points in the final period to put away CSC true freshman Aidan Callahan 13-3 and put the Orediggers on the board with a major decision. 

Tayten Gillette earned a significant three points for the home team with a 9-7 win at 165 pounds. Gillette led comfortably – 7-1 – through two periods before a late Mines rally fell short. The Orediggers were victorious at 157, 174 and 184 pounds, with the latter weight filled by Dylan White, normally a 165-pounder who stepped up after Keegan Gehlhausen was scratched. 

With the Eagles holding a one-point lead in the dual, the Orediggers sent veteran Wyatt Reisz, ranked No. 17 in the nation at 184 pounds, up a class to 197 to battle No. 19-ranked CSC sophomore Mason Villwok in what felt like the most significant match of the dual. After a scoreless first period, Villwok struck for a takedown late in the second and added another with just seconds left in the match to button up an 8-1 decision win and give the Eagles a four-point lead heading into the heavyweight bout. 

Eli Reese, a Gannon transfer, just needed to avoid a pin against No. 19-ranked Laith Ibrahim to seal the dual for Chadron State. On three separate occasions, Ibrahim caught hold of Reese's foot and forced the CSC heavyweight to hop around on one leg for an extended period of time, but all three times Reese was able to wriggle out and avoid the takedown. 

Reese turned the tables with two takedowns of his own to build a 7-3 lead, and although Ibrahim got three points back in the final seconds, Reese emerged with a signature win to leave no doubt about the Eagles' seven-point victory, which ended up being an almost identical margin to Mines's win over CSC a season ago (21-13). 

With Mines's loss, Chadron State and Colorado Mesa are tied atop the RMAC standings at 1-0. Saturday's dual was the first of four straight at home for CSC, with the Eagles next taking the mat on January 18 against New Mexico Highlands.

Dual Results: 
125: #6/#5 Quade Smith (CSC) def. Jake Goodin, Dec. 4-2
133: Hunter Jacobsen (CSC), def. Hunter Samora, MD 15-5
141: #8/#18 Caleb Chaves (CSC) def. Coen Schmidt, MD 9-0
149: #2/#2 Cody Thompson (MINES) def. Aidan Callahan, MD 13-3
157: Brandon Cody (MINES) def. Brandon Paredes, Dec. 11-6
165: Tayten Gillette (CSC) def. Deringer Hollenbeck, Dec. 9-7
174: NR/#14 Jakob Smith (MINES) def. Logan Berger, Dec. 5-0
184: Mason Diel (MINES) def. Dylan White, Dec. 4-0
197: NR/#19 Mason Villwok (CSC) def. Wyatt Reisz, Dec. 8-1
285: Eli Reese (CSC) def. NR/#19 Laith Ibrahim, Dec. 7-6