By: Kaleb Center, CSC Sports Information Director
KEARNEY, Neb. – February 29, 2020 – Chadron State College wrestlers finished in places one through four on Saturday, at the NCAA Super Region 6 Championships, hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Junior Tate Allison qualified for the national meet for the first time, while seniors Chase Clasen and Wade French earned repeat bids.
Freshman Mason Watt, at 285 pounds, made it to the third place match, where he narrowly missed an NCAA berth by placing fourth. His was among the toughest brackets in which to qualify, with the top three seeds entering a combined 54-14 on the season. Watt's exit after losing to the first and third seeded wrestlers was emblematic of the ups and downs of the meet.
"Any time the regional tournament rolls around, it's a rollercoaster," said CSC Head Wrestling Coach Brett Hunter. "It's a one day grind. I'm extremely proud of Chase, Tate, and Wade for finding a way to get it done today. This tournament takes toughness, and all three showed it. For the others, it's a tough pill to swallow, because they all worked so hard all year, but fell short. I'm proud of all 10 guys today."
Clasen's and Allison's NCAA qualifications come after Hunter recently put both wrestlers on descent plans to drop one weight class. Clasen went from 157 pounds, where he wrestled most of the regular season, to 149, where he was a national qualifier last season. Allison dropped from 165 to 157.
French repeated as regional champion at 197 pounds. Entering the meet as the No. 1 seed, he scored a technical fall and a 7-0 decision before winning the championship final in sudden victory, 4-1.
Clasen earned a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, next month by knocking off No. 1 seed Mason Boutain of San Francisco State, ranked No. 5 nationally, by a 4-2 decision in the semifinal, placing him in the championship match. There he placed second, falling 2-0 to Sam Turner of Nebraska-Kearney, who had transferred from the University of Wyoming after qualifying twice for the NCAA Division I championships.
A bronze medal finish was awarded to Allison in the 157 pound bracket.
He began with a first-round loss to Maxamillian Schneider of San Francisco State, who was a training partner for Olympic judo athletes in 2016.
Allison fought back from the early setback, however. He won two close decisions in the consolation rounds, and then received an injury forfeit from Schneider. In the third place match, Allison tilted the No. 2 seed Isaiah Diggs to his back twice, winning 10-2 for a major decision. Diggs was ranked No. 8 in Division II.
Senior 133-pounder Brandon Kile went 1-2 at the meet, as did sophomore Joseph Ritzen and freshman Preston Renner. Renner, who had only one varsity appearance this year, was eliminated by the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds, but scored a tech fall win in between.
CSC finished seventh in the team points standings for the Super Region, which includes all Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, plus Nebraska-Kearney and Simon Fraser of British Columbia, Canada.
Kearney won the team race with 148 points. Western Colorado University was second at 106.
The Chadron State program has now qualified a wrestler for a national meet in 52 consecutive seasons.