By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
KEARNEY, Neb. – Chadron State men's wrestling had a great showing against No. 1-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, winning four of 10 matches but ultimately falling 22-13 in a road dual against the Lopers from Kearney High School on Friday night.
Chadron State, ranked No. 25/No. 24 as a team, falls to 2-1 in duals this season. The Eagles remain winless against UNK in eight dual matchups since 2013.
The Eagles earned victories at 125 pounds with Quade Smith, 141 pounds with Caleb Chaves, 149 pounds with true freshman Aidan Callahan and at 184 pounds as No. 1-ranked Keegan Gehlhausen returned to the mat with an emphatic major decision win for CSC's only bonus point victory of the day.
Smith and Callahan each defeated higher-ranked opponents while Brandon Paredes, Tayten Gillette and Mason Villwok all lost decisions with no bonus points awarded against opponents ranked within the top 10.
Chadron State took an early 9-3 lead on Friday night. Quade Smith, ranked No. 15 in this week's Open Mat rankings, used two third-period takedowns to come from behind against No. 11 Caleb Coyle for an 8-2 win and put the Eagles on top.
After a major-decision win by UNK at 133, Caleb Chaves earned a 10-3 decision over Connor Ritonya, who was wrestling instead of UNK's No. 4/5-ranked 141-pounder Joe Airola. Chaves led 3-2 after two periods but pulled away with a reversal, two-point near fall and takedown in period three.
Just two weeks after winning the Amateur division at 149 pounds at the UNK Open, freshman Aidan Callahan tallied another win in Kearney by defeating No. 18 Open Mat-ranked Brady Collins via a 4-3 decision. Again, the third period loomed large, with Callahan breaking a 1-1 deadlock with a takedown and holding on to win despite giving up an escape plus a stall point. Callahan was the only unranked wrestler on other team to win a match during Friday's dual.
UNK took control in the middle weights, winning at 157, 165 and 174 with consensus top 10 wrestlers. The three victories (two decisions plus a major decision) put Kearney up 14-9.
Top-ranked Keegan Gehlhausen then took the mat competitively for the first time since CSC's season-opening competition. Facing No. 17 Open Mat-ranked Kaden Hart, Gehlhausen showed no signs of rust with two first-period takedowns before outscoring Hart 9-0 in the third period to secure the bonus point.
Sophomore Mason Villwok, ranked No. 18 by The Open Mat at 197 pounds, faced the biggest challenge of his young career by facing consensus No. 1-ranked Jackson Kinsella. Villwok performed well, with Kinsella landing only one first-period takedown and prevailing with a 5-1 decision, meaning UNK's No. 1-ranked wrestler did not score bonus points while CSC's did.
At heavyweight, No. 2-ranked Crew Howard put the finishing touches on the home team's winning margin with a tech fall win at heavyweight, the only five-pointer of the night for either team.
Chadron State's next competition will be at the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis on December 13-14.
Dual Results:
125: #13/#15 Quade Smith (CSC) def. NR/#11 Caleb Coyle, Dec. 8-2
133: #3/#11 Zach Ourada (UNK) def. Hunter Jacobsen, MD 12-0
141: #15/NR Caleb Chaves (CSC) def. Connor Ritonya, Dec. 10-3
149: Aidan Callahan (CSC) def. NR/#18 Brady Collins, Dec. 4-3
157: #9/#6 Cael Robb (UNK) def. Brandon Paredes, Dec. 4-2
165: #7/#5 Trenton Munoz (UNK) def. Tayten Gillette, Dec. 5-1
174: #9/#11 Otgonbayar Batsuuri (UNK) def. Logan Berger (CSC), MD 12-3
184: #1/#1 Keegan Gehlhausen def. NR/#17 Kaden Hart, MD 15-2
197: #1/#1 Jackson Kinsella (UNK) def. NR/#18 Mason Villwok, Dec. 5-1
285: #2/#2 Crew Howard (UNK) def. Eli Reese, TF 16-1 7:00