Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
KEARNEY, Neb. – Redshirt junior Keegan Gehlhausen won the 184-pound Elite bracket at the Younes Hospitality Open in Kearney, Nebraska, highlighting a Chadron State men’s wrestling performance at the largest college wrestling tournament in the nation.
Gehlhausen, who entered the tournament ranked No. 14 nationally in the 184-pound weight class, went a perfect 4-0 to emerge victorious out of a 19-man bracket. The Pinedale, Wyoming native defeated fellow RMAC wrestler Hunter Richardson of Western Colorado by pin in 39 seconds, then won two matches by decision over Fort Hays Tech Northwest’s Lazaro Crespo (7-4) and Air Force’s Owen Heiser (13-6).
In the final, Gehlhausen defeated Nebraska Kearney’s Jacobi Deal in dominating fashion via tech fall with a final score of 16-1. Deal entered as the No. 18-ranked wrestler at 184 in Division II, four spots behind Gehlhausen.
In addition to Gehlhausen’s win, redshirt sophomore Brandon Paredes placed fourth in the 157-pound Elite bracket and junior Logan Berger took sixth in the 174-pound Elite bracket. The Eagles also had a pair of wrestlers earn fifth place finishes in the “Amateur” brackets – redshirt sophomore and Merna, Nebraska native Cyrus Wells at 141 pounds and junior Caleb Nadig of Sturgis, South Dakota at 149 pounds.
Paredes, who hails from Tucson, Arizona, faced multiple nationally ranked wrestlers on his march through the 157-pound bracket, starting his day with a win over No. 20-ranked Vincent Cabral of Western Colorado by an 8-5 decision. After another decision win, Paredes lost a narrow 4-2 match to No. 15-ranked Cael Robb of Nebraska-Kearney in the championship semifinals.
Paredes rebounded in the consolation semi and picked up a 13-5 major decision win over another UNK wrestler, Garrett Willuweit. He settled in fourth place after medically forfeiting the third place match to Colorado Mesa’s Ryan Wheeler, the No. 7-ranked 157-pounder in Division II. Paredes finished the open 3-2.
Berger won four matches on his way to placing sixth in the 25-man 174-pound bracket. Three of Berger’s four wins came by fall while both of his losses were by decision. Berger went 1-1 against RMAC competition over the course of the open, defeating CSU Pueblo’s Solomon Arnds-Volcin by decision and losing in the consolation semifinal to No. 20-ranked Wyatt Reisz of Colorado School of Mines.
Other Eagle wrestlers had big days, even if they finished just outside the places. 149-pounder Torry Early, ranked No. 19 in Division II, went 3-2 for the tournament. All of Early’s wins were dominant, as he earned a 21-3 tech fall in round one, a 39-second pin in round two and a 17-1 tech fall win in the consolation bracket.
Also in the “Elite” brackets, Chadron State had 133-pounder Colter Julian finish 2-2, 165-pounder Tayten Gillette finish 3-2 and heavyweight Cody Pinkerton finish 3-2.
Several more attached Eagles also had multiple wins while competing in the amateur division, including fifth-place finishers Cyrus Wells and Caleb Nadig, who both won four matches each. 125-pounder Yusef Nelson (three wins) and 149-pounder Grady Fox (four) also racked up victories.
The Eagles will be back in action at the Doane Open in Crete, Nebraska on Saturday, December 7, followed quickly by the Midwest Classic hosted by UIndy in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 14-15. Chadron State’s RMAC season and dual season will begin after Christmas on Friday, January 10 with a dual against Colorado School of Mines in Golden.