With 30 members of last year’s Chadron State College wrestling team returning, Coach Brett Hunter didn’t plan to add a large number of newcomers, but with the school year about to start, there are 11 new names on the roster.
The coach notes that wrestling requires long roster so the team can capably fill all 10 weight classes in each match.
The recruits are comprised of seven freshmen and three transfers, along with a top prospect, Clayton Robinson, who was a freshman on the CSC football team last fall, but is switching to wrestling this season after starring in both sports at Roosevelt High School at Johnstown, Colo. He was a Class 4A Class 4A state champion as a senior in 2022.
Two of the transfers are coming from the University of Northern Colorado with most of their collegiate eligibility remaining. They are Jaziah Whaley of Valley, Colo., where he was a two-time state champion and had a 157-7 career record, and Tayten Gillette, who was a three-time state champ at Gooding High in Idaho. They are expected to compete at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively.
The other transfer is Torry Early, a native of Oak Park, Ill., who has been at Wisconsin-Parkside, but is coming to CSC to study for a Master’s Degree in Business and plans to wrestle two more years.
Two freshmen are joining the Eagles from both Pomona High at Arvada, Colo., and North Port High in Florida.
Pomona has won five straight Colorado State Tournament Class 5A titles. Mark Cardenas, who is expected to be a 125-pounder for the Eagles, is a three-time state tourney placewinner, and Justin Cullen, a 197-pounder, had placed at state twice before having his senior season ended because of a broken hand bone after he’d compiled a 20-2 record.
Both of the Florida recruits will be in the upper weights. Dominic Joyce was a four-time state tourney qualifier, was the runner-up as both a sophomore and a senior and won the 184-pound title as a junior. Carmichael Gonzalez was a two-time state tourney qualifier who had a 55-4 record as a 197-pound senior and won 130 of his approximately 150 career matches.
Two Kansans, the first Hunter has had on the roster in his 12 years as head coach, are among the 2023 freshman recruits. Grady Fox of Augusta was a four-time state tourney placewinner and won more than 40 matches this past year, when he was third at state. Tate Rusher of Derby was a state champion as junior and the runner-up at 149 pounds this year, when his team won the Class 6A title.
The other freshman is Jeff Forsen of Mullen, who placed fourth at 120 pounds at the Nebraska state tourney this year.
With all but Preston Renner, who has expended his eligibility, returning among the usual starters on last year’s team, Hunter says the 2023-24 Eagles should be his best from top to bottom.
The team will feature Quen Campbell, who was the silver medalist at the NCAA II National Tournament at 133 pounds last season. It will also include Keegan Gehlhausen, who was named the Super Region 6 Freshman of the Year, along with national qualifier, Mason Watt, who finished with a 20-6 record at heavyweight last winter and will be a Super Senior this year.
Other varsity returnees who posted double-figure wins last season are Ethan Leake, 18-7; Quad Smith, 17-8; and Brandon Parades, 15-11. Eli Hinojosa also returns after suffering an injury last season. He has been one match away from qualifying for nationals two separate times.