Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
INDIANAPOLIS – Two Chadron State men’s wrestlers earned placings at the prestigious 45th Midwest Classic, with redshirt junior Keegan Gehlhausen placing fifth at 184 pounds and freshman Hunter Jacobsen finishing seventh at 125 pounds.
As a team, Chadron State finished in 22nd place out of 43 competing teams, more than holding its own in a classic which featured 19 of the 25 teams ranked in the latest NWCA Team Rankings.
Gehlhausen, Chadron State’s only nationally ranked wrestler who entered the tournament ranked No. 14 in the nation at 184 according to the NWCA, is likely to see his star continue to rise after following up his win at the UNK Open with a fifth-place finish in Indianapolis.
The Pinedale, Wyoming native defeated three higher-ranked wrestlers on his march to a top-five finish, with both of Gehlhausen’s losses over the course of the open coming to nationally-ranked wrestlers as well.
Gehlhausen opened with two victories over RMAC rivals, beating Adams State’s Sergio Zaragoza by major decision 15-6 and knocking off No. 9-ranked Jason Bynarowicz of Colorado Mesa in a 6-5 decision. Gehlhausen pulled out another one-point win in the quarterfinal, defeating the nation’s No. 4-ranked wrestler, Central Missouri’s Damon Ashworth, by a 9-8 score.
After back-to-back losses to the No. 3 and No. 11-ranked wrestlers in the nation, Gehlhausen closed his tournament with a 4-2 decision win over Upper Iowa’s Colter Bye, ranked No. 10 in the country, to seal fifth place and Gehlhausen’s third top 10 win of the tourney.
Hunter Jacobsen, a true freshman from Waverly High School in Lincoln, becomes the first CSC true freshman to place at the Midwest Classic with his seventh-place finish. Jacobsen won his first three matches, one by tech fall and two by decision, including a second-round win over No. 14-ranked Luke Acuna of Ashland.
The freshman’s two losses came to top-seven national opponents who he will likely see more of during the RMAC season – No. 2 ranked Isaiah Gamez of Adams State and No. 7 Daysen Torgerson of Colorado Mesa.
Jacobsen’s crowning achievement on the day was a win over No. 9-ranked Trevon Gray of Pitt-Johnstown in the seventh-place match. Jacobsen finished the two-day classic with a 5-2 record, giving him the most victories of the open among Eagle wrestlers.
The third and final Eagle to make the second day of the Midwest Classic was junior Logan Berger at 174 pounds, who went 3-1 on day one including a win over No. 15-ranked Wyatt Reisz of Colorado School of Mines, but lost a consolation match on day two.
The only other Eagle with multiple wins was Tayten Gillette, who went 2-2 at 165 pounds. Several Eagles – Cyrus Wells at 141, Torry Early at 149, Dominic Joyce at 197 and Cody Pinkerton at 285 – went 1-2 at the tournament. James Davis (133) and Brandon Paredes (157) filled out the Eagles’ lineup.
Chadron State men’s wrestling is now done with competition through the Christmas break and the month of December. January will bring a shift for CSC as the Eagles will begin a series of seven RMAC duals in the span of six weeks from January 10 to February 14.