Con Marshall
CHADRON, Neb. – Led by a pair of heavyweights who won all of their matches, 10 Chadron State College men placed among the top six in their weight classes Saturday during the Dakota Wesleyan Open Wrestling Tournament in Mitchell, South Dakota.
The 25 Eagles who competed won 70 percent of their matches, going a combined 67-29. The open drew more than 25 teams and was the season-opener for most of them, including CSC.
Junior Cody Pinkerton, a transfer from Northwest College, was declared the heavyweight champion after winning all four of his matches, while Chadron State freshman Mason Villwok, who was competing unattached, was awarded second place. Pinkerton was awarded a medical forfeit victory over Villwok in the championship bout.
On his run to the title, Pinkerton defeated South Dakota State’s Regan Bollweg by fall in 2:59 in the first round, won his second-round match 16-1 by tech fall over Ridgewater College’s Tucker Hugg, beat Northern State’s Ayden Viox by 9-3 decision in the quarterfinal and defeated Iowa Western’s Orion Parker by fall in 2:10 in the semifinal.
Two CSC grapplers besides Villwok also finished second in their respective weight classes. Graduate student Torry Early was the runner-up at 149 pounds with a 3-1 record, and sophomore Brandon Paredes placed second at 157 pounds after winning his first four matches. Early won his first three matches all by major decision or tech fall before a loss in the final.
Three more Eagles: senior Quade Smith of Leyton, Utah, at 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Grady Fox of Augusta, Kansas, at 149 pounds and junior Logan Berger of Hartville, South Carolina, at 174 pounds, all finished with 5-1 records to place in the top six but hit the six-match limit. Fox earned bonus points during all five of his matches.
In addition, graduate student James Davis of Dayton, Ohio, at 133, sophomore Cyrus Wells of Merna, Nebraska, at 141 and sophomore Tayton Gillette of Gooding, Idaho, at 165 went 4-2 during the tourney. Freshman Hunter Jacobsen of Waverly, Nebraska, at 125, redshirt freshman Tate Rusher of Derby, Kansas, at 157, junior Jaziah Whaley of Gilcrest, Colorado, at 157 and sophomore Dominic Joyce of North Port, Florida, at 197 finished with 3-2 records.
The Eagles will hold an intersquad dual—their annual Black and Cardinal Classic—at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the Chicoine Center. It will be open to the public without charge. Up to a dozen matches are anticipated.