The Chadron State College men’s wrestling team took its third Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual loss on Friday, eliminating it from the league title chase by falling to Western Colorado University, now ranked No. 19 by Intermat, by a score of 43-9 on Friday in Gunnison, Colorado.
“We had a few guys, who are typically in our lineup, that couldn’t compete due to injuries,” said CSC Head Men’s Wrestling Coach Brett Hunter. “That really set us back. But I’m proud of Quade [Smith] for beating a really tough opponent, and the guys we were able to put out there all wrestled hard.”
At the beginning of the dual, CSC true freshman Quade Smith upset 125-pound opponent Cody Fatzinger, the 13th-ranked Division II wrestler at IntermatWrestle.com. Smith had the first takedown before his opponent built a 6-2 lead. He was down 6-5 when he put Fatzinger’s back to the mat with 17 seconds left in regulation.
Smith was the November 16 RMAC Wrestler of the Week after pinning a Cornhusker opponent.
The other win for the Eagles came at 197 pounds, where CSC’s Eli Hinojosa took a 7-4 decision.
At 149, 165, and 184 pounds, the Eagles were struggling to field a competitor due to injuries incurred at Colorado Mesa the previous evening. They gave up 18 points due to forfeits.
Western Colorado earned its other 25 points at 133, 141, 157, 174, and 285 pounds.
The CSC men’s wrestling team will send a few competitors to the Rocky Mountain Open in Golden, Colorado, before putting forth its best at the NCAA Super Region 6 Championships in Grand Junction, Colorado, on February 26 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Individual Results:
125 – Quade Smith (CSC) pinned No. 13 Cody Fatzinger, 6:43
133 – Alex Alvarez (WCU) pinned Kobe Lepe, 12-2, 6:33
141 – No. 12 Dean Noble (WCU) dec. Ethan Leake, 7-5
149 – Jason Hanenburg (WCU) won by forfeit
157 – Ryan Wilson (WCU) MD Harrison Gocke, 12-3
165 – No. 7 Hunter Mullin (WCU) won by forfeit
174 – Cole Hernandez (WCU) pinned Darwin Hull, 3:44
184 – Cole Gray (WCU) won by forfeit
197 – Eli Hinojosa (CSC) dec Porter Fox, 7-4
285 – Sammy Deseriere pinned No. 10 Mason Watt, 4:22