The Chadron State College men’s basketball team has qualified for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, the program’s first postseason action in 9 years, and will meet top seed and 5th-ranked Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction on Tuesday.

The Eagles had 10 of their 22 games cancelled by COVID-19 and were 5-7 in the games that were played, all conference games.

Because of postponements throughout the conference and the uneven schedules they created, a rating index was used to determine the strength of each team’s wins and losses to determine which schools made the league tournament and their seeding.

CSC finished tied for 7th with South Dakota School of Mines, which won the tiebreaker based on each team’s success against 3rd-seed Black Hills State University, after tying in several other criteria.

If Mesa beats the Eagles Tuesday,, they will host the tournament semifinals and finals. If CSC wins, the highest remaining seed will be the host. The RMAC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid in the NCAA West Region tourney at Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

When the Eag;es and Mavericks last met Dec 12 in Chadron the game required two overtime periods to result in a 77-68 win for Mesa, who was then ranked No. 22.

The Mesa win was its fourth in an 11-0 start. The Mavs’ only loss came on January 30, at Western Colorado, and since then they managed to win seven more games including a win on the road at Colorado School of Mines, then the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II. They finished the season on Saturday at 18-1, all in conference action.

Tuesday’s game in Grand Junction will be CSC’s second top-five matchup this season, after it played Mines when the Orediggers were ranked fourth.

It will also be the seventh RMAC Tournament in the Eagles men’s program history. The others occurred in 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2012.

The Eagles may have won the first-ever RMAC Tournament game, at least in the Division II era of the league. The conference did not list a postseason tournament before it officially joined Division II in 1993, and CSC defeated Mines in the first round of that inaugural tourney, 95-83.

Incidentally, Chadron State’s semifinal matchup that season was against Mesa, which prevailed 78-62.

On Tuesday, the Eagles will be without big men Jacob Jefferson, who lost the season to injury in January, and Deion Rhea, who departed the team in December. Jefferson was the team’s leading scorer leading up to his injury, while Rhea led the Eagles in both scoring and rebounding against Mesa in December.

Teddy Parham, Jr., now leads the Eagles in scoring, with 15.6 points per game, after pouring in 68 in his last three games. Deundra Roberson (11.0) and Marcus Jefferson (10.4) also average double figure scoring.

Marcus Jefferson leads all active players in rebounding and assists.

None of the RMAC tournament games will have fans present. Tuesday’s CSC can be viewed on the RMAC Network.

CSC’s Hinojosa 3rd at 197 at Super Region VI Tourney

Chadron State College sophomore Eli Hinojosa placed third at the NCAA Super Region VI wrestling tournament on Sunday.

The 197-pounder from Imperial, Nebraska, went 3-1 in his bracket, with his only loss coming to No. 6 Joseph Reimers of Nebraska-Kearney.

Chadron State finished seventh as a team, out of seven participating teams in the region. New Mexico Highlands, San Francisco State, and Simon Fraser did not participate.

Because the region was reduced to seven teams, the NCAA deemed that only 17 student athletes, rather than the 30 who qualified last year, would be sent from the region to the national championships.

Consequentially, the Eagles’ 53-year streak of national qualifiers is very much in jeopardy. The 17 qualifiers will almost certainly include 10 regional champions, and almost certainly seven runners-up.

Hinojosa arrived at his bronze finish by defeating his first-round opponent 8-3, before losing to Reimers by fall in the semifinal. His first consolation win was another 8-3 decision, and he won his third place match 5-2.

Hinojosa was unable to wrestle again for second place by rule, because he had previously lost to Reiners, the loser in the championship match.

The other two placers for CSC were Joe Ritzen, at 141 pounds, and Rowdy Pfeil, at 174.

Ritzen lost his first match 10-4, then defeated his first consolation opponent, 9-5. He lost his third place by fall, to settle for fourth.

At 174 pounds, Pfeil was the top-seeded wrestler in the bracket and ranked No. 5 in the nation. He was caught off-guard by Elijah Valdez of CSU-Pueblo and lost 13-4 in his first round match. Pfeil pinned his next two opponents in consolations, before a 7-1 loss to Ryan Fidel in the third place match ended his season with a fourth place finish.

Preston Renner went 1-2 in the tourney at 157 pounds, marking the only other win for the Eagles on Sunday. He defeated Ruben Garcia of CSU-Pueblo 3-2 in consolations.

At heavyweight, Mason Watt lost his opening round match 4-1 against Nebraska-Kearney’s Lee Herrington, 4-1. Watt was unable to continue due to injury. Herrington went on to win the regional title.

CSC individual results:

125
Parker Mcbride (Colorado St.-Pueblo) 1-2 dec. Tate Stoddard (Chadron St.) 2-7 (Dec 4-0)
Christian Lopez (Colo. Sch. of Mines) 4-2 dec. Tate Stoddard (Chadron St.) 2-7 (Dec 8-4)

133
Patrick Allis (Western Colo.) 2-1 dec. Joseph Taylor (Chadron St.) 3-6 (Dec 11-7)
Collin Metzgar (Colorado Mesa) 7-4 dec. Joseph Taylor (Chadron St.) 3-6 (Dec 9-6)

141
Wesley Rayburn (Colo. Sch. of Mines) 2-3 dec. Joseph Ritzen (Chadron St.) 4-6 (Dec 10-4)
Joseph Ritzen (Chadron St.) 4-6 dec. Angel Flores (Adams St.) 1-2 (Dec 9-5)
Dean Noble (Western Colo.) 4-1 pinned Joseph Ritzen (Chadron St.) 4-6 (Fall 7:13)

149
Gavin Melendez (Colorado St.-Pueblo) 3-1 MD Sebastian Robles (Chadron St.) 3-6 (MD 11-2)
Jason Hanenberg (Western Colo.) 2-2 dec. Sebastian Robles (Chadron St.) 3-6 (Dec 2-0)

157
Dylan Udero (Adams St.) 1-2 dec. Preston Renner (Chadron St.) 5-5 (Dec 4-0)
Preston Renner (Chadron St.) 5-5 dec. Ruben Garcia (Colorado St.-Pueblo) 0-2 (Dec 3-2)
Carter Noehre (Colo. Sch. of Mines) 5-1 dec. Preston Renner (Chadron St.) 5-5 (Dec 7-2)

165
Aaden Valdez (Adams St.) 1-2 MD Tate Allison (Chadron St.) 2-7 (MD 13-5)
Skyler Lykins (Colo. Sch. of Mines) 4-2 MD Tate Allison (Chadron St.) 2-7 (MD 8-0)

174
Elijah Valdez (Colorado St.-Pueblo) 1-2 MD Rowdy Pfeil (Chadron St.) 8-3 (MD 13-4)
Rowdy Pfeil (Chadron St.) 8-3 pinned Cole Hernandez (Western Colo.) 0-2 (Fall 4:31)
Rowdy Pfeil (Chadron St.) 8-3 pinned Gavin Davy (Adams St.) 1-2 (Fall 1:29)
Ryan Fidel (Colo. Sch. of Mines) 5-1 dec. Rowdy Pfeil (Chadron St.) 8-3 (Dec 7-1)

184
Austin Eldredge (Neb.-Kearney) 13-1 TF Joseph Renner (Chadron St.) 1-8 (TF-1.5 2:32 (18-2))
Cody Lewis (Adams St.) 1-2 pinned Joseph Renner (Chadron St.) 1-8 (Fall 4:45)

197
Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St.) 8-3 dec. Ben Gould (Colorado St.-Pueblo) 0-2 (Dec 8-3)
Joseph Reimers (Neb.-Kearney) 12-2 pinned Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St.) 8-3 (Fall 4:17)
Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St.) 8-3 dec. Cole Gustavson (Adams St.) 0-2 (Dec 8-3)
Eli Hinojosa (Chadron St.) 8-3 dec. Kris Davis (Western Colo.) 2-2 (Dec 5-2)

285
Lee Herrington (Neb.-Kearney) 9-5 dec. Mason Watt (Chadron St.) 4-5 (Dec 4-1)
Gabriel Carranza (Colorado Mesa) 5-5 Inj. For. Mason Watt (Chadron St.) 4-5 (Inj. For.)

CSC Men 4th, Women 11th At RMAC Indoor Track Championships

The Chadron State College men’s track and field team scored 72.5 points while finishing fourth among the 11 teams at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships at Black Hills State in Spearfish over the weekend.

That’s eight more points and one place higher than the Eagles’ finished a year ago.

“We did all right. I am pleased,” said CSC Coach Riley Northrup. “We left some points at home because of injuries and illness, but everything went well here. We’re a young team that’s getting better. We’re on the right track.”

As anticipated, nearly all the Eagles’ points came in the sprints and jumps. They didn’t win an event, but earned four silver and three bronze medals.

The busiest team member was freshman Morgan Fawver of McCook, who finished second in the 60 meters in 6.80 seconds, third in the 200 in 21.96 and fifth in the long jump at 23-1 ¾. Both of his times in the sprints were career bests and his long jump matched the best so far of his budding career.

Fawver’s 60 time is a provisional qualifier for the national championships.

Sophomore Osvaldo Cano of Oshkosh continued to blossom. He was the runner-up in the 400 meters in 49.54 seconds, his career-best, and also led off the Eagles’ 4×400 relay team that placed third in 3:25.38. His teammates were his twin, Osiel, Harley Rhoades of Douglas, Wyo., and Greg Logsdon of Yoder, Wyo.

For the second day in a row, the Eagles had three placewinners in a jump Sunday.

It was the triple jump, where Derrick Nwagwu of Aurora, Colo., was the runner-up by going 48 feet, 4 inches, Naishaun Jernigan of Springfield, Mass., was fourth at 47-11 ½ and Joss Linse of Plattsmouth, Neb., was eighth at 46-4 ½.

Both Nwagwu’s and Jernigan’s marks are provisional national qualifiers. Jernigan also was the runner-up in the long jump Friday with another provisional qualifying mark of 24-5 ½. As of late Sunday, it ranked sixth in NCAA Division II.

Emory Yoosook of Casper also placed fourth to go with Fawver’s fifth in the long jump.

Other CSC men who earned points were Alec Penfield of Lusk, Wyo., tied for fifth in the high jump, and Pete Brown of Oxford, Neb., and Dylan Soule of Polk, Neb., who were third and fifth in the heptathlon.

The CSC women added three points to their team total Sunday, when Kaylee Wach of Ogallala was seventh in the pole vault and Julianne Thomsen of Custer, S.D., was eighth in the high hurdles. Thomsen also was eighth in the pentathlon and teammate Hannah Christy of Alpine, Wyo., was seventh.

The Eagles women, who scored 12.5 points, had two placewinners in both the shot put and high jump Friday. Morgan Ekwall of Yoder, Wyo., was seventh and sophomore Becca Monahan of Cheyenne was eighth in the shot and Miranda Gilkey of Lusk and Destiny Pelton of Fort Morgan, Colo., were sixth and tied for eighth, respectively, in the high jump.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs dominated the men’s and women’s team titles, the Mountain Lion men topping Colorado Mesa 216-110 while the women claimed the crown 195-97 over Adams State.

Eagles Lose Regular Season Finale, Still In RMAC Tourney Hunt

Benefitting from a 24 to 10 margin at the free throw line, the Colorado Christian Cougars defeated the Chadron State Eagles 76-67 in the final regular season game of the season for both teams Saturday night in Lakewood.

Chadron State led 38-36 at halftime and scored the first five points of the second half, but Colorado Christian went ahead 47-45 five minutes later and led the rest of the way.

The difference was just 64-63 with 2:18 remaining after Eagles’ point guard Marcus Jefferson drove the lane for a layup, but the Cougars tallied 12 of the game’s final 16 points.

The good news is that the Eagles, who finish the season with a 5-7 record, may be among the eight teams advancing to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs that begin on Tuesday. The pairing are expected to be announced Sunday morning.

The Eagles outscored the Cougars from the field while sinking 22 of 56 field goal shots, including a season-high 13 three-pointers on 31 shots from behind the arc. Christian was 21 of 46 from the field and made 10 of 20 treys. But the hosts were 24 of 28 from the free throw line and the Eagles 10 of 15.

Chadron State’s Teddy Parham was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points that included seven of 13 from long range. Deundra Roberson hit three treys while tallying 15 points for CSC.

Four Cougars scored in double figures, led by DJ McDonald, a 5-11 guard, with 21 points. Ross Williams contributed 15 points, Andy Stafford 14 and Justin Ensesser 10.

Chadron State’s first-year coach, Shane Paben, said his team made too many mental errors to win a close game on the road.

“Give them all the credit. They didn’t give up and have now won their last three games,” Paben said.

“We had a lot of opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of, and we want that to hurt. We need to feel the pain on this one, because we’re a better team than we show. You can’t make the mental errors like we did on the road.”

Chadron State 38 29 —67

Colorado Christian 36 40 —76

Chadron State–Teddy Parham 28, Deundra Roberson 15, Marcus Jefferson 7, Bryant Jefferson 6, Psalm Maduakor 6, Brady Delimont 5. Totals: 22-56 (13-33) 10-16 67 points, 32 rebounds.

Colorado Christian–DJ McDonald 21, Ross Williams 15, Andy Stafford 14, Justin Engesser 10, Aidan Cantwell 6, Christian St. Germain 3. Totals: 21-46 (10-20) 24-28 76 points, 31 rebounds.

3-pointers: CSC–Parham 7, Roberson 3, Maduakor 2, Delimont 1. CCU–McDonald 3, Engesser 2, Ross 2, Cantwell 1, St. Germain 1, Stafford 1.

Lady Eagles End Winless Season With Loss At CCU

The Chadron State College women’s basketball team fell to the Colorado Christian Cougars 70-51 on Saturday night.

The Eagles end the 2020-21 season with a record of 0-13 while CCU finishes at 5-13.

The Lady Eagles trailed just 13-12 after the 1st quarter, but were down 29-18 at the half and never got back to within single-digits.

The Cougars had four players score in double digits, with McClain Walker leading at 15, Olivia Christy at 14, Sam Nunez at 12, and Brookelyn Hurlbut at 10.

The Eagles, on the other hand, only had two players who broke 10 – Ashayla Powers with 14 and Olivia Waufle at 10. Powers was 2-2 on free throws and Waufle also had 66.7% with three-pointers, going 2-3. Waufle played 36 of 40 minutes.

The Eagles won the rebound battle 37-27 with 14 offensive board bringing 14 second-chance points. Bailey Brooks of CSC and Lourdes Gonzalez of CCU each had 9 rebounds, tying for the game’s best total.

CCU attempted 4 fewer shots but made 4 more, hitting 25 of 54 to CSC’s 21-58, including 10-24 on 3-points to the Eagles 3-9. The home team also forced 21 turnovers, 14 of them steals, resulting in 18 points.

The game closed out a very unusual season for Chadron State, who had 9 games scrapped because of COVID-19 and played much of the season with 8 or fewer players between injuries and coronavirus protocols.