Eagles short in thrilling dual vs. WCU

BY: Chadron State College

GUNNISON, Colo. – Last season, Western Colorado heavyweight Riley Dean-Butt had the dual hanging in the balance at the Chicoine Center and promptly got pinned to hand Chadron State an emotional dual win. On Thursday, Dean-Butt got his revenge.

With Chadron State leading 18-17 entering the heavyweight bout, Dean-Butt recorded an emphatic 7-2 win in front of his home crowd over CSC's Eli Reese as the Mountaineers defeated Chadron State men's wrestling 20-18 in a down-to-the-wire dual on Thursday in Gunnison.

The Mountaineers knocked off two of CSC's ranked wrestlers – with Quade Smith losing at 125 pounds and Caleb Chaves losing at 141 – and won five of the first seven matches overall to take a commanding 17-7 lead.

Western Colorado made the right moves at the right moments all night long. At 157 pounds, Brandon Paredes nearly had an upset win over WCU's No. 11-ranked Vincent Cabral, but the Mountaineer overturned a 4-1 deficit with an escape/takedown combo that gained him four points in 10 seconds, then kept Paredes underneath him for the match's final minute to seal a one-point win.

In the pivotal heavyweight bout, Reese appeared to strike first, tripping Dean-Butt and falling towards the ground, but Dean-Butt was able to invert himself as he hit the ground and barrel roll on top of the Chadron wrestler, sending three points suddenly in the other direction.

Chadron State remained in contention by getting bonus points from nearly all of their victors. Hunter Jacobsen earned a major decision win by winning 10-2 at 133 pounds to put the Eagles on the board.

With Chadron State down by that 17-7 margin, arguably CSC's two most impressive wrestlers during the dual season did everything they could to bring the Eagles back. No. 4-ranked 184-pounder Keegan Gehlhausen earned a fall seemingly at will, getting an early takedown and pressing for the pin until he finished it in 1:22.

At 197 pounds, Mason Villwok earned his fourth bonus-point win in five RMAC duals by recording five takedowns of WCU's Sage Harrison in a 17-2 tech fall win. Villwok's margin meant the Eagles had made up 11 points in the span of just two matches and created a winner-take-all scenario at heavyweight for the second consecutive year between the two schools.

After Dean-Butt's early takedown, Reese escaped twice and then cut Dean-Butt loose to push for a final third-period takedown trailing 4-2. The two heavyweights engaged in a couple scrambles, and with Reese completely selling out on offense, Dean-Butt turned the tables to score another takedown with just seconds remaining.

Chadron State falls to 5-3 in duals this season and 3-2 in the RMAC. The Eagles conclude their RMAC dual season against Colorado Mesa this Saturday at 4 p.m.

Dual Results:

125: NR/#9 Devin Gomez (WCU) def. #4/5 Quade Smith, Dec. 9-4

133: Hunter Jacobsen (CSC) def. Zachary Bates, MD 10-2

141: Celestinoi Gonzales (WCU) def. #14/16 Caleb Chaves, MD 15-4

149: Eyan Chavez (WCU) def. Aidan Callahan, Dec. 4-2

157: #11/#11 Vincent Cabral (WCU) def. Brandon Paredes, Dec. 5-4

165: Tayten Gillette (CSC) def. Jacob Blandford, Dec. 12-7

174: Hunter Richardson (WCU) def. Logan Berger, MD 10-2

184: #4/2 Keegan Gehlhausen (CSC) def. Erik Anderson, Fall 1:22

197: NR/#16 Mason Villwok def. Sage Harrison, TF 17-2 7:00

285: Riley Dean-Butt (WCU) def. Eli Reese, Dec. 7-2