SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Mason Villwok placed third at 197 pounds, Keegan Gehlhausen placed fourth at 184 and Quade Smith finished in eighth place at 125 pounds as Chadron State wrapped up competition at the DII Wrestling Championships on Saturday. 

All three wrestlers secured All-America status yesterday, the second consecutive honor for Gehlhausen and the first career All-American nods for Villwok and Smith. 

With 32 total team points from the All-American trio plus qualifier Eli Reese, who went 1-2 on Friday, Chadron State placed 15^th out of 49 competing schools. The top 15 finish is an improvement over a 25^th-place finish from 2024 and zero team points scored in 2023. 

"I'm just incredibly grateful for this group," head coach Brett Hunter said. "The three All-Americans are special, but they represent the work of an entire room. Our guys showed up every day, believed in each other, and trusted the process. As a coach, you can't ask for more than that."

Villwok, who hails from Elkhorn, Nebraska, cemented himself as a breakout star over the past two weeks with a third-place national finish, outperforming his No. 6 seed, and a regional championship. The sophomore began his day with a semifinal setback, as No. 2 seed Nicholas Johnson of Glenville State pinned Villwok at 5:15 while leading in the match 4-1, but the Chadron State wrestler did not lose again on Saturday.

In his next match, Villwok faced off against a motivated No. 4 seed Jackson Kinsella of Nebraska-Kearney, who was the top seed in Super Region 6 but lost to Villwok in the regional championship bout. The rematch was even more of a classic, eventually going to triple overtime before Villwok prevailed 2-1 on tiebreakers. 

That advanced Villwok to a third-place match against No. 5 seed Logan Kvien of McKendree. Villwok won with authority, taking Kvien down 15 seconds into the match and leading 4-2 before expanding the margin of victory with another three-point takedown with two seconds to go for a 7-2 final decision. 

Keegan Gehlhausen clinched a second straight top-four finish to close his impressive collegiate career, but the reigning national runner-up fell short of his goal to join coach Brett Hunter and Josh Majerus as CSC wrestlers to reach two national championship finals and/or win a national championship.  

Gehlhausen, the No. 2 seed, lost in the semifinal to No. 3 seed Darion Johnson of McKendree. Although the final score was a 12-2 major decision, the final margin was slightly deceiving. Gehlhausen trailed 5-2 late and, in his desperation to find a match-tying takedown, left himself prone to a quick Johnson re-attack as the McKendree wrestler earned a takedown plus a four-point near-fall in the final seconds. 

Johnson would go on to win the national championship in dominating fashion, beating Central Missouri's Damon Ashworth by a 17-2 tech fall. 

Gehlhausen also topped a Nebraska-Kearney wrestler in the next round, topping UNK's Kaden Hart for the third time this season and winning 6-4 to advance to the third-place bout. Waiting there was Colorado School of Mines 184-pounder Wyatt Reisz, who won Second Team All-RMAC honors this season behind Gehlhausen on the first team. The Mines wrestler knocked off Gehlhausen by a 10-5 decision.

Quade Smith began the day in the consolation bracket and went 0-2 on Saturday to finish eighth, still snagging the final placing/All-America spot. Seeded No. 7, Smith fell to No. 5 Eli Kirk of Central Oklahoma in his first match, as Kirk led 7-3 before locking in a pin with two seconds left in the second period. 

That result sent Smith down to the 7^th/8^th place match, which just so happened to feature the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in Smith and Gannon's Logan Sallot. The Gannon sophomore took control early, leading 9-1 after one period and eventually winning 15-2. 

Chadron State's three All-Americans were the second-most in the RMAC, behind Adams State's four and ahead of Colorado School of Mines's two and Colorado Mesa and New Mexico Highlands's one. 

The Eagles' 15^th-place finish was the third highest among RMAC schools. Adams State placed 10^th (they had one third, one fifth, one sixth and one eighth among their six qualifers) while Mines placed just ahead of CSC in 14^th on the back of 149-pound national champion Cody Thompson and Reisz's third-place finish at 184. 

Nationally, Nebraska-Kearney defended its team national title, but the margin was much slimmer than a year ago. The Lopers tallied 83 points, just ahead of surprise second-place Wisconsin-Parkside (78) and perennial contenders McKendree (76.5) and Central Oklahoma (76). 

Nine different schools won a national championship. McKendree was the only school to win two, while UNK, Wisconsin-Parkside, Central Oklahoma, Lander, UMary, Gannon, Colorado School of Mines and Augustana all won one.

Bynes Takes Triple Jump Bronze at Indoor Nationals

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Chadron State College junior Chayton Bynes earned third place in the triple jump at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships at Virginia Beach on Saturday afternoon.  

The jump that netted Bynes his bronze medal came on his third of six attempts and measured 15.79 meters, or 51-feet, 9.75 inches. After finishing fifth in the same event a year ago, Bynes is the only Division II triple jumper to place among the top eight and earn All-American honors in each of the past two years. 

"I can't say enough how beyond proud I am of him and how he's continued to grow," Chadron State head coach Jake Gruver said. "He is is the true embodiment of talent that works hard - a special athlete and a truly great person."

The winner of the triple jump event was senior Justin Forde of Washburn University in Kansas, who entered the competition tied with Bynes for the longest jump in Division II this season at 16.01 meters. Forde won by over a foot and a half, jumping 16.29 meters (53-5.5) on his final jump and also recording a jump of 16.24 meters (53-3.5) that would have been good enough to win.

Junior Antonio Caito of Embry-Riddle earned the silver medal on his final jump, when he went 15.82 meters (51-11) to move past Bynes into second place by one-and-a-quarter inches. Forde and Caito were the only two out of the nine finalists to record their scoring mark on their sixth and final jump.

Malik Drummond of Lincoln University in Missouri placed fourth at 15.57 meters (51-1) and Yves Bilong of Harding University in Arkansas was fifth at 15.57 (50-5.25). Keith Smith of Southern Arkansas, Johnetheon Lockett of Pittsburg State and Drew Lehman of Black Hills State rounded out the first-team All-American places while Pittsburg State's Isaiah Webster also made the finals and finished ninth. 

Bynes got on the board with a 15.34-meter jump (50 feet, 4 inches) on his first attempt and did not improve on his second. As the last jumper to go in the second flight, Bynes sat in sixth place as he prepared for his third jump, well within the top nine to be safely through to three more jumps in the finals. But the junior timed his takeoff perfectly on his third attempt, which was measured at 15.79 meters (51-9.75). That jump was the third-farthest of the season for Bynes and was farther than anybody except for Bynes and Forde had leaped this season in Division II.

Caito, the jumper directly before Bynes in the order, moved up to second on his final attempt, so Bynes stepped onto the runway for his sixth jump guaranteed no worse than third but with one final opportunity to move up to second or first. Bynes turned in his second-best jump of the day, 15.73 meters (51-7.25), but that was not enough to improve his mark from his third jump or climb past Caito. 

"I know first and especially second being right there is a tough pill to swallow, but he had a great, consistent series," Gruver said. "He's walking away healthy, consistent and with a little fire under him going into the outdoor season." 

The 2025 winning mark was 15.38 meters, or 50-5.5. Bynes' fifth place make last year was just 2.25 inches shy of matching it. The Championships' record is 16.47 meters (54-0.5) set by Wilbert Walker of Lincoln University in 2006. 

Bynes's other highlights this season included his career best 16.01 meters (52-6.5) mark that set Chadron State's indoor triple jump record and was at the top of the event's DII leader board national for three weeks. Forde matched that mark on the final day of the regular season. Bynes also set the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet's indoor record by going 15.99 meters, just an inch shy of his all-time best.

Pittsburg State swept the men's and women's team national titles at the weekend's Division II championships. Behind the Gorillas, the rest of the men's top five consisted of Grand Valley State, Wingate, Angelo State and UIndy. There were two RMAC teams in the women's top five, as behind Pitt State were West Texas A&M, Adams State, CSU Pueblo and Minnesota State-Mankato.
 
                Here are this year's top 8 results in the triple jump: 
                1, Justin Forde, Washburn (Kan.), 16.29 meters (53-5 ½); 2, Antonio Caito, Embry-Riddle (Fla.), 15.82 (51-11), 3, Chayton Bynes, Chadron State, 15.79 (51-9 ¾); 4, Malik Drummond, Lincoln (Mo.), 15.57 (51-1); 5, Yves Bilong, Harding (Ark.), 15.37 (50-5 ¼); 6, Keith Smith, Southern Arkansas, 15.36 (50-4 ¾); 7, Johnetheon Lockett, Pittsburg State (Kan.), 15.18 (49-9 ¾); 8, Drew Lehman, Black Hills State (S.D.), 15.07 (49-5 ½).  

Softball's Offense Not Enough vs. BHSU

CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State couldn't keep with Black Hills State's well-oiled offense, losing a 13-11 slugfest before falling 8-0 in the finale as the two schools concluded a four-game RMAC softball series. 

The Eagles (3-22, 3-13) set new season-highs with 11 runs, 15 hits, three doubles and a .405 team batting average for the game in Saturday's opener, but CSC was still outpaced by the Yellow Jackets (13-14, 10-6 RMAC), who completed the four-game sweep with their pair of wins.

CSC's offense erupted on its Cancer Awareness gameday, shortly after a pregame ceremony honored Chadron State softball parent Scott Sebbo and CSC alum Fred Hunn among other past and present cancer fighters.

Chadron State had numerous offensive stars in game one. Two Eagles drove in three runs apiece – Tiffani Mein (3-for-4) and Brianna Cordray (2-for-5). Macie Selfors also had a three-hit game for CSC while the lineup's 2-3-4 hitters in Selfors, Elizabeth Thorngren and Payton Sullivan each scored three runs. 

The key point on the day was a seven-run third inning for Black Hills State in which all Yellow Jacket runs were unearned, with starting pitcher McKenna Sides extremely unlucky to not survive the frame. 

The inning began innocuously with two flyouts sandwiched around a fielding error by second baseman Charley Pitrat. The Yellow Jackets tried to have the baserunner steal second base and it appeared that the Eagles were out of the inning when the runner was called out on the field. 

However, all three umpires convened and overturned the call, giving BHSU a stolen base. Already with an extra out from the error, Black Hills State took advantage of the restart to their offensive inning and unleashed a torrent of offense with two walks, two singles and two home runs over the next six batters to take a 9-1 lead. 

Chadron State's offense did not go away quietly. The Eagles got three runs back in the bottom of the third when Brianna Cordray hit an RBI bases-loaded groundout and Brogan Allen came through with a two-out, two-run, pinch-hit opposite-field single. 

Trailing 12-4 entering the bottom of the fourth, Chadron State put up another crooked number. Elia DeLozier singled and Charley Pitrat doubled, prompting a BHSU pitching change from starter Kaitlyn Geschwill to reliever Dakota Poag. Macie Selfors greeted Poag with a run-scoring single, although Poag would recover with two strikeouts. 

With two outs and the bases loaded, Tiffani Mein drove home two runs with a base hit to left field, making it 12-7. Katelynn Czerpak singled to right to bring home another run as the Eagles cut the deficit to four runs.

Cordray and Mein hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth as the Eagles trimmed things further to 13-10. Chadron State tried to mount a seventh-inning rally and got one run back from Cordray knocked in Selfors from second base with a two-out single, but the next batter grounded out to end the game and hand CSC a two-run loss. 

Unfortunately, CSC could not keep up its offensive production in the second game. The Eagles only managed one hit off the pitching tandem of Paige Goodell and Sophia Honse, an infield single by Brogan Allen in the fourth inning. The Yellow Jackets put up five runs in the third and three runs in the fourth to win the game via the eight-after-five run rule and complete the sweep. 

The Eagles will face one of the conference's top contenders next week in MSU Denver (18-6, 13-3 RMAC) on the road. The four-game series is currently scheduled for Saturday at 12 and 2 and Sunday at 11 and 1.