CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State's 4x400-meter relay snapped a nine-year-old school record as the Eagle track team put their speed on display at the Wayne State College NCAA Showdown indoor track and field meet held Saturday.

The CSC men captured both first and second in the 60 and 200-meter dashes, and claimed five of the top six placers overall in the 200, but the biggest news came from the relay quartet of Christopher Cormier, Ryan Clapper, Dylan Sup and Ayden Hartzell.

The Eagles won the event with their record-setting mark of 3:13.26, beating the old record by more than two seconds. The previous school record from 2016 (set by Lane Higgins, Zerek Jones, Austin Fajfer and Martin Moriel) was 3:15.33 at an event held at South Dakota State, and that group went on to win the RMAC Championships in the event a week later. 

Members of the record-setting quartet had earlier claimed three of the top four top spots in the open 200 at the meet. Hartzell was the winner 21.80 seconds, Clapper was second in 21.87 and Cormier was fourth in 22.21. In addition, CSC's Esosa Iyengunmwena was fifth (22.37) and Kevin Day was sixth (22.50) in the race, which drew 29 entries. An Augustana runner snared third place to interrupt the Eagles' dominance. 

Hartzell's 200 time is the third fastest in CSC school history, and Clapper's is fifth.

Iyengunmwena, a senior from Nigeria, won both the preliminaries and the finals of the 60-meter dash Saturday with times of 6.97 and 6.95 seconds, respectively. Agustin Chaing, a CSC newcomer from Arizona this semester, was fifth in the 60 prelims in 7.06 seconds, then lowered his time to 7.01 in the finals to give the Eagles the top two places in that race.

Not all of the Chadron State male place-winners on the track were sprinters. Wyatt Bly was second in the 3000 meters in 8:36.05, and Ethan Norris was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.61. Both times are career bests. 

The Chadron State women also had some highlights. Shelby Ekwall won the shot put for the third time in three meets this winter with her CSC best of 44-2 ¾ and Camila Salvucci was the triple jump winner with a leap of 38-8.  

Each had a teammate place in the same event. Kristie Jordan was fifth in the shot at 41- ½, her best by 16 inches, and Mataya Ward was fourth in the triple jump at 34-7 ½, another personal best. 
 
On the track, Eva Nitschke was fourth in the hurdles and Paige Kehmeier was fifth in the 400. Athletes from seven NCAA Division II schools competed in the meet. 

Chadron State will host the Don Holst Open Meet this coming Saturday, January 31. 

Eagles Can't Overcome Start vs. CMU

CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State men's basketball found itself in too steep of a first-half hole, as the Eagles fell 86-68 to Colorado Mesa despite keeping pace with the Mavericks throughout the second half. 

Colorado Mesa raced out to a 22-2 lead over the first six-and-a-half minutes of game time, and although Chadron State steadied the ship and cut the lead to 10 points midway through the first half, the Mavericks were content to trade points from there on out, leading by 16 at halftime and winning by 18.

Chadron State is now 4-14 overall and 2-8 in the RMAC. Colorado Mesa is 11-7 and 7-3.

The Eagles shot 32.7 percent from the field while their opponents sunk 53.3 percent of their field-goal shots (including 46.2 percent of threes). Chadron State did excel at getting to the free-throw line, hitting 27 of 30 attempts (20 of 21 in the second half) while the Mavericks made all 10 of theirs.

Success and frequency at the free-throw line impacted CSC's top scorers. Jadon Cool led the Eagles with 19 points despite shooting only 2 of 12 from the field – the junior got to the line for 15 free throw attempts and sunk 14 of them. Cool also did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes played. 

Isaiah Randolph shot 50 percent from the field (3-for-6) and 100 percent from the line (7-for-7), as Randolph and Mack Keighran scored 13 points apiece to give CSC three double-figure scorers. 

Keighran and Jackson Schauer hit two three-pointers apiece to lead the Eagles in that category, but CSC was only 7-for-29 overall from deep. Luka Djurovic scored nine points with a team-high six rebounds while Zach Smith led the Eagles with four assists and two steals. 

Colorado Mesa doubled up CSC in points in the paint – scoring 36 to CSC's 18. The Mavericks also outrebounded the Eagles 40-25 and had 24 assists compared to 10 by the Eagles. Chadron State did commit its third-fewest number of turnovers in a game this season with eight. 

Chadron State had a nightmare start as CMU threatened to end it early. The Mavericks made 8 of their first 10 field-goal attempts, including four three-pointers, while the Eagles were 1 of 9 in that span and the home team took a lightning-fast 22-2 lead.

The Eagles halted that run with a block by Isaiah Randolph that turned into a fastbreak three-pointer by Mack Keighran. CSC answered with another bucket, but Keighran then made a three-point play the old-fashioned way (layup plus a foul) and Luka Djuvoric had a shot from behind the arc to make it 24-11. 

After a jumper from Djurovic and two free throws from Randolph, the lead was back down to 10 at 26-16, but that would be as close as CSC would get over the rest of the game. The lead for Colorado Mesa hit its high mark when the Mavs went up by 27 at 62-35 with 13:03 to go in the second half.

Chadron State did end the game on an 11-4 run, which increased four free throws from Cool and a three from Zach Smith. Cool did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 13 of his 19 points and hitting all 11 of his second half free throws.

The Eagles have a rivalry week ahead, facing Black Hills State (15-3, 8-2 RMAC) on Tuesday in Chadron and South Dakota Mines (9-9, 6-4 RMAC) on Thursday in Rapid City.

?Chadron State—Jadon Cool 19, Isaiah Randolph 13, Mack Keighran 13, Luka Djurovic 9, Jackson Schauer 8, Zach Smith 4, Alexi Anderson 2. Totals: 17-52 FG (7-27 3PT) 27-30 FT. 68 points, 25 rebounds, 10 assists, 8 turnovers.

?Colorado Mesa—Ty Allred 21, Harvey White 16, Clayton Jewell 12, Wes Ball 12, Cohenj Gonzales 8, Ben Henderson 7, Kap Laila 5, Tevin Riehl 3, Ben Kaye 2. Totals: 32-60 FG (12-26 3PT) 10-10 FT. 86 points, 40 rebounds, 24 assists, 10 turnovers.

RMAC's Best Defense Stifles WBB in Grand Junction

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Ella Moser scored 15 points, two off her career high, but the No. 9 ranked team in the nation played incredible defense as Colorado Mesa defeated Chadron State 70-41 in an RMAC women's basketball game. 

Moser made 5 of 9 field goal attempts, including 3 of 7 three-pointers, but was the only Eagle player with more than six points on the night. Chadron State shot 29 percent from the field as Colorado Mesa, who allows an RMAC-low 51 points per contest, held the Eagles to under 10 points in three out of four quarters.

Saturday's game also saw history made as CMU's Olivia Reed Thyne, the daughter of former CSC men's head coach Houston Reed who spent two seasons competing for Chadron High School, became the RMAC's all-time leading scorer with 2,003 career points (ending the night with 2,010). 

The loss drops the Eagles to 1-14 overall and 1-9 in the RMAC. The No. 9 Mavericks are 20-1 overall and 10-0 in the RMAC, and have won 17 straight. 

Chadron State began the game competitively. Although the Eagles fell behind 9-0, they rallied by hitting their first four three-point attempts in the first quarter, getting triples from Alex Ridenour, Moser (twice) and Audrey Quintana, whose basket with 46 seconds remaining was the final point scored by either team and pulled the Eagles within just four at the end of the first period.

After that Quintana three-pointer, Chadron State made 10 of 43 field-goal attempts over the rest of the game and were just 2-for-18 from distance. Although the Mavericks led by just four after 10 minutes, CMU increased the margin to lead by 13 at half, 17 after three quarters and 29 at the end of the game after outscoring CSC 20-8 in the fourth.

Kenna Wagner was CSC's second-leading scorer with six points while Quintana had five while contributing four steals on the defensive end. Amya Winfrey had a game-high nine rebounds, including four offensive boards.

On her record-breaking night, Olivia Reed had 23 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and a steal for Colorado Mesa while Mason Rowland (13 points) and Hallie Clark (10) also chipped in double figures. 

The Mavericks shot 42.9 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from three and 90 percent from the line (9-for-10). Chadron State only got to the line twice and shot four free-throw attempts, making three of them.

Colorado Mesa finished with a 49-27 rebound advantage. The Mavericks did commit 16 turnovers, their fifth-highest total in a game this season, while CSC and CMU each came away with 10 steals.

Chadron State has a quick turnaround as they face regional rivals Black Hills State this Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Chicoine Center before hitting the road Thursday to face South Dakota Mines.

Chadron State—Ella Moser 15, Kenna Wagner 6, Audrey Quintana 5, McKenzi Petersen 4, Amya Winfrey 4, Alex Ridenour 3, Dreanna Jackson 2, Bianca Bindzus 2. Totals: 16-55 FG (6-23 3PT) 3-4 FT. 41 points, 27 rebounds, 9 assists, 19 turnovers.

?Colorado Mesa—Olivia Reed 23, Mason Rowland 13, Hallie Clark 10, Sedonia Isenbart 9, Evan Hamey 4, Mykaela Moore 3, Devin Miller 3, Cayden King 3, Brooke Mansaneres 2. Totals: 27-63 FG (7-27 3PT) 9-10 FT. 70 points, 49 rebounds, 17 assists, 16 turnovers.

Women's Wrestling Tops USF in Dual

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Chadron State avenged a dual loss from earlier this season, defeating Sioux Falls 29-10 in a Sunday afternoon dual in South Dakota. 

Although the Cougars were victorious 31-14 back on November 21, The Eagles turned the tides with a new and improved lineup. Chadron State had different wrestlers at 124 (Adrianna Lopez), 131 (Piper Cadden), 138 (Meredith Nash) and 180 (Cosette Desrosiers) compared to its last meeting with USF, and won at all those weights after dropping them in November.

Only six of the possible 10 matchups were contested, as CSC picked up forfeit wins at 103 and 110 while Sioux Falls got a forfeit win at 160. Neither team had a 117-pound wrestler, so it went as a double forfeit with no points awarded to either side.

Of the six bouts wrestled, Chadron State won five, picking up the four mentioned above plus a routine win by Esther Peters at 207 pounds. Peters and Lopez each had 10-0 tech falls while Nash had the dual's only pin at 138 pounds. CSC's other two victories were by decision – Cadden took an 8-0 lead and held on to win 8-6 at 131 and Desrosiers emerged with a 3-0 decision win at 180. 

Women's wrestling will compete next at the RMAC Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Saturday, January 31. Wrestlers from each of the conference's five programs will compete for team and individual tournament titles at each of the sport's 10 weight classes.

Full dual results:
103: Brianna Vollendroff (CSC) wins by forfeit
110: Rylee Balcazar (CSC) wins by forfeit
117: Double forfeit, no points
124: Adrianna Lopez (CSC) def. Mackenzie Armagost, TF 10-0 3:43
131: Piper Cadden (CSC) def. Brinley Green-Griffin, Dec 8-6
138: Meredith Nash (CSC) def. Johanna Steinlicht, Fall 0:30
145: Kristy More (USF) def. Hattie Baldwin, TF 10-0 1:26
160: Rachel Berger (USF) wins by forfeit
180: Cosette Desrosiers (CSC) def. Aliyah Villareal, Dec 3-0
207: Esther Peters (CSC) def. Zoe Adam, TF 10-0 4:27