Wrestlers finish 2015 with one loss

The Eagles traveled to Ogallala to bring the 2015 portion of their season to a close. Chadron State beat York College, 22-18, but was edged out 19-18 by the No. 3 ranked NCAA D-II school in the nation, University of Nebraska- Kearney.

Caleb Copeland, junior of Bennett, Colorado, 174-pounds, led the team in Ogallala by pinning his York College opponent in 18 seconds, and pulling a 7-4 decision on Kearney’s Chance Bila, sophomore of Chadron, 174/184-pounds.

Scoring a major decision for CSC in the dual against York College was Taylor Summers, junior of Plymouth, 133-pounds. Brock Thumm, redshirt freshman of Watervilet, Michigan, 141-pounds, was able to score a decision against his York College opponent.

Daniel Sotelo, senior of Grand Island, heavyweight and CSC’s most recent addition to the wrestling team, scored a decision to secure his first collegiate win in his first collegiate match. Sotelo was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the Chadron State football team, and joined the CSC wrestling team two weeks ago.

Chance Helmick, sophomore of Beatrice,165-pounds, added points to CSC’s score with a win by forfeit over York College. Clayton Steinmetz, junior of Hot Springs, South Dakota, 149-pounds, did the same with a win by forfeit over University of Nebraska- Kearney.

Austin Abbey, junior of Lander, Wyoming, heavyweight, won by injury default over UNK’s Corey Van Dorn, redshirt freshman of Orange Park, Florida, to add points to CSC’s dual score.

Helmick also added points to the board for CSC by scoring a 10-6 decision over his Kearney opponent. This win also pushed Helmick’s record to 16-4, the best on the team.

The next wrestling action for the Eagles will come Saturday, Jan. 14, 2016, in the NPAC, when they host Colorado School of Mines, Golden. This dual will kick off the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season.