Wrestling underclassmen get mat time

Five Chadron State men wrestlers took advantage of some time on the mat, three of which placed during the Colorado School of Mines Amateur Open at 9 a.m., Sunday in Golden.

“It was good to see them get mat time obviously,” Brett Hunter, head men’s wrestling coach, said. “In general, I’m really proud of these young guys for just competing hard and representing Chadron State in a positive way.”

The wrestler to place the highest for the Eagles was Yusef Nelson, redshirt sophomore of Auburn, Washington, who finished second place in the 125-pound weight class. Nelson took a major decision win over Colorado School of Mines Davion Chavez, freshman of Alamosa, Colorado, 12-4, followed by a decision win over Moses Santiago, freshman of Albuquerque, New Mexico, of Northern Colorado, 5-2. He took his only loss of the day during his last match against Nick Gonzalez, of Air Force Prep in a decision loss, 5-2.

Parker Schlater, redshirt freshman of Moorcroft, Wyoming, started off the day with a technical fall to Anthony Atria, redshirt sophomore of Merrillville, Indiana, of Colorado School of Mines, 18-3, but finished the rest of his bouts by pinning his opponents in the 285-pound weight class.

“It felt good to come back after a tough first round match, and to perform like I did was a good feeling for my first tournament of the year,” Schlater said.

 “It’s a good momentum boost starting the season 3-1, and I hope I can keep rolling in the weeks ahead.”

Schlater pinned his first opponent in three minutes at the end of the first period, moved onto his second match to win within 20 seconds, and finished out the day with his third pin, timed at 6:50.

Keegan Gehlhausen, freshman of Pinedale, Wyoming, was another wrestler to place for the Eagles, taking fourth in the 174-weight class. He started with a decision win over Espen Weber, senior of Littleton, Colorado, of Western Colorado, 17-10. Gehlhausen was pinned in his second match at 4:44. The Eagle wrestler took fourth after a major decision loss, 12-2, to University of Wyoming’s Guillermo Escobedo, sophomore of Los Altos, California.

The other two Eagle wrestlers at the Amateur Open were both in the 141-pound weight class.

Hunter Gilmore, freshman of Arlington, took a technical fall loss in his first match, 17-1, and pinned his second in nearly two and a half minutes. Gilmore won his third match in a decision win, 8-4, and took his second loss when he was pinned in his fourth match 36 seconds into the second period.

Skyler Geier-Dodson, freshman of North Platte, took a decision win during his second match of the tournament, 7-4. His first and third matches ended in losses, being pinned at 4:31 in his first match and losing in a major decision 13-2 in his third.

CSC men’s wrestling team competes against University of Nebraska-Lincoln at 6 p.m., Thursday at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.