The Chadron State College wrestling team will dual two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents in Colorado this weekend, followed by an open tournament, as the Eagles open dual season on the road on the Western Slope.
Friday’s agenda includes a dual meet against the No. 27-ranked Western State Colorado University Mountaineers in Gunnison at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Chadron State meets Colorado Mesa for a dual at 3 p.m.
The Eagles will remain in Grand Junction through Sunday for the Colorado Mesa Open tournament.
Chadron State defeated both teams in duals last season to break significant losing streaks.
The Mountaineers enter the dual following a decisive 30-13 victory over Colorado Mesa on November 8. They boast two ranked wrestlers. Brandon Supernaw, a 2017 NCAA qualifier at 174 pounds, is the sixth-ranked wrestler in NCAA Division II, while 197-pounder Konnor Schmidt is ranked 11th.
CMU has three ranked in the top 12 of the national coaches’ poll. Jason Buhr is the highest ranked, at sixth in the 165-pound class. He and Payton Tawater, the No. 7 ranked individual at 157 pounds, are returning NCAA qualifiers. Bruno Niccoletti is the Mavericks’ 174-pounder, ranked No. 9.
Chadron State has not yet made an appearance in the team or individual rankings. The team’s top individual records so far belong to 8-3 Chance Karst, at 133 pounds, and 4-1 Jacob DeSersa, at 149.
The Eagles will make their first appearance since November 10, 2012, at the annual CMU Open tournament, when they wrestle again on Sunday.
The anticpated lineups for each of the three teams are below:
Western Probable Lineup
| Wt. | Wrestler | Yr. | Hometown / Previous School | Overall (Falls) | RMAC (Falls) |
| 125 | Trent Piatt | R-Jr. | Olathe, Colo. / Olathe HS | 4-3 (3) | 1-0 (1) |
| 133 | Jody Sandoval | Fr. | Fort Lupton, Colo. / Fort Lupton HS | 6-1 (4) | 1-0 (1) |
| 141 | Tim Edmonson | R-Fr. | San Antonio, Texas / Winston Churchill HS | 3-3 (0) | 0-1 (0) |
| 149 | JD Chenoweth | R-So. | Walsh, Colo. / Walsh HS | 0-1 (0) | 0-1 (0) |
| 157 | Shawn Beiriger | Sr. | Del Norte, Colo. / Del Norte HS | 3-2 (0) | 1-0 (0) |
| 165 | Ryan Pellow | Sr. | Colorado Springs, Colo. / Palmer HS | 4-2 (1) | 0-0 (0) |
| 174 | #6 Brandon Supernaw Jr. | Colorado Springs, Colo. / Doherty HS | 6-1 (1) | 1-0 (0) | |
| 184 | Ladd Bunker Jr. | Erie, Colo. / Erie HS | 2-2 (2) | 0-0 (0) | |
| 197 | #11 Konnor Schmidt R-So. | Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS | 2-1 (1) | 0-0 (0) | |
| HWT | Sammy DeSeriere Fr. | Westminster, Colo. / Mullen HS | 0-0 (0) | 0-0 (0) | |
Colorado Mesa Probable Lineup
WT Name Yr Hometown Record
125 Tim Romero So. Thornton, Colo. 1-7
133 Dylan Keeney Fr. Payson, Ariz. 4-7
141 Jared Johnshoy Sr. Melba, Idaho 4-2 or Will Moss Fr. Kingston, Pa. 5-5
149 Luke Au-Yeung Fr. Windsor, Calif. 4-7
157 John Daniel So. Centennial, Colo. 6-6 or Jason Romero Fr. Arvada, Colo. 6-6
165 #10 Jason Buhr Jr. La Jara, Colo. 4-1
174 #11 Bruno Nicoletti Sr. Aurora, Colo. 2-2
184 Adam Visconti Jr. Granby, Colo. 4-2
197 Aaron Dick RFr. Vernal, Utah 2-5
285 Clayton Voytilla So. Grand Junction, Colo. 3-4
Chadron State Probable Lineup
| Wt. | Name | Year | Hometown Record |
| 125 | Evan Smith | JR | Gillette, Wyo. (3-4) |
| 133 | Chance Karst | RFR | Powell, Wyo. (8-3) |
| 141 | Josh Miller | RJR | Bennett, Colo. (4-5) |
| 141 | Brock Thumm | RJR | Watervliet, Mich. (5-3) |
| 149 | Jacob DeSersa | RFR | Hot Springs, S.D. (4-1) |
| 149 | Chase Clasen | RSO | Moses Lake, Wash. (2-2) |
| 157 | Jacob Otuafi | RSO | Sparks, Nev. (0-4) |
| 165 | Johnny Porter | RJR | Bellevue, Neb. (0-3) |
| 174 | Heber Shepherd | JR | Spanish Fork, Utah (2-4) |
| 184 | Devin Stork | FR | Canton, S.D. (0-4) |
| 197 | Open | ||
| 285 | Rulon Taylor | JR | Curtis, Neb. (4-3) |