SAN FRANCISCO – Four Chadron State College wrestlers punched their tickets to the national tournament after rallying in the consolation brackets during the final day of the NCAA Division II Super Regional Four/Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships.
Seniors Jimmy Savala, Trent Zempel and Sam Udell, and true freshman Jordan Debus each finished in the top four of their respective weight classes to earn a trip to the national championship, beginning March 11 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Savala, now a four-time national qualifier, wrestled well on Sunday after losing a tough 4-2 decision to Dalton Jensen of UNK Saturday evening at 141 pounds. On Sunday, Savala opened with a 5-1 decision over Fort Hays State’s Andre Harrison and followed with a 12-0 major decision over Grand Canyon’s Kyle Wilson for third place.
Zempel, Udell and Debus all claimed fourth place finishes.
At 174, Zempel, who qualified for Division III Messiah College twice before transferring to CSC, hung on for a 2-0 decision over Zak Slotten of Mesa State prior to falling to Gene Choi 10-0 in the third place match.
Udell, a senior from Colorado Springs who qualified for his first national tournament, won three matches in the consolation rounds at heavyweight before falling to Patrick Carey in double overtime in the third place match. Carey also defeated Udell in the opening round match, but Udell responded with two decisions and a pin over Justin Glenn of Fort Hays State.
Debus is also making his first national tourney appearance after earning some revenge over Zach Jimenez of San Francisco State. Jimenez pinned Debus in the opening round at 184, but the freshman from Mitchell rallied to win three straight matches, including a 5-3 decision over Jimenez to get to the third place match. In the third place match, Ross Brunkhardt of UNK defeated Debus, 5-1.
Also for Chadron State, Dustin Stodola and Chris Leak earned sixth place finishes at 133 and 197, respectively.
The University of Nebraska-Kearney won the team title with 127.5 points, while Western State was second with 120. The Lopers and Mountaineers combined to have individual champions in seven of the 10 weight classes.
Chadron State was sixth with 64 points.
Team Results
1, Nebraska-Kearney, 127.5; 2, Western State, 120.0; 3, Grand Canyon, 117.0; 4, San Francisco State, 97.0; 5, Adams State, 67.5; 6, Chadron State, 64.0; 7, Mesa State, 61.0; 8, Fort Hays, 58.5; 9, Colorado Mines, 39.0; 10, CSU-Pueblo, 25.0; 11, New Mexico Highlands, 11.5
CSC’s Results at Super Regional 4 Championships
133 – Todd Wilcox, Grand Canyon, dec. Dustin Stodola, CSC, 5-1; Stodola dec. Chad Lousberg, Colorado Mines, 10-3; Jesse Cruz, Western State, pinned Stodola, 5:16; Stephen Weimer, UNK, major dec. Stodola, 10-2 (for fifth place)
141 – Jimmy Savala, CSC, major dec. Cooper Newby, Colorado Mines, 12-4; Savala dec. Josh Hensley, Adams State, 13-7; Dalton Jensen, UNK, dec. Savala, 4-2; Savala dec. Andre Harrison, 5-1; Savala major dec. Kyle Wilson, Grand Canyon, 12-0 (for third place)
149 – Kenny Jordan, Adams State, pinned Phil Bullington, 1:48; Mariano Montoya, N.M. Highlands, pinned Bullington, 2:53.
157 – Mikah Kadera, CSC, major dec. Mark Roundtree, Fort Hays, 14-5; Justin Morris, Western State, dec. Kadera, 7-2; Matt Addington, CSU-Pueblo, dec. Kadera, 5-1.
165 – Joey Wilson, UNK, dec. Briston Brenton, CSC, 8-2; Jorge Benitez, Western State, dec. Brenton, 4-3.
174 – Trent Zempel, CSC, dec. Brandon Sheldon, Colorado Mines, 7-3; Caleb Kociemba, Neb.-Kearney, dec. Zempel 5-0; Zempel dec. Zak Slotten, Mesa State, 2-0; Gene Choi, San Francisco State, major dec. Zempel, 10-0 (for third place)
184 – Zach Jimenez, San Francisco State, pinned Jordan Debus, CSC, 6:35; Debus technical fall Dominic DeMarco, Adams State, 20-5; Debus major dec. Adam Carey, CSU-Pueblo, 20-7; Debus dec. Zach Jimenez, San Francisco State, 5-3; Ross Brunkhardt, UNK, dec. Debus, 5-1 (for third place)
197 – Chris Leak, CSC, pinned Steven Kyler, Fort Hays State, 4:26; Shane Miller, Mesa State, dec. Leak, 10-7; Leak dec. Brennan Knerr, Colorado Mines, 4-2; Luke McPeek, Adams State, dec. Leak, 15-13 (2 OT); Nick Bauman, UNK, major dec. Leak, 11-2 (for fifth place)
285 – Patrick Carey, CSU-Pueblo, dec. Sam Udell, CSC, 3-1; Udell dec. Peter Anguiano, Grand Canyon, 2-0; Udell dec. Trevor Stapp, Mesa State, 9-2; Udell pinned Justin Glenn, Fort Hays State, 3:31; Patrick Carey, CSU-Pueblo, 3-3 sudden victory over Udell (for third place)
—Alex Helmbrecht, Sports Information Director
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