News

Feb 24, 2010

Chadron State's Jake Lords will be one of 10 CSC wrestlers competing at the RMAC/West Regional Tournament Saturday at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo.

CHADRON - The Chadron State College wrestling team has received a boost just prior to the West Regional Tournament that will be Saturday at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo.

After being out of action for three months because of a health problem, the Eagles’ most experienced wrestler, Jimmy Savala, is expected to be in the lineup again.

Coach Scott Ritzen said Savala has been working out and has been cleared by medical personnel to compete. He was sidelined in late November with a back problem that became so severe he was hospitalized in Rapid City, S.D., for more than a week and was on antibiotics for a couple more weeks.

The ailment was diagnosed as a bacterial infection which settled in an area that may have been weakened by an injury. It was felt that the junior from Clovis, Calif., was out for the season.

However, he has recovered faster than anticipated and is anxious to get back on the mat, Ritzen said.

Savala was sixth in the NCAA Division II preseason rankings at 141 pounds. He placed second at the Cowboy Open Tournament at the University of Wyoming in mid-November and finished fourth at the Nebraska-Omaha Open the next week, compiling a 7-3 record. Seven of the matches were against Division I opponents and two of the losses were by a single point.

Savala has qualified for the national tournament each of the past two years.

 The 141-pound weight class figures to be of the toughest at this year’s regional showdown, where the top four finishers from each weight class will advance to the NCAA Division II National Tourney in Omaha on March 12-13. Three of the top four wrestlers in the latest rankings will be entered. 

Altogether, 21 wrestlers who are expected to enter the tournament are nationally ranked. Three also are ranked at 125 pounds and 157 pounds, while every other weight class has two except 133 and 174, which have one apiece.

Both Adams State and Fort Hays have five wrestlers who are ranked, Western State has four, San Francisco State three, Nebraska-Kearney two and New Mexico Highlands and Grand Canyon one each.

No one is ranked for the youthful Chadron State team, but Ritzen believes several Eagles will be in contention to qualify for nationals. Freshman Ryan Fillingame at 133 pounds and junior Cody Vasconcellos at 174 probably have the best chance, the coach believes. Fillingame is 22-7 and Vasconcellos, who joined the team in January, is 11-2.

The other CSC entries and their records: 125—Dustin Stodola, 17-11; 149—Jake Lords, 3-15; 157—Brian Easterling, 13-9; 165—Justin Dekok, 9-17; 184—Chris Leak, 15-18; 197—Duke Eardley, 6-3; and Hwt—Sam Udell, 9-9.

Five of the 11 teams in the tournament are ranked among the top nation’s top 20. Nebraska-Kearney is seventh, Western State is tied for 11th, Fort Hays is 14th, Adams State is 15th and San Francisco State is 18th.