Quen Campbell led the Chadron State wrestling team at the NCAA Super Region VI Championships they hosted Saturday with his first place finish, while teammates Keegan Gehlhausen and Mason Watt placed second.
The event sends the top three placers in each weight class to the NCAA Championships that will be at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 10 and 11.
"We had a great day," CSC Head Wrestling Coach Brett Hunter said. "This regional is arguably the toughest in the nation. Anytime you get guys qualified to the NCAA tournament it is a success."
Campbell, the 133-pound winner Saturday and ranked No. 2 in the nation at that weight, started his day with a 10-1 major decision over Andres Jiron of New Mexico Highlands. In the semifinals he defeated Weston Diblasi of Colorado Mines by a 5-4 decision.
That win paired Campbell against Colorado Mesa’s Collin Metzgar, who is ninth in the latest DII rankings, in the finals. Two weeks earlier in a dual in Chadron, Campbell edged Metzgar 4-3 on a last second takedown.
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The regional championship battle was just as exciting. In the final seconds of the third round, Campbell scored an escape and a takedown, all in one quick move, to send the match to overtime.
Early in the extra action, the CSC junior from Tifton, Ga., grabbed one of Metzgar’s legs, held it high and soon got behind his foe, released the leg and grabbed Metzgar around the mid-section for the takedown that netted the victory.
Campbell, who transferred from North Iowa Area Community College last fall, is CSC’s first regional champion since Wade French won the 184 title in 2019.
"Late in it, I got an escape and a takedown all in one motion and tied it up," said Campbell, whose record is 17-1 going to nationals. "I kept pushing him in overtime and ended up taking him down on a shot that I couldn't finish earlier."
Gehlhausen, the 184-pound runner-up, opened his day up with a 5-4 decision over Hunter Tobiasson of Adams State. In the semis, he defeated Jason Bynarowicz of Colorado Mesa 5-3.
That sent the redshirt freshman from Pinedale, Wyo., against the No. 1 ranked Billy Higgins, a senior from Nebraska-Kearney, in the finals. It was a tough assignment for Gehlhausen. Higgins, the 2022 third place finisher at the NCAA Championships, won by a 19-2 technical fall. Higgins also won his other two matches Saturday on tech falls.
Watt, a senior from Broomfield, Colo., made it to the finals after a decision and first period pins. In the first round, he initially decisioned Zach Schraeder of Western Colorado 4-0, then pinned Adam Alvarenga of Adams State in 1:08 and stopped Anthony Caldwell of Fort Hays in 2:05 in the semis.
Watt's opponent in the finals also was from UNK. Lee Herrington has been the top ranked heavyweight most of the year and placed fifth at nationals a year ago. The giants didn’t spend must time on the mat. Each had a pair of escapes before a second stall call on Watt with 14 seconds remaining gave Herrington the 3-2 win.
Getting the ticket to nationals is a huge achievement for Watt, who has appeared capable of doing that since arriving on campus in the fall of 2018 and has finally achieved it.
"Getting three guys through is a big step in the right direction," Hunter said. "I am so proud of my guys and our entire program.”
The three national qualifiers weren't the only Eagles to make the awards podium.
Quade Smith, CSC's 125-pounder, lost twice, both to top 10 ranked grapplers. He opened his bid by pinning Rhys Sellers of New Mexico Highlands in 1:20. In the semis, Smith fell 5-3 to the eventual champion, Brendon Garcia of Adams State, who is ranked third in the nation.
The sophomore from Layton Utah, responded with a 12-7 decision over Zach Wright of San Francisco State. The victory earned Smith a matchup with Dawson Collins of Colorado Mesa in the heartbreak round. Collins, number sixth in the nation, won 12-7 to claim third place while Smith settled for fourth.
CSC's lone national qualifier in 2022, Ethan Leake of Clovis, Calif., finished fifth at 141-pounds while splitting his four matches. They included a 7-5 win and a 7-6 setback. He also lost to nationally ranked Nick James 9-5, but finished his day with an 8-1 decision over Alex Castaneda from Colorado Mesa.
Brandon Paredes at 149 pounds, Brody Lamb at 157, Preston Renner at 165 and Bryan Zutavern at 197 all won one match, helping CSC finish sixth in the team standings with 72 points. That’s 24 more than they scored a year ago.
Adams State had four of the 10 regional champions and won the team title with 114 points. Kearney was the runner-up with 110.5 and had three first-place finishers among its six qualifiers.
Team Standings and National Qualifiers—1, Adams State, 114 (5); 2, Nebraska-Kearney, 110.5 (6); 3, Colorado Mesa, 101 (4); 4, Western Colorado, 91 (5); 5, Colorado Mines, 90.5 (4); 6, Chadron State, 72 (3); 7, Fort Hays State, 57 (2); 8, CSU-P, 37.5; 9, New Mexico Highlands, 37; 10, San Francisco State, 33; 11, Simon Fraser, 21.5 (1).
CSC Results
125—Quade Smith, CSC, pinned Rhys Sellers, NMHU, 1:20; Brendon Garcia, ASU, dec. Smith, 5-3; Smith dec. Zac Wright, San Fran, 12-7; Dawson Collins, Mesa, dec. Smith, 4-1 for third.
133—Quen Campbell, CSC, major dec. Andres Jiron, NMHU, 10-1; Campbell dec. Weston Diblasi, Mines, 5-4; Campbell dec. Collin Metzgar, Mesa, 5-3 in OT for first.
141—Ethan Leake, CSC, dec, Randy McDonald, San Fran, 7-5; Grayston DiBlasi, Mines, dec. Leake, 7-6; Nick James, UNK, dec. Leake, 9-5; Leake dec. Alex Castaneda, Mesa, 8-1 for fifth.
149—Jason Hanenberg, WCU, dec. Brandon Paredes, 6-0; Paredes major dec. Sam Patton, Simon Fraser, 11-0; Daniel Magana, Mesa, dec. Paredes, 5-4.
157—Brody Lamb, CSC, pinned Teantae Wilson, UNK, 1:47; Cyruss Meeks, CSU-P, dec. Lamb, 6-5 in OT; Cody Hicks, FHSU, pinned Lamb, 1:59.
165—Preston Renner, CSC, dec. Blaise Ronnau, FHSU, 6-3; Augustus Dalton, Mesa, pinned Renner, 5:00; Elijah Valdez, CSU-P, dec. Renner, 3-1.
174—Cole Hernandez, WCU, major dec. Brody Pfeil, CSC, 12-3; Levi Ferris, Mines, dec. Pfeil, 11-5.
184—Keegan Gehlhausen, CSC, dec. Hunter Tabiasson, Adams, 5-4; Gehlhausen dec. Jason Bryarowicz, Mesa, 5-3; Billy Higgins, UNK, tech. fall Gehlhausen, 19-2 for first.
197—Bryan Zutavern, CSC, dec. Ben Tonnessen, Adams, 11-8; Zach Ferris, NMHU, pinned Zutavern, 4:00; Donn Greer, CSU-P, major dec. Zutavern, 13-3.
Hwt—Mason Watt, CSC, dec. Zach Schraeder, WCU, 4-0; Watt pinned Adam Alvarenga, Adams, 1:08; Watt pinned Anthony Caldwell, FHSU, 2:05; Lee Herrington, UNK, dec. Watt, 3-2 for first.
Other championship match results:
125—Brendon Garcia, Adams, dec, Pat Allis, WCU, 3-1.
141—Dean Noble, WCU, dec. Grayston DiBlasi, Mines, 4-2.
149—Josiah Rider, Adams, dec. Jason Hanenberg, WCU, 4-0.
157—Noah Hermosillo, Adams, dec, Ryan Wheeler, Mesa, 11-5,
165—Aaden Valdez, Adams, pinned Hunter Mullen, WSC, 4:28.
174—Austin Eldredge, UNK, dec. Cade Lindsey, FHSU, 5-4,
197—Teresus Henry, FHSU, dec, Anderson Salisbury, CSM, 8-1.
Third place finishers:
125—Dawson Collins, Mesa; 133—Weston Diblasi, Mines; 141—Nick James, UNK; 149—John Burger, UNK; 157—Carter Noehre, Mesa; 165—Kaden Hart, UNK; 174—Cole Hernandez, WCU; 184—Hunter Tobiasson, Adams; 197—Kash Anderson, Mesa; Hwt—Taniela Feliciano, Simon Fraser.
