Trevor Grant, a sophomore at 174 pounds, competes against Nabraska-Kearney Thursday, Jan. 26. Photo by Tyler Lundquist.

After getting out to a quick start winning the first two matches in the 125 and 133 weight classes, the Pack saw a string of defeats losing their final seven out of eight matches.

The Pack knew it would be a challenge, especially when it came to the 149, 157 and 165 weight classes. Kearney’s three duelers were ranked No. 2 in the nation and two of them were facing below .500 wrestlers for the Pack.  Although the Pack fought hard, all three fell short by hefty margins.

Even after a string of Kearney wins, the Pack was still in a position to take the lead. CSU-Pueblo sophomore Trevor Grant was faced with taking on the fourth straight nationally-ranked Loper in his 174-pound duel against eight-ranked Mark Fiala.

In one of the tightest matches of the night, Grant scored a late take down to seal a three-point victory for the Pack, inching them back in the hunt for an upset.

With Grant’s upset win, Pack coach Dax Charles must have been feeling good about their chances going forward. Pack junior Adam Carey, in the 184-pound weight class and ranked seventh in the nation, took on Ross Brunkhardt with a chance to bring the Pack within two points of the powerhouse Lopers. 

The match went into two sudden death overtimes, the second in a row for Carey, when Brunkhardt finally completed the upset with a take down.

Though it would be a long road back, the Pack still had two chances to make a comeback with their final two wrestlers, 197-pound freshman Cody Johnson and heavyweight Bill Gray.  But it just wasn’t the Pack’s night.  Johnson and Gray were both defeated, sealing a 25-10 Nebraska-Kearney win.

After a three-match win streak, CSU-Pueblo has dropped the last two.  With the loss, the Pack’s record drops to 7-5 overall.

CSU-Pueblo takes to the road in their next two conference duels when they take on Colorado Mesa and Western State before returning to Massari Arena against Oklahoma City University Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.

The ThunderWolves men's basketball team scores against Chadron State, Friday, Jan 20. Photo by Sam Acar.

Lead by junior guard Ryan Arel, the Pack managed to have their best shooting night so far this season, shooting 60 percent from the field and 55 percent from the three-point line.  Arel sparked the team going into the second half knocking down two key three-point shots with just minutes remaining in the first, which gave the Pack a comfortable 17-point lead going into halftime.

Even more impressive than the Pack’s shooting was their staggering defensive performance.  The Pack forced the Eagles into 14 turnovers and held them to 41 percent shooting from the field.  They didn’t waste opportunities to capitalize on the Eagles’ mistakes either. Of the 14 forced turnovers, the Pack scored 21 points, including 11 fast break points.

The overall team effort allowed the Pack a have great start and maintain the lead throughout.  Contributors included Andre Martin’s 18 points, 4 steals, and an emphatic alley-op dunk to spark the crowd of more than 1500. But Martin wasn’t the only one contributing on the offensive end; the Pack had four of their five starters in double-digit scoring.

The Pack dominated almost all statistical categories including rebounds, led by Bryse Velasquez who pulled down seven.  Velasquez also scored 18 points along with 11 assists and two steals, a season high for Velasquez.

CSU-Pueblo needed a big performance from Velasquez as they saw their leading scorer Arden Dennis, a junior college transfer, go down with a season-ending knee injury Jan. 14 against Regis University.  Dennis had been averaging 14 points a game and shooting 43 percent from three-point territory.

Although Dennis wasn’t missed Friday night this could be a big loss for the Pack in the future as the RMAC schedule continues.

Kendall Babler looks to score against Kearney-Nebraska. Photo by Tyler Shomaker.

The CSU-Pueblo’s women’s basketball game between CSU-Pueblo and Nebraska-Kearney Saturday, Jan. 21, was intense from the very start, but the ThunderWolves had the better hands and defeated Nebraska-Kearney 52-38.

The game started with both teams’ plays mirroring the other.  Both were tough on defense, as expected, and both shot equally poor.  The ThunderWolves then went on an unanswered nine-point scoring run and started to gain momentum.  The Lopers, who rebounded well early on in the game, began to lose control and the game continued to go in CSU-Pueblo’s favor.

“Tonight we were a team and played well as a team,” senior Kendall Babler said. “I simply came in, did my job and it seemed to be enough.”

Babler, who came into Saturday night’s game averaging 12.2 points, and the rest of the ThunderWolves had little time to prepare for the Nebraska-Kearney game after playing Chadron State the night before.

As points from the field were scarce, the ThunderWolves relied on successful free throw shots to put them ahead. CSU-Pueblo shot 29 free throws throughout the game. Babler led the team in free throws, shooting 8-for-10 from the line.

Nebraska-Kearny’s only threat in the first half seemed to be Vanessa Leeper-Jones with her 4 points. Her team would help rally back in the second half as all the starters for Nebraska-Kearney checked in. With seven minutes left in the game, the Lopers were down by six points, but the steam quickly faded and the ThunderWolves came out with a victory.

CSU-Pueblo will be on the road for their next three games. The road trip starts Jan. 27 when they take on New Mexico Highlands.

The Pack started strong in the first half with a commanding 12-point lead.  Chadron made an impressive comeback putting them within 3 points by the end of the first half.

In the second half, The Pack had to bring a stop to the Eagles’ momentum.  They managed to slow their momentum down, and CSU-Pueblo put Laurel Kearsley in the paint and passing her the ball helped the team during Friday’s win, head coach Kip Drown said.

The Pack’s defense played competitively and was able to hold the Eagles to 49 points.

“Any time you give up only 49 points, you know you’re doing good defensively,” Drown said.  The pack gave up 10 turnovers in the entire game.

The top scorer for the Pack was junior Laurel Kearsley with 17 points.  Playing post for the Pack, Kearsley towered over the Eagles throughout the game and was commanding with the ball.

“My team is unselfish and I owe all the credit to them,” Kearsley said.

CSU-Pueblo will take on Nebraska-Kearney tonight, Jan. 21, at the Massari Arena.

After a historic win the night before, CSU-Pueblo’s wrestling team fell short against sixth-ranked Central Oklahoma, losing the duel 23-9.

Freshman Tim Urenda, 125 pounds, opened the duel with his match against Ryan Brooks.  After three periods, the match went into sudden victory.  Urenda almost won the match with a takedown, but it was never called and Brooks walked away with a 3-1 decision victory.

Central Oklahoma took control of the duel, winning the next three matches.  Junior Nick Mamalis, 133 pounds, fell to Dustin Reed in a 9-4 decision.  Junior Jesse Hillhouse, 141 pounds, lost to Casy Rowell with a 4-2 decision.  At 149 pounds, Central Oklahoma’s Ky Corley had a major decision victory over junior Nick Stahler, winning 12-3. 

The ThunderWolves’ strength showed in the middle of the lineup as CSU-Pueblo received three straight wins. 

Junior Levi Jutila, 157 pounds, bested Central Oklahoma’s Austin Quinton in a 6-1 decision victory.  Sophomore Matt Addington, 165 pounds, was victorious against Chris Watson, with a 7-3 decision.  Trevor Grant kept his winning streak alive with a 9-4 decision over Zach Aylor, Grant’s seventh straight win.

The highlight of the night came during the match against CSU-Pueblo’s Adam Carey and Central Oklahoma’s Tanner Keck.  Carey, a 184 pound junior, was undefeated coming into the duel.  A match that normally lasts nine minutes went for 13 as Carey and Keck went into three overtimes. 

Keck, who is ranked second in the nation, won the match 7-6 after a Carey takedown was waived off.

Central Oklahoma would win the last two matches as CSU-Pueblo sophomore Joseph Giron, 197 pounds, fell to Jarrett Edison in a 14-3 decision and heavyweight sophomore Bill Gray lost to Cody Dauphin with a 3-2 decision.

The Thunderwolves have a week off to prepare for their duel against fourth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney at Massari Arena Jan. 26.

The CSU-Pueblo wrestling team beat Colorado School of Mines Wednesday, Jan. 18, out-dueling the Orediggers 20-15.  This was the first victory for the ThunderWolves against Mines since wrestling returned to the university in 2006.

CSU-Pueblo's Trevor Grant attempts a takedown on Colorado School of Mines' Brandon Sheldon. Photo by Tyler Lundquist.

Sophomore Trevor Grant had one of the crucial bouts throughout the duel, during his rematch against Mines junior Brandon Sheldon.  Sheldon got the better of Grant a year ago when the two teams met at Massari Arena.  This year, Grant got the victory and scored 12-6 against Sheldon. The decision put the ThunderWolves up 16-9 in the match.

“Coming off the loss last year, I wrestled like I had nothing to lose,” Grant said. 

Junior Jess Hillhouse, 133-pounds, had a dominating performance against Oredigger Tanner Taylor.  Hillhouse had two takedowns in the first period and got the pin in the second period. The bout lasted 4:28 and was another pin for fifth-ranked Hillhouse.

Freshman Tim Urenda improved his overall record to 15-5, with a major decision victory over Mines sophomore Elias Arias.  The 125-pounder had a big second period with a reversal and a three-point near fall. Junior Nick Stahler, a 149-pounder for the ThunderWolves, scored four points in the third period to win his bout 5-3.

Junior Adam Carey, who wrestles in the 184-pound weight class for the ThunderWolves, took his undefeated dual record into Wednesday’s bout.  Carey wrestled Mines junior Ryan Swanson.  Carey kept his undefeated streak alive with an impressive win over Swanson. Carey had five takedowns and gave CSU-Pueblo four points.

The ThunderWolves suffered some defeats as 141-pounder Ryan Kirby lost 4-0 at the hands of Oredigger Austin Cordova.  Matt Addington, 165-pound ThunderWolf, lost a close decision 4-3 against Mines wrestler Jordon Larson.  Joe Giron and Bill Grey were also defeated in their respective matches.

Ranked twentieth, the ThunderWolves received their fifth victory as a nationally ranked team and have an overall record of 7-3.  The win was also a RMAC victory and moved the ThunderWolves to 2-1 in the conference. CSU-Pueblo is now tied with Fort Hays State for third in the RMAC.

The team has a big conference dual next week against Nebraska-Kearny, ranked fourth.

“These duals are way more important than the tournaments, because they set up our seeding for regionals,” Grant said. After regionals, the team would like to make it to nationals, he said.

“Our goal is for all of us to make it to nationals and for us to wrestle nationals in our own gym,” Grant said.

The Pack fell short to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 24-21 in their first appearance in the playoffs since 1982 when they were blown out 61-20.

They faced off with the defending national champions and the team who set the standard in Division II football the last few years and won two of the last three championships.

The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs came into Pueblo with a win already under the belt in the 2011 playoffs. They snuck by Saginaw Valley with a last minute field goal.

The Pack came out hitting on all cylinders on their first drive, showing that the bye week didn’t make them miss a beat. Freshman running back J.B. Mattews finished off an 11 play, 80-yard drive with a 14-yard scamper to give the Pack the early lead.

The Pack defense showed why they earned a number one ranked defense this year by almost intercepting Bulldog quarterback Chase Vogler twice on the Bulldogs opening drive.

After forcing the Bulldog offense to punt, the effects of 27 mph winds took ill effect on the Pack special teams. The Pack received the ball back and was forced to punt after just three plays.

Pack punter Brandon Kliesen had the challenge of kicking into the gusty wind and it didn’t go well. Bliesen was able to punt three yards, giving the Bulldogs the ball deep in Pack territory. The Bulldog offense was held a field goal.

The story of the game was the rushing attacks on both sides. Leading the RMAC in rushing yards, the Pack seemed to have the advantage, not to mention an All-American running back in Jesse Lewis. However, the Bulldogs outperformed the Pack on the ground and out rushed the ThunderWolves 204 to 91. 

Vogler lead the entire team and out ran the entire Pack offense with over 100 yards rushing.

“We thought we matched up good with them,” junior Grant Jensen said. “I would compare them to Chadron size wise, but give them credit, they made plays when they needed to.”

The ThunderWolves will play a second round playoff game will take place against either Saginaw Valley State University or the University of Minnesota-Duluth, depending on the winner of the first round game of the playoffs, according to CSU-Pueblo’s athletic website.

Their first home playoff game will take place at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl Nov. 26, at noon.

The game that determined their championship took place Saturday against Western New Mexico University 48-7.

Senior Jesse Lewis scored two touchdowns and ran 114 yards, and senior Jamaal Johnson scored a touchdown and ran for 87 yards. Junior Ross Dausin scored three touchdowns and ran for 118 yards, according to the website.

The Pack fought the Grizzlies point for point in the first set until Adams State pulled away to clinch the first set of the match 25-23. The Grizzlies were led by Dominique Davis down the stretch.

The second set saw a similar pattern as the Pack once again faltered late allowing the Grizzlies to surge in front and take a 25-20 second set win.

Facing an uphill battle to save the season, CSU-Pueblo couldn’t catch up as Adams State edged ahead 14-10 midway through the set and kept up the advantage throughout with another 25-20 win.

The ThunderWolves were led by senior Bernadette Pitre who had 10 kills in the final match of her college career. She was also named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Second Team, the only member of the Pack to receive all-conference honors.

A win would have helped the Pack host a first round playoff game, since they were tied with the Mustangs for second place in the West Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 

The teams split the first two sets en route to the most competitive set of the match. The third set saw the Pack trailing 24-21, with the Mustangs about to take a two set to one lead. However, the Pack rallied behind senior Bernadette Pitre who had multiple kills and the Pack scored seven of the last nine points in the set to win 28-26.

The next set, however, wasn’t as desirable of an outcome for the Pack. The set once again came down to the last few points. With the score tied 23-23, the Mustangs converted the last two points to take the fourth set.

The difference in the match was the fifth and decisive set in which the Mustangs rose up to the occasion and took over by outscoring the Pack 7-4 to secure the match with a 15-11 win.

The loss means the Pack will finish in third place in the RMAC West Division and will have to travel to Adams State for the first round of the conference playoffs.