COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chadron State swept the RMAC Men's and Women's Field Athlete of the Week awards Thursday, with Chayton Bynes winning the men's honor and Camila Salvucci winning the women's award. 

Both Bynes, a Chadron High School graduate, and Salvucci, a native of Argentina, had terrific triple jump performances last Saturday at the Dave Little Alumni Mile event in Spearfish, South Dakota that boosted him to weekly award status. 

Bynes leapt a staggering 50 feet, 9¼ inches (or 15.47 meters) to easily win the triple jump event in Spearfish. Bynes's jump is the second-farthest mark in all of Division II this season and the second-farthest leap in Chadron State program history. In both cases, Bynes is one of just two athletes to clear the 50-foot barrier. Additionally, Bynes's mark is the farthest by any RMAC jumper this season by over two feet. 

Salvucci, a true freshman, continued her hot start to her collegiate career by winning the women's triple jump, leaping 38 feet, 5 inches (11.71 meters). Salvucci's jump is tied for the farthest RMAC leap this season and is farther than any CSC women's freshman has ever jumped. In the same meet, Salvucci placed third in the 200-meter dash, running that in 27:60. 

CSU Pueblo's Reece Sharman-Newell and Helen Braybrook were the RMAC Men's and Women's Track Athletes of the Week, respectively. 

Chadron State will be in action again this season at the Myrle Hanson Open, also in Spearfish, on Saturday, January 25.

Eagles Romp Past Westminster In Second Half

CHADRON, Neb. – After a first half where neither team shot the ball well, Chadron State women's basketball was much more effective in the second half to pull away from Westminster and snap a seven-game losing streak with a 63-43 win Friday at the Chicoine Center.

The Eagles were 0-for-15 as a team from three-point range in the first half when point guard Kyra Tanabe launched a deep three to beat the first-half buzzer that bounced off the backboard into the hoop and tied the score 20-20 heading to halftime. Tanabe's shot seemingly unlocked the hoop for the hosts, who outscored their guests 43-23 in the second half. 

The third quarter was the big one for the Eagles.  They tallied the first eight points and were ahead the rest of the game. In the third period, they sank 8 of their 14 field goal shots, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, and hit 8 of 10 free throws for a total of 27 points, making it their second-most productive quarter of the season. The surge put the Eagles ahead 47-29 entering the fourth stanza, and they led by at least 15 points the rest of the way.

The Eagles shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half, making only 9 of 31 attempts. In the second half, however, CSC sunk 14 of 30 field goal attempts for 46.7 percent shooting. 

Tanabe was the Eagles' top scorer with 11 points while fellow guards Allison Richards and Kadyn Comer each finished with 10. After Tanabe's long three as the first half was ending, Richards hit two treys and Comer one in the decisive third period. Center McKenzi Petersen added nine points and another guard, Liberty Line, had eight for the hosts.  

Two more Eagles also reached double figures as rebounders. Both Kylie Krise and Bati Assefa grabbed 10, leading CSC to a 49-39 advantage off the glass. 

Westminster's leading scorer and rebounder was senior Maunayia Harrigfeld with 14 points and eight caroms. She scored 11 points in the first half. Teammate Maia Rhay finished with 10 points. 

For the game, Chadron State shot 23-for-61 from the field for 37.7 percent and the Griffins were 16-for-63 for 25.4 percent. CSC made 4 of 24 shots from behind the arc and Westminster only 1 of 22. The Eagles were 13-for-16 at the free throw line. The Utah team was 10-for-14. 

Chadron State outscored the visitors 38-24 in the paint and received 37 points from their bench compared to only eight bench points for Westminster.

The Eagles are now 3-12 for the season and Westminster is 3-14.  Both are 2-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  CSC will be at home again Saturday afternoon to play Colorado Mesa (12-4, 7-2 RMAC). 

Westminster—Maunayia Harrigfeld 14, Maia Rhay 10, Lime Okada 8, Olivia Tausinga 6, Nisa Ellis 5. Totals: 16-63 FG (1-22 3PT) 10-14 FT. 43 points, 38 rebounds, 4 assists, 14 turnovers. 

Chadron State--Kyra Tanabe 11, Allison Richards 10, Kadyn Comer 10, McKenzi Petersen 9, Liberty Line 8, Megan Counts 6, Kylie Krise 5, Bati Assefa 4. Totals: 23-61 FG (4-25 3PT) 13-16 FT. 63 points, 49 rebounds, 13 assists, 18 turnovers.

Miles, Ballard Lead Eagles Past Griffins

CHADRON, Neb. – Darrius Miles scored 21 points, Trey Ballard came off the bench to score 17 and the Chadron State men's basketball team got back to winning ways with a 71-59 victory over Westminster at the Chicoine Center Thursday night. 

The Eagles improved to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in RMAC play with the win. Westminster dropped down to 9-8 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Miles, a 6-foot-11 center from Texas, shot 8 of 11 from the field and stepped out to hit 3 of 4 three-pointers. Thursday marked Miles's second-highest point total of the season behind a 22-point game against Central Christian back on December 16. In addition to his 21 points, Miles added seven rebounds and two blocks.

Ballard has now scored in double figures in four consecutive games and has eight games with 10 points or more this season, all coming off the bench. Ballard shot 6-for-10 from the field and also hit three three-pointers. 

Zy Wright added 15 points for the Eagles while Jalen Thomas chipped in eight and Julio Phipps seven. Phipps racked up a game-high 10 rebounds and also finished with four assists, a block and a steal. 

Chadron State finished with 15 assists and only nine turnovers, just the third time this season CSC has finished with under 10 giveaways. The Eagles shot 50.9 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three (8-18) and 69 percent from the line (9-13). 

By contrast, the Eagles limited Westminster to 40 percent shooting and 31 percent from behind the arc. The Eagles played tenacious defense throughout the contest, using a zone defense at times and often forcing the Griffins to use up much of the shot clock before taking a contested shot.

The two teams traded points early, with Westminster taking a 5-2 lead early. Chadron State went inside with three straight layups from Miles, Wright and Jalen Thomas to take a 10-7 lead. Westminster hit a three to tie the score, but Wright answered 30 seconds later with a three of his own to make it 13-10, CSC. The Eagles led the rest of the way. 

Wright's three kicked off a 17-2 run that allowed the Eagles to build a 15-point lead, featuring additional threes from Miles (twice) and Ballard. Chadron State's largest lead of the game came with 3:37 left in the first half as a Miles jumper put the Eagles up 38-21. 

Westminster rallied, closing the half on an 11-2 run to go into halftime down by only eight at 40-32. The Griffins would cut the lead to as close as five points at 49-44 with 14:12 left to play, but after a Jalen Thomas jumper put the Eagles up by 11 with 9:16 to go, the lead never got below double digits again.

Chadron State will have a tough test coming up in Colorado Mesa (11-6, 5-4 RMAC). The Mavericks have won seven in a row after a 4-6 start and defeated Black Hills State on the road in overtime on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Chicoine Center.

Chadron State— Darrius Miles 21, Trey Ballard 17, Zy Wright 15, Jalen Thomas 8, Julio Phipps 7, Zach Smith 3. Totals: 27-53 FG, 8-18 3PT, 9-13 FT. 71 points, 33 rebounds, 15 assists, 9 turnovers.

Westminster— Ryan Rubenskas 13, Chase Potter 12, Donaval Avila 11, Simon Akena 10, Parker Christensen 6, Nicholas Holland 3, Jonah El-Farra 2, Jake Sampson 2. Totals: 22-55 FG, 7-22 3PT, 8-10 FT. 59 points, 28 rebounds, 13 assists, 11 turnovers.