UNR standout making Tonopah proud

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

Nevada-Reno running back Chance Kretschmer leads the Western Athletic Conference in rushing. But the item he finds himself being asked about these days has nothing to do with his 123.3 yards-per-game average, or his 162 yards in the Wolf Pack's last win over Hawaii.

It has everything to do with the tiny former mining town he grew up in -- Tonopah, located about 200 miles north of Las Vegas on Highway 95.

"It has one McDonald's, one Mexican restaurant and no stoplights," the 6-foot-2, 225-pound redshirt freshman said. "I think we have five or six gas stations. You pretty much blink your eyes and you're out of town. It's where a lot of people stop on the way from Las Vegas to Reno."

A lot of people except college football recruiters, that is.

Despite the fact Kretschmer appeared in a number of preseason football recruiting magazines after leading the state of Nevada in rushing each of his final two years, the three-sport star didn't receive one Division I offer.

"I got offers from a couple of little schools -- Minot, North Dakota, and the University of South Dakota, places like that," Kretschmer said. "But I guess the bigger schools weren't interested because we're in a small town and play in a lower Division (2-A)."

So Kretschmer, who rushed for 3,800-plus yards in his final two years with the Muckers, including 316 yards and five touchdowns in one game, swallowed his pride and decided to walk on at Nevada-Reno, located about 250 miles north of Tonopah.

"UNLV contacted me about walking on, too, but it was way after Nevada had talked with me," said Kretschmer, who earned a Millenium Scholarship, meaning he could receive free tuition at either campus.

Besides, Las Vegas is not exactly Kretschmer's kind of town.

"I like the area (in) Reno --- it is not too big like Vegas," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal this week. "I hate Vegas."

Uh, oh. Bulletin board material for the Rebels heading into this week's matchup at Nevada-Reno? Not really.

"It has nothing to do with their team," Kretschmer explained before practice on Tuesday. "I meant I don't appreciate the hot weather or being around all the people they have there. There's about 600,000 less people in Reno."

And even that must seem like culture shock for somone who grew up in what is now mainly a farming town of just 3,600 people. Growing up, Kretschmer would spend weekdays at his family's home in town, and weekends were spent about 40 miles away on the family's 120-acre cattle ranch.

Kretschmer rushed for 94 yards in the Wolf Pack's season-opening loss at BYU. He followed that with a 114-yard effort against Colorado State when starting tailback Adrian Dugan suffered a sprained ankle on the third play of the game.

It was right after that game that Nevada-Reno coach Chris Tormey gave Kretschmer not only the starting job, but also a long overdue scholarship.

X-rays taken during the UNLV-BYU game at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night showed a small fracture, but team trainer Kyle Wilson said it's possible it could be from an old high school injury.