Nebraska-Omaha remains No. 1 in latest Div. II ratings

EDMOND, Okla. — Nebraska-Omaha stayed No. 1 in the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings and will take the favorite’s role into this weekend’s NWCA Division II National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, according to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll that was released Tuesday.

The two-time defending national champion Mavericks received seven of eight first-place votes in balloting of coaches from around the country to finish with 159 points.  UNO has been No. 1 in every poll the past two-plus seasons.

St. Cloud State (Minn.) collected the other first-place vote and stayed second with 153 points.  Augustana (S.D.) remained third with 140 points, followed by Western State (Colo.) and Newberry (S.C.).

Rounding out the top 10 is Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), Minnesota State, Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma and Grand Canyon (Ariz.).

Sixteen teams will compete in the NWCA Division II National Duals, which open Saturday morning and run through Sunday afternoon at the UNI Dome on the Northern Iowa campus.  Joining Nebraska-Omaha in the field  will be No. 2 St. Cloud, No. 3 Augustana, No. 4 Western State, No. 5 Newberry, No. 7 Minnesota State, No. 9 Central Oklahoma, No. 10 Grand Canyon, No. 11 Upper Iowa, No. 12 Wisconsin-Parkside, No. 13 North Carolina-Pembroke, No. 14 Findlay and No. 20 San Francisco State along with Central Missouri, Limestone (S.C.) and Minnesota State-Moorhead.

The top 20 poll, with points and the teams’ last ranking following by the top-eight rankings at each weight:

Rank        School (State)    Points    Last Ranking
1.    Nebraska-Omaha     159    1st
2.    St. Cloud State (Minn.)     153    2nd
3.    Augustana (S.D.)     140    3rd
4.    Western State (Colo.)     131    4th
5.    Newberry (S.C.)    129    5th
6.    Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)     106    9th
7.    Minnesota State     105    6th
8.    Nebraska-Kearney     100    8th
9.    Central Oklahoma     99    12th
10.    Grand Canyon (Ariz.)     97    11th
11.    Upper Iowa     88    10th
12.    Wisconsin-Parkside     70    13th
13.    North Carolina-Pembroke    64    20th
14.    Findlay (Ohio)     61    7th
T15.    West Liberty (W. Va.)    43    14th
T15.    Fort Hays State (Kan.)     43    15th
17.    Adams State (Colo.)     29    16th
18.    Ashland (Ohio)    27    17th
19.    East Stroudsburg (Pa.)    14    18th
20.    San Francisco State (Calif.)     10    19th

Others receiving votes: Belmont Abbey (N.C.), Colorado State-Pueblo, Gannon (Pa.), Minnesota State-Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota.

NCAA Division II
Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
1.    Andy Forstner, Minnesota State
2.    Russell Weakley, North Carolina-Pembroke
3.    Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
4.    Alex Meger, Augustana (S.D.)
5.    Josh Smith, Nebraska-Kearney
6.    Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.)
7.    Alex Johns, Indianapolis (Ind.)
8.    Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio)

133 Pounds
1.    Kyle Pedretti, Upper Iowa
2.    Todd Wilcox, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
3.    Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown
4.    Aldon Isenberg, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
5.    B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.)
6.    Michael Magaha, Limestone (S.C.)
7.    Cody Gillenwater, Central Missouri
8.    Trison Graham, Central Oklahoma

141 Pounds
1.    Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.)
2.    Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha
3.    Andre Harrison, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
4.    Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney
5.    Naveed Bagheri, San Francisco State (Calif.)
6.    Jimmy Savala, Chadron State (Neb.)
7.    Gabe Suarez, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
8.    Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.)

149 Pounds
1.    Esai Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha
2.    T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney
3.    Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)
4.    Jeremy Espinoza, Findlay (Ohio)
5.    Dale Debacco, Newberry (S.C.)
6.    Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)
7.    Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
8.    Jesse Snider, Colorado Mines

157 Pounds
1.    George Ivanov, Nebraska-Omaha
2.    Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.)
3.    Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside
4.    Seth Phalen, West Liberty (W.Va.)
5.    Sean Byrnes, Newberry (S.C.)
6.    John Sundgren, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
7.    Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma
8.    Justin Morris, Western State (Colo.)
165 Pounds
1.    Josh Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
2.    Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3.    Jake Varilek, Belmont Abbey (N.C.)
4.    Derrick Adkins, Central Oklahoma
5.    Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney
6.    Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside
7.    Gavin Nelson, Augustana (S.D.)
8.    Justin Grant, Colorado State-Pueblo

174 Pounds
1.    Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside
2.    Anthony Petrella, Gannon (Pa.)
3.    Ryan Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha
4.    Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
5.    Tim Darling, Kutztown (Pa.)
6.    Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
7.    Ben Becker, Minnesota State
8.    Mason True, Findlay (Ohio)

184 Pounds
1.    Bryant Blanton, Newberry (S.C.)
2.    Charlie Pipher, Western State (Colo.)
3.    Aaron Norgren, Minnesota State
4.    Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha
5.    Mic Berg, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
6.    Brady Anderson, Mary (N.D.)
7.    Ryan Becerra, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
8.    Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma

197 Pounds
1.    Donovan McMahill, Western State (Colo.)
2.    Ty Copsey, Augustana (S.D.)
3.    Mitch Knapp, West Liberty (W.Va.)
4.    Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.)
5.    Jarrett Edison, Central Oklahoma
6.    Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa
7.    Frank Morgan, King (Tenn.)
8.    Daniel Stevenson, Findlay (Ohio)

285 Pounds
1.    Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2.    Charlie Alexander, Western State (Colo.)
3.    Ben Hohensee, Nebraska-Kearney
4.    Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
5.    Taylor Escamilla, Nebraska-Omaha
6.    J.D. Ramsey, West Liberty (W.Va.)
7.    Chris Dempsey, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
8.    Brian Rodas, Southwest Minnesota