UNO remains No. 1 in Jan 19 Div II poll

EDMOND, Okla. — Nebraska-Omaha retained its No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll that was released Tuesday.

The two-time defending national champion Mavericks, who edged Augustana (S.D.) 17-15 in the finals of the NWCA Division II National Duals on Jan. 9 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, received all eight first-place votes in balloting of coaches from around the country to finish with 160 points.  UNO has been No. 1 in every poll the past two-plus seasons.

Augustana had 152 points and moved from third to second after its runner-up finish in the National Duals, switching places with St. Cloud State (Minn.). Newberry (S.C.) came in fourth in the rankings and Central Oklahoma was fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 is North Carolina-Pembroke, Minnesota State, San Francisco State (Calif.), Western State (Colo.) and Upper Iowa.  SFSU and UNC-P made the biggest moves after strong outings at the National Duals, with the Gators jumping from 20th to No. 8 and the Braves going from 13th to sixth.

No. 14 Gannon (Pa.) and No. 20 Minnesota State-Moorhead entered the top 20 after being unranked in the last poll.

UNO is led by three top-ranked individuals — 141-pounder Mario Morgan, 149-pounder Esai Dominguez and 157-pounder George Ivanov.

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     160    1st
• 2.    Augustana (S.D.)     152    3rd
• 3.    St. Cloud State (Minn.)     144    2nd
• 4.    Newberry (S.C.)    136    5th
• 5.    Central Oklahoma     128    9th
• 6.    North Carolina-Pembroke    119    13th
• 7.    Minnesota State     111    7th
• 8.    San Francisco State (Calif.)     101    20th
• 9.    Western State (Colo.)     88    4th
• 10.    Upper Iowa     81    11th
• 11.    Nebraska-Kearney     71    8th
• 12.    Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)     63    6th
• 13.    Grand Canyon (Ariz.)     62    10th
• 14.    Gannon (Pa.)    55    NR
• 15.    Findlay (Ohio)     51    14th
• 16.    Wisconsin-Parkside     43    12th
• 17.    Ashland (Ohio)    34    18th
• 18.    Adams State (Colo.)     27    17th
• 19.    Fort Hays State (Kan.)     22    16th
• 20.    Minnesota State-Moorhead    14    NR

Others receiving votes: Central Missouri, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Kutztown (Pa.) and West Liberty (W.Va.).

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
125 Pounds

• 1.    Russell Weakley, North Carolina-Pembroke
• 2.    Andy Forstner, Minnesota State
• 3.    Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
• 4.    Josh Smith, Nebraska-Kearney
• 5.    Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.)
• 6.    Corey Ulmer, Minnesota State-Moorhead
• 7.    Kyle O’Brien, Western State (Colo.)
• 8.    Pierre Bondoc, San Francisco State (Calif.)

133 Pounds

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

141 Pounds

• 1.    Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha
• 2.    Naveed Bagheri, San Francisco State (Calif.)
• 3.    Brady Schneeberger, Minnesota State-Moorhead
• 4.    Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.)
• 5.    Andre Harrison, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
• 6.    Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney
• 7.    Kenny Jordan, Adams State (Colo.)
• 8.    A.J. Milanek, Gannon (Pa.)

149 Pounds

• 1.    Esai Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha
• 2.    T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney
• 3.    Nick Walpole, Indianapolis (Ind.)
• 4.    Jacob Horn, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
• 5.    Dale Debacco, Newberry (S.C.)
• 6.    Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)
• 7.    Matthew Thomas, San Francisco State (Calif.)
• 8.    Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)

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.    John Sundgren, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
• 6.    Sean Byrnes, Newberry (S.C.)
• 7.    Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma
• 8.    Justin Morris, Western State (Colo.)

165 Pounds

• 1.    Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke
• 2.    Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
• 3.    Michael Lybarger, Findlay (Ohio)
• 4.    Jake Varilek, Belmont Abbey (N.C.)
• 5.    Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney
• 6.    Gavin Nelson, Augustana (S.D.)
• 7.    Travis Budke, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
• 8.    Derrick Adkins, Central Oklahoma

174 Pounds

• 1.    Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside
• 2.    Tony Petrella, Gannon (Pa.)
• 3.    Ryan Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha
• 4.    Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
• 5.    Tim Darling, Kutztown (Pa.)
• 6.    Carl Serck, Augustana (S.D.)
• 7.    Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
• 8.    Ben Becker, Minnesota State

184 Pounds

• 1.    Bryant Blanton, Newberry (S.C.)
• 2.    Charlie Pipher, Western State (Colo.)
• 3.    Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha
• 4.    Cale Cornemann, Northern State (S.D.)
• 5.    Aaron Norgren, Minnesota State
• 6.    Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa
• 7.    Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma
• 8.    Casey Bradley, Limestone (S.C.)

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.    Daniel Stevenson, Findlay (Ohio)
• 8.    Matt Baker, Nebraska-Omaha

285 Pounds

• 1.    Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
• 2.    Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
• 3.    Charlie Alexander, Western State (Colo.)
• 4.    Ben Hohensee, Nebraska-Kearney
• 5.    Zach Rosol, Upper Iowa
• 6.    Jacob Southwick, Ashland (Ohio)
• 7.    Matt Clum, Findlay (Ohio)
• 8.    Taylor Escamilla, Nebraska-Omaha