Augustana jumps to No. 2 in national rankings

EDMOND, Okla. – Augustana climbed one spot and is ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II wrestling rankings released Wednesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.  The Vikings received 152 points and had six individuals ranked.

Nebraska-Omaha kept its No. 1 spot, garnering 160 points and all eight first-place votes.

The Vikings moved from third to second after a strong showing at the NWCA National Duals earlier this month, where they knocked off then No. 2-ranked St. Cloud State 18-15 and nearly beat UNO. Augustana fell to the Mavericks 17-15 in the finals.

The Vikings topped Minnesota State Moorhead 29-6 in their conference opener last Friday.

Defending national champion Jay Sherer gave up his No. 1 position at 149 pounds for the first time this season, falling to No. 4.

Marcus Edgington (157 pounds) and Ty Copsey (197 pounds) were both No. 2 at their respective weights.

Gavin Nelson (165 pounds) and Carl Serck (174 pounds) were both No. 6, while Nate Herda (149 pounds) was No. 8).

Augustana (7-1, 1-0 NSIC) travels the Dakotas this week to continue Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action, facing Northern State (3-3, 0-2 NSIC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and U-Mary (0-4, 0-2 NSIC) on Friday at 7 p.m.

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

NCAA Division II Team Rankings
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.).

NCAA Division II 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