No. 10 Minnesota State Sends Six to National Championship
Edmond, Okla. – The Minnesota State Mavericks are the tenth-ranked team in the nation according to the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Top-20 poll which was released Wednesday. The poll comes out just three days after Minnesota State finished tied for third at the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 tournament where the Mavericks advanced six individuals to the national championship which is held on March 11-12 in Kearney, Neb.
The Mavericks dropped two spots in the latest poll as they finished with 95 points. The University of Nebraska-Omaha remains the consensus No. 1 as they received all eight first-place votes while all ten of their wrestlers finished the regional in the top-four of their respective weight classes advancing them to the national championship.
Three other Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams remain ranked in these final released rankings as No. 2 St. Cloud State, No. 4 Augustana and No. 12 Upper Iowa all remain in the top 20.
Minnesota State also maintains four ranked individual wrestlers in their respective weight classes. Senior Andy Forstner (125-lbs) is ranked seventh after dropping three spots from the last rankings. Forstner finished the regional tournament 4-1 which was good enough for third-place and will make his third appearance at the national tournament.
Fellow senior Ben Becker jumped two spots in the final rankings as he is ranked fourth in the 174-lb weight class. Becker will also be making his third trip to nationals as he finished second-place with a 2-1 record this past weekend.
Jumping one spot in the latest rankings was junior Aaron Norgren. Norgren is the fifth-ranked wrestler in the 184-lb class and will be making his third consecutive appearance at nationals as he went 4-0 earning his first ever championship in the regional tournament.
Rounding out the individually ranked Mavericks is junior Pat Mahan who remains the seventh-ranked wrestler in the 197-lb class. Mahan finished the regional tournament with a 2-1 record which was good enough for second-place which places him in his second national championship.
Also competing in the NCAA Division II National Championship will be a pair of first-time qualifiers as sophomore Jesse Westphal and freshman Brendan Eichmann each finished fourth-place in the regional tournament.
The tournament will be a two-day event held in Kearney, Neb. on March 11-12. Results can be viewed at www.msumavericks.com after each day of the event.
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. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 146 3rd
3. Newberry (S.C.) 143 4th
4. Augustana (S.D.) 139 2nd
5. Nebraska-Kearney 118 T8th
6. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 110 6th
7. Western State (Colo.) 104 13th
8. Central Oklahoma 102 5th
9. Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 96 7th
10. Minnesota State 95 T8th
11. Ashland (Ohio) 91 12th
12. Upper Iowa 82 10th
13. San Francisco State (Calif.) 63 14th
14. Findlay (Ohio) 48 15th
15. Gannon (Pa.) 42 16th
16. Wisconsin-Parkside 38 19th
17. North Carolina-Pembroke 32 11th
18. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 20 20th
19. Kutztown (Pa.) 13 NR
20. Adams State (Colo.) 12 17th
Others receiving votes: Central Missouri, Chadron State (Neb.), Fort Hays State (Kan.), Limestone (S.C.).
NCAA Division II Individual Rankings
125 Pounds
1. Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
2. Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.)
3. Kyle O’Brien, Western State (Colo.)
4. Jose Matos, Gannon (Pa.)
5. Russell Weakley, North Carolina-Pembroke
6. Alex Meger, Augustana (S.D.)
7. Andy Forstner, Minnesota State
8. Corey Ulmer, Minnesota State-Moorhead
133 Pounds
1. Todd Wilcox, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
2. Austin Williams, Kutztown (Pa.)
3. Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown
4. Cody Zimmerman, Wisconsin-Parkside
5. Jason Jeremiason, Augustana (S.D.)
6. Aldon Isenberg, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
7. William Young, Newberry (S.C.)
8. Michael Magaha, Limestone (S.C.)
141 Pounds
1. Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.)
3. Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney
4. Naveed Bagheri, San Francisco State (Calif.)
5. Matt Irwin, Indianapolis (Ind.)
6. Gabe Suarez, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
7. Brady Schneeberger, Minnesota State-Moorhead
8. Jimmy Savala, Chadron State (Neb.)
149 Pounds
1. Esai Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha
2. T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Nick Walpole, Indianapolis (Ind.)
4. Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)
5. Jacob Horn, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
6. Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
7. John Paukovits, Kutztown (Pa.)
8. Kenny Jordan, Adams State (Colo.)
157 Pounds
1. George Ivanov, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma
3. Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside
4. John Sundgren, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
5. Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.)
6. Sean Byrnes, Newberry (S.C.)
7. Jordan Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
8. Josh Nolan, San Francisco State
165 Pounds
1. Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke
2. Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3. Michael Lybarger, Findlay (Ohio)
4. Gavin Nelson, Augustana (S.D.)
5. Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside
6. Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney
7. Brandon Kelly, Ashland (Ohio)
8. Zack McKendree, Gannon (Pa.)
174 Pounds
1. Ryan Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
3. Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Ben Becker, Minnesota State
5. Mark Meuller, Upper Iowa
6. Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside
7. Jeff Jacobs, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
8. Bryce Sopko, Limestone (S.C.)
184 Pounds
1. Bryant Blanton, Newberry (S.C.)
2. Charlie Pipher, Western State (Colo.)
3. Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha
4. A.J. Brentzel, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
5. Aaron Norgren, Minnesota State
6. Ryan Becerra, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
7. Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa
8. Ross Brunkhardt, Nebraska-Kearney
197 Pounds
1. Donovan McMahill, Western State (Colo.)
2. Ty Copsey, Augustana (S.D.)
3. Charles Morgan, King (Tenn.)
4. Matt Baker, Nebraska-Omaha
5. Eli Arismendez, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
6. Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.)
7. Pat Mahan, Minnesota State
8. Mitch Knapp, West Liberty (W.Va.)
285 Pounds
1. Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2. Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
3. Charlie Alexander, Western State (Colo.)
4. Zach Rosol, Upper Iowa
5. Jacob Southwick, Ashland (Ohio)
6. Brandon Hayes, Central Missouri
7. Chris Dempsey, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
8. Jake Elkins, Newberry (S.C.)