St. Cloud State enters the 2011-12 season as favorite in the NSIC and the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II wrestling, according to the NSIC Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll and the preseason NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.
The Huskies, coming off a best-ever runner-up finish in last year’s national tournament, narrowly beat Upper Iowa for the top spot in the NSIC with 55 points, one more than the Peacocks, who finished fourth nationally as a team in 2010-11. The points in the rankings were assigned from the top five individuals in each of the ten weight classes using the following point system: 1st = 10, 2nd = 7, 3rd = 4, 4th = 2 , 5th = 1.
In the national poll the Huskies received four of the eight first-place votes cast in balloting of coaches from around the country and finished with 153 points in earning the favorite’s tag . Upper Iowa was ranked third in the nation followed by Augustana at sixth, Minnesota State in twelfth, while U-Mary and Northern State received votes.
In the individual national rankings the NSIC had five of the top wrestlers in the nation. Trevor Franklin of Upper Iowa was the top ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, Nate Herda of Augustana at 149 pounds, Tad Merritt of St. Cloud State at 165 pounds, Carl Broghammer of Upper Iowa at 197 pounds and Matt Meuleners of Northern State at 285.
In all the NSIC had 21 of its wrestler ranked in the top ten in the nation led by Upper Iowa with six, St. Cloud State with five, Augustana at four and Minnesota State at three. U-Mary, MSU Moorhead and Northern State each had one wrestler in the top ten.
Here is a rundown of where the Huskies rank in the individual national polls for Division II:
165 – Tad Merritt – 1st
174 – Shamus O’Grady – 4th
184 – Derek Skala – 4th
157 – Jacob D. Horn – 7th
285 – Jacob Kahnke – 2nd
Here is where the Huskies were ranked in the 2011-12 NSIC preseason individual polls:
125 – Dylan Wright – 3rd
133 – Andy Pokorny – 3rd
141 – Matt Leibforth – 7th
149 – Jacob R. Horn – 3rd
157 – Jacob D. Horn – 2nd
165 – Tad Merritt – 1st
174 – Shamus O’Grady – 1st
184 – Derek Skala – 2nd
197 – Lucas Munkelwitz – 3rd
285 – Jacob Kahnke – 2nd
2011-12 NSIC Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1 St. Cloud State 55 points
2 Upper Iowa 54
3 Augustana 44
4 Minnesota State 32
5 University of Mary 20
6 MSU Moorhead 17
7 Northern State 11
8 Southwest Minnesota State 7
125
1 Kyle Pedretti Upper Iowa
2 Corey Ulmer MSU Moorhead
3 Dylan Wright St. Cloud State
4 TJ North Augustana
5 Travis Borchert SMSU
6 David Demo Minnesota State
7 Anthony Bruno Northern State
8 Hunter Menendez Mary
133
1 Jason Jeremiason Augustana
2 Trevor Franklin Upper Iowa
3 Drew Lexvold Minnesota State
4 Andy Pokorny St. Cloud State
5 Justin Reinsma SMSU
6 Ian Muirhead Northern State
7 Deven Loepp MSU Moorhead
8 Kyle Larson Mary
141
1 Robbie Fischer Minnesota State
2 Trevor Johnson Mary
3 Tyler Steinwand MSU Moorhead
4 Victor Coronado Upper Iowa
5 Benton Crow Northern State
6 Ethan Hildebrandt SMSU
7 Matt Leibforth St. Cloud State
8 Ryan Hartnett Augustana
149
1 Nate Herda Augustana
2 Tommy Abbott Minnesota State
3 Jacob Horn St. Cloud State
4 Jordan Rinken Upper Iowa
5 Tanner Beaman Mary
6 Codie Lane SMSU
7 Derek Lee MSU Moorhead
8 Bea Voegeli Northern State
157
1 Marcus Edgington Augustana
2 Jacob Horn St. Cloud State
3 Winston Robbins Upper Iowa
4 Tel Todd Minnesota State
5 Collin Engelhardt Mary
6 Blaine Miller SMSU
7 Kerron Williams MSU Moorhead
8 Neil Sell Northern State
165
1 Tad Merritt St. Cloud State
2 Taylor Nagel Mary
3 Tyler Kivel MSU Moorhead
4 Jake Begin SMSU
5 Blake Sorenson Upper Iowa
6 Tom Davies Augustana
7 Blake Lundgren Northern State
8 Cody Quinn Minnesota State
174
1 Shamus O’Grady St. Cloud State
2 Carl Serck Augustana
3 Wade Gobin Upper Iowa
4 Brendan Eichmann Minnesota State
5 Trent Sovde MSU Moorhead
6 Donnie Bowden Northern State
7 Trent Molacek SMSU
8 Tom Devito Mary
184
1 Mitchell Schultz Upper Iowa
2 Derek Skala St. Cloud State
3 Brady Anderson Mary
4 Jayd Docken Augustana
5 Micah Larson SMSU
6 Chad Gibson Northern State
7 Kody Kalkbrennar MSU Moorhead
8 Brandon Pederson Minnesota State
197
1 Carl Broghammer Upper Iowa
2 Pat Mahan Minnesota State
3 Lucas Munkelwitz St. Cloud State
4 Brian Schultz Augustana
5 Brandon Manderscheid MSU Moorhead
6 Kris McCleary Mary
7 Martin Hagen SMSU
8 Baker Haar Northern State
285
1 Matt Meulners Northern State
2 Jake Kahnke St. Cloud State
3 Zach Rosol Upper Iowa
4 Brian Rodas SMSU
5 Mike Roberts Augustana
6 Gerad Fugleberg MSU Moorhead
7 Nathan Haynes Minnesota State
8 Martin Patron Mary
NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association preseason rankings
Ranked By Division II Coaches Association
Teams
Rank School (State), Points, Last Year’s Finish
1. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 153, 2nd
2. Newberry (S.C.), 150, 6th
3. Upper Iowa, 144, 4th
4. Nebraska-Kearney 132, 8th
5. Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 130, 7th
6. Augustana (S.D.) 124, 3rd
7. Central Oklahoma 107, 13th
8. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 94, T-10th
9. Wisconsin-Parkside 90, 9th
10. Ashland (Ohio), 74, 20th
11. Mercyhurst (Pa.), 70, 25th
12. Minnesota State 69, T-10th
13. Adams State (Colo.) 63, 21st
14. Findlay (Ohio) 53, 14th
15. Maryville (Mo.), 47, NR
16. Fort Hays State (Kan.), 44, T-22nd
17. Limestone (S.C.), 31, 27th
18. North Carolina-Pembroke, 28, T-17th
19. San Francisco State (Calif.) 23, T-17th
20. Shippensburg (Pa.), 15, T-22nd
Others receiving votes: Central Missouri, Colorado School of Mines, East Stroudsburg (Pa.), Gannon (Pa.), King (Tenn.), Kutztown (Pa.), Mary (N.D.), Northern State (S.D.), Western State (Colo.).
Individuals
125 Pounds
1. Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.)
2. Kyle Pedretti, Upper Iowa
3. Corey Ulmer, Minnesota State-Moorhead
4. Terrell McKinney, Maryville (Mo.)
5. Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio)
6. Jerry Huff, Adams State (Colo.)
7. Brandon Davis, Ashland (Ohio)
8. Shane Summerlin, Belmont Abbey (N.C.)
133 Pounds
1. Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
2. Jason Jeremiason, Augustana (S.D.)
3. Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
4. Trison Graham, Central Oklahoma
5. Matt Oliver, Newberry (S.C.)
6. Michael Magaha, Limestone (S.C.)
7. Dan Mandara, Ashland (Ohio)
8. Tyler Nelson, Colorado Mesa
141 Pounds
1. Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney
2. B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.)
3. Jack Bachman, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
4. Dan Genetin, Ashland (Ohio)
5. Simon Rice, Shippensburg (Pa.)
6. Adam Hluschak, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
7. Madison Gambrell, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
8. Nick Wykoff, West Liberty (W. Va.)
149 Pounds
1. Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)
2. Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
3. Tommy Abbott, Minnesota State
4. Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)
5. Ethan Swope, Gannon (Pa.)
6. Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.)
7. Nathan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
8. Ryan Maus, Truman State (Mo.)
157 Pounds
1. Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside
2. T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Jordan Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
4. Teddy Bristol, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
5. Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma
6. Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.)
7. J.D. Horn, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
8. Winston Robbins, Upper Iowa
165 Pounds
1. Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2. Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke
4. Dylan Granard, Colorado Mesa
5. Sean Brynes, Newberry (S.C.)
6. Isaiah Jimenez, San Francisco State (Colo.)
7. Jordan Larsen, Colorado School of Mines
8. Ronald Tetreault, American International (Mass.)
174 Pounds
1. Michael Lybarger, Findlay (Ohio)
2. Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside
3. Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
4. Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
5. Kelly Henderson, Central Oklahoma
6. Bryce Sopko, Limestone (S.C.)
7. Carl Serck, Augustana (S.D.)
8. Brendan Eichman, Minnesota State
184 Pounds
1. Ross Brunkhardt, Nebraska-Kearney
2. Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa
3. Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside
4. Derek Skala, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
5. Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma
6. Brady Anderson, Mary (N.D.)
7. Brandon Tressler, King (Tenn.)
8. Londele Cox, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
197 Pounds
1. Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa
2. Dan Scanlan, Limestone (S.C.
3. Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.)
4. Matt Baker, Maryville (Mo.)
5. Pat Mahan, Minnesota State
6. Frank Morgan, King (Tenn.)
7. Eddie Ebewo, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
8. Karl Reed, Newberry (S.C.)
285 Pounds
1. Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
2. Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
3. Jacob Southwick, Ashland (Ohio)
4. Jake Elkins, Newberry (S.C.)
5. Zach Rosol, Upper Iowa
6. Fred Hale, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
7. J.D. Ramsey, West Liberty (W. Va.)
8. Cody Beck, Central Missouri