EDMOND, Okla. — St. Cloud State (Minn.) stayed atop the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings as the unanimous choice in the top-20 poll that was released Wednesday by the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.
The Huskies received all eight first-place votes in balloting of coaches from around the country to finish with 160 points. SCSU, a perfect 19-0 in duals, has been No. 1 in four of the five polls this season.
Newberry remained No. 2 with 151 points, Upper Iowa stayed third with 139.5 and Nebraska-Kearney switched places with Augustana (S.D.) to round out the top five teams.
Making up the second half of the top 10 is Central Oklahoma, Grand Canyon (Ariz.), Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Adams State (Colo.) and Ashland (Ohio).
St. Cloud State and Wisconsin-Parkside each have two No. 1-ranked individuals — Tad Merritt (165) and Jacob Kahnke (heavyweight) for the Huskies and Dillon Bera (157) and Luke Rynish (174) for the Rangers.
SCSU’s Derek Skala (184), Shamus O’Grady (174) and Lucas Munkelwitz (197) all maintained their third place national ranking in the polls this week. Huskies making a new appearance in the national polls this week were Andy Pokorny at 133-pounds (4th) and Dylan Wright at 125-pounds (7th).
The Huskies will host #3 Upper Iowa on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall. This match will feature showdowns between nationally ranked wrestlers at 125-, 133-, 174-, 184-, 197- and 285-pounds. Tickets for the match can be purchased at the gate. This match has been designated as SCSU Alumni Day and also SCSU Senior Salute Day.
Teams are nearing the end of the regular season and gearing up for the four regional qualifying tournaments that will be held the weekend of Feb. 24-26. The top-four placers at each weight in all four regionals advance to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, set for March 9-10 in Pueblo, Colo.
SCSU will host the NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional on Feb. 26 in Halenbeck Hall. Make plans now to attend this big event in St. Cloud.
The top 20 poll, with points and each team’s ranking in the last poll following by the individual rankings at each weight:
TOP 20 POLL:
1. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 160
2. Newberry (S.C.) 151
3. Upper Iowa 139.5
4. Nebraska-Kearney 137
5. Augustana (S.D.) 127.5
6. Central Oklahoma 121
7. Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 108
8. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 101
9. Adams State (Colo.) 98
10. Ashland (Ohio) 87
11. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 71
12. Wisconsin-Parkside 64
13. Limestone (S.C.) 53
14. Findlay (Ohio) 45
15. Fort Hays State (Kan.) 43
T16. West Liberty (W.Va.) 40
T16. King (Tenn.) 40
T18. Maryville (Mo.) 20
T18. Western State (Colo.) 20
20. Colorado Mesa 17
Others receiving votes: Chadron State (Neb.), Gannon (Pa.), Indianapolis (Ind.), Kutztown (Pa.), Minnesota State, San Francisco State (Calif.).
DIVISION II INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
125 Pounds
1. Corey Ulmer, Minnesota State-Moorhead
2. Kyle Pedretti, Upper Iowa
3. Jerry Huff, Adams State (Colo.)
4. Kenny Trumbetta, Seton Hill (Pa.)
5. Garrett Evans, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
6. Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio)
7. Dylan Wright, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
8. Brandon Davis, Ashland (Ohio)
133 Pounds
1. Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa
2. Jesse Hillhouse, Colorado State-Pueblo
3. Ryan Fillingame, Adams State (Colo.)
4. Andy Pokorny, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
5. Jason Jeremiason, Augustana (S.D.)
6. Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
7. Mike Magaha, Limestone (S.C.)
8. Drew Lexvold, Minnesota State
141 Pounds
1. Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney
2. Trevor Johnson, Mary (N.D.)
3. Chism Fink, Augustana (S.D.)
4. B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.)
5. Jack Bachman, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
6. Tywan Claxton, King (Tenn.)
7. C.J. Napier, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
8. James Martinez, Colorado Mesa
149 Pounds
1. Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.)
2. Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
3. Raufeon Stotts, Nebraska-Kearney
4. Ethan Swope, Gannon (Pa.)
5. Keenan Hagerty, Maryville (Mo.)
6. Ryan Maus, Truman State (Mo.)
7. Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.)
8. Bobby Ward, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
157 Pounds
1. Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside
2. T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.)
4. Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma
5. Jacob D. Horn, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
6. Jordan Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
7. Bobby Williams, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
8. Steven Kelly, Colorado School of Mines
165 Pounds
1. Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2. Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Josh Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
4. Mike Williams, North Carolina-Pembroke
5. Brett Rosedale, Maryville (Mo.)
6. Sean Byrnes, Newberry (S.C.)
7. Matt Vandermeer, Lake Erie (Ohio)
8. Jordan Larsen, Colorado School of Mines
174 Pounds
1. Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside
2. Michael Lybarger, Findlay (Ohio)
3. Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Carl Serck, Augustana (S.D.)
5. Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
6. Wade Gobin, Upper Iowa
7. Travis Sheehy, Newberry (S.C.)
8. Kelly Henderson, Central Oklahoma
184 Pounds
1. Walker Clarke, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
2. Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma
3. Derek Skala, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Mitch Schultz, Upper Iowa
5. Dallas Smith, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
6. Adam Walters, Findlay (Ohio)
7. Gary Lantz, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
8. Nick Petersen, Colorado Mesa
197 Pounds
1. Dan Scanlan, Limestone (S.C.)
2. Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.)
3. Lucas Munkelwitz, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa
5. Frank Morgan, King (Tenn.)
6. Matt Baker, Maryville (Mo.)
7. Eddie Ebewo, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
8. Shane Nolan, North Carolina-Pembroke
285 Pounds
1. Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2. Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.)
3. Jordan Johnson, Grand Canyon (Ariz.)
4. Fred Hale, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
5. Jake Elkins, Newberry (S.C.)
6. Zach Rosol, Upper Iowa
7. Jacob Southwick, Ashland (Ohio)
8. J.D. Ramsey, West Liberty (W. Va.)