EDMOND, Okla. — St. Cloud State maintained its stranglehold on the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings Wednesday as the Huskies stayed atop the latest Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll.
SCSU received all eight first-place votes in balloting of head coaches from around the country to finish with 160 points as the unanimous No. 1 pick for the third straight poll. The Huskies are 20-0 and take a 46-match winning streak into Thursday’s (Feb. 14) dual finale against Minnesota State-Mankato.
Division II newcomer Notre Dame (Ohio) earned all eight second-place votes and remained No. 2 with 152 points. Seven-time Division II champion Central Oklahoma is third with 143 points, followed by Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) with 130 and Newberry (S.C.) with 128.
Rounding out the top 10 is Upper Iowa, defending national champion Nebraska-Kearney, Minnesota State-Mankato, Findlay (Ohio) and Mercyhurst (Pa.). Adams State jumped into the rankings at No. 11 after being among those teams that received votes in the last poll.
St. Cloud State has five ranked individuals, led by No. 1 Shamus O’Grady at 184 pounds. North Carolina-Pembroke is the only team with two No. 1s — 141 Daniel Ownbey and 174 Mike Williams.
SCSU’s Jacob Kahnke held on to his #2 ranking at 285-pounds in the poll, while Eric Forde moved up to #3 at 125-pounds and Clint Poster moved up to #7 st 157-pounds. At 133-pounds, Andy Pokorny moved down to #3 in this week’s national polls.
Division II Coaches Association Team & Individual Rankings – February 13, 2013