TheMat.com North American Women's College Wrestling Poll for has been published for January 2006.

Simon Fraser Univ. of British Columbia, Canada, coached by Mike Jones, retains No. 1 position in the poll, with 100 points and all five first place votes. Athletes from Simon Fraser competed in a number of tournaments during the month.

The Univ. of Calgary, from Alberta, Canada, coached by Mitch Ostberg, placed No. 2 in the voting this month. They were tied in the No. 2 spot last month. Calgary won the team title at the Univ. of Alberta Varsity Invitational in January.

The other team that was tied at No. 2 last month, the Univ. of the Cumberlands, drops to No. 3 in the poll this month. The Univ. of the Cumberlands, a NAIA school in Kentucky coached by Kip Flanik, participated in the NWCA National Duals during the month.

The Univ. of Saskatchewan, from Saskatchwan, Canada, coached by Todd Hinds, continued to remain at No. 4 in the poll. No. 5 in the poll was Missouri Valley College, an NAIA school coached by Carl Murphree.

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 Brock Univ., No. 7 Univ. of Regina, No. 8 Lakehead Univ., No. 9 the Univ. of Western Ontario and No. 10 Pacific Univ.

A total of 20 teams were ranked, and other teams receiving votes were also recognized. The January 2006 poll can be found at:
http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=868

The team ranking poll is elected by a panel of women's college coaches, three from Canada and two from the United States. Eligible for ranking are college varsity and club women's wrestling programs.

There are eight weight classes ranked in Women's College wrestling. They are the seven international weight classes contested in Senior-level women's wrestling, plus an additional weight class which is recognized by North American women's college programs as their highest weight division (80 kg).

There were three new No. 1 ranked wrestlers in the North American individual ranking this month: Alana King of Brock at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Brittany Lavadure of Calgary at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Megan Buydens of Saskatchewan at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. Laverdure held a No. 1 ranking earlier in the season but had dropped to No. 2 in the December rankings.

Simon Fraser Univ. had two No. 1 ranked athletes: Emily Richardson at 59 kg/130 lbs. and Shayla Turcotte at 80 kg/176 lbs. Both were also No. 1 last month. No other team had more than one top-ranked wrestler.

Others who retained No. 1 rankings from last month were Mary Kelly of the USOEC program at Northern Michigan at 51 kg/112.5 lbs., Alaina  Berube of the Univ. of Cumberlands at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Stephany Lee of Missouri Valley College at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.

The January 2006 North American Women's College Individual rankings can be found at:
http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=869

The individual rankings are selected by TheMat.com, with assistance from coaches. Athletes who are considered for ranking are eligible full-time college students, and are members of their college women's varsity or club program, or a member of their college men's wrestling team. 

Women's wrestling is a growing sport in Canada and the United States on the college level. Women's freestyle wrestling was the newest sport in the Summer Olympic Games, making its debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The United States and Canada are among the most successful women's wrestling nations in the world.

Copyright 2006 by USA Wrestling and TheMat.com.